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sophia_sol) wrote2023-03-13 09:43 am
sophia_sol) wrote2023-03-13 09:43 am
Woman, Watching: Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay, by Merilyn Simonds
This is a nonfiction biography of a woman who was an amateur scientist in pretty much the end of the era when you could have a successful career publishing academic articles without formal credentials, and only the beginning of the era when women could have a successful career in academia. She was born to Swedish nobility, her first husband died in the Russian revolution, she was a nurse to the famous Dionne Quintuplets, and she spent decades living in a tiny cabin in the woods in northern ontario taking intensive observations of birds.
A fascinating woman! But obviously I read this book because BIRDS. And it does mostly focus on her life after she falls headfirst into what became her true life's work of studying and understanding birds. I loved reading about her passion, her efforts, her extensive correspondence with bird experts across north america, her growing and deep familiarity with all the birds of her area, her dedication to keeping careful records of everything she saw and heard. Some of the things she studied continue to be relevant to ornithologists today!
But one through-line in the book was Louise's knowledge of the declining numbers of songbirds over the years, even from the very earliest days of her birding efforts in the 1930's. She knew, too, that the declining numbers were due to human activity, and she mourned their loss. Near the end of the book, the reader is provided with some numbers of just how great the decline in songbirds has been from when Louise began her records to now in the 2020's and it is honestly heartbreaking. Even just within Louise's life, she talks about the obvious and stark change in the experience of the morning bird chorus. It brings me near tears to think of how things used to be! Between habitat loss in both breeding grounds and wintering grounds, the effects of herbicides and insecticides, disappearing food due to the collapsing insect population, and more, songbird presence is a shadow of what it once was.
The other important thing I learned from the book is that the things I want to know about birds ARE out there, I just need to acquire bird books that are focused on specific species or specific families, instead of field guides, if I want to know everything about a bird's life and behaviour. NOTED. My bird library WILL be growing.
A fascinating woman! But obviously I read this book because BIRDS. And it does mostly focus on her life after she falls headfirst into what became her true life's work of studying and understanding birds. I loved reading about her passion, her efforts, her extensive correspondence with bird experts across north america, her growing and deep familiarity with all the birds of her area, her dedication to keeping careful records of everything she saw and heard. Some of the things she studied continue to be relevant to ornithologists today!
But one through-line in the book was Louise's knowledge of the declining numbers of songbirds over the years, even from the very earliest days of her birding efforts in the 1930's. She knew, too, that the declining numbers were due to human activity, and she mourned their loss. Near the end of the book, the reader is provided with some numbers of just how great the decline in songbirds has been from when Louise began her records to now in the 2020's and it is honestly heartbreaking. Even just within Louise's life, she talks about the obvious and stark change in the experience of the morning bird chorus. It brings me near tears to think of how things used to be! Between habitat loss in both breeding grounds and wintering grounds, the effects of herbicides and insecticides, disappearing food due to the collapsing insect population, and more, songbird presence is a shadow of what it once was.
The other important thing I learned from the book is that the things I want to know about birds ARE out there, I just need to acquire bird books that are focused on specific species or specific families, instead of field guides, if I want to know everything about a bird's life and behaviour. NOTED. My bird library WILL be growing.