The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound

Book excerpt: Experienced birder Sallie Wolfe provides a peek into her creative process, sharing notes, verses, sketches, and paintings from her own notebooks. A beautiful blend of factual information and creative inspiration offers birders and artists alike a giftable collection of poetry, a compact guide, and an invitation to journal. At first glance, The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound centers on bird identification and behavior. But look more carefully: journaling helps us observe, think evaluate record, and create. Sallie's words capture the light of early spring when robins return to newly budding trees, list the species that come and go, note how West Nile virus affects her backyard population, and even find a rhyme for suet—there's nothing to it.