10,000 Birds

AUGUST 28, 2015

I routinely vow to put an emotional wall between the birds I care for and me, to keep in mind that a good percentage of them will not make it, and to realize my heart is already in pieces so I should protect myself from further damage. The month before we lost him to bone cancer at age eleven, I was in New York City and met a British man.

Wildlife 221

Wildlife Wildlife Rehabilitation New York City Dogs 221

10,000 Birds

JUNE 6, 2023

I was concerned and horrified that this happened in my city and astonished when this seemingly local story became national then international news. Reading this chapter, I thought back to the emotional conversations I, a white Jewish woman, had with birding friends back in May 2020, mostly online (remember, it was still the pandemic).

Emotional 223

Emotional Birds Minneapolis Nepal 223

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 1, 2020

There are owls in New York City. The 26 essays in When Birds Are Near are all about the real-life and emotional spaces where people overlap with birds. The two stories about New York City are personal favorites, of course.

New York City 185

New York City Birds Owls Fox 185