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Feather Brained: My Bumbling Quest to Become a Birder and Find a Rare Bird on My Own

Feather Brained: My Bumbling Quest to Become a Birder and Find a Rare Bird on My Own

For much of his life, the closest Bob Tarte got to a nature walk was the stroll from parking lot to picnic table on family outings. But then a chance sighting of a dazzling rose-breasted grosbeak in wife-to-be Linda’s backyard prompts a fascination with birds, which he had never cared about before in the least. Soon he is obsessed with spotting more and more of them—the rarer the better—and embarks on a bumpy journey to improve his bumbling birding skills. Along the way, Tarte offers readers a droll look at the pleasures and pitfalls he encounters, introduces a colorful cast of fellow birders from across the country, and travels to some of the premier birding sites in the Midwest, including Point Pelee, Magee Marsh, Tawas Point State Park, and even Muskegon Wastewater System. This funny, heartfelt memoir will appeal to birders of all skill levels as well as to anyone who knows and loves a birder.

Chapter 1. The Green Book and the Redhead

Chapter 2. Twice Bitten

Chapter 3. A Song Soothes Mr. Crabby

Chapter 4. A Duck Out of Water

Chapter 5. Close to Home

Chapter 6. The Adversary

Chapter 7. Not in My Backyard

Chapter 8. A Crash Course in Warblers

Chapter 9. Learning from Babies

Chapter 10. Anything Can Show Up Anywhere

Chapter 11. The Worm Turns

Chapter 12. Back to the Beginning

Chapter 13. The Redhead and the Redhead

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