World Without Birds Book Release

My latest book, World Without Birds, came out on March 3, 2026, and it's been a fun week. 

An odd part about a book coming out is that it's been a long time since I wrote it. The researching and writing for World Without Birds happened in 2021 and 2022, mostly. There was quite a bit of editing and fact checking since then, along with time for the good folks at Workman to work with the amazing Asia Orlando on illustrations, to lay out and design the thing, and get it printed. The end result, for me, is that the hard work I put in seems long ago, and all this release celebration is just several cherries on top. It's nice.

Here is some of what's happened, mostly to stoke my own pleasant memories when I am old and gray.

I did a book signing at Barnes and Noble in South Portland. It was really nice. Barnes and Noble is a big company, but it's an awesome kind of bookstore - a big giant celebration of books. It was really flattering to have people show up, and I really enjoyed myself. Here I am with my friend Kristen's kids.

The day before I was invited to Bowdoin College to speak at their monthly Audubon page-turning event. The Bowdoin Library has a massive double-elephant folio of Birds of America, and they invite someone to speak when they turn the page to a new bird every month. The crowd doesn't know what the new bird will be (but I do). I spoke a bit about my experience as a birder, and how I have worked to dispel some myths about birding -- that it's boring, that it's for old people, etc. -- in my career. Then I transitioned to the new bird, the Brown-headed Cowbird, and spoke about dispelling some of the myths that follow that bird around. My dad and many others in my family went to Bowdoin, and he really wanted me to apply. I wanted to leave Maine for school, though, but it was fun to tell him that I finally got in to Bowdoin.

Next, I want to talk a little bit about the kit Workman put together to send around to some different folks to get the word out about the book. Nothing like this has happened for one of my book releases before, and it's, again, flattering to be a part of it. I know it's just how things work, but I appreciate it. They put a big box together with different products, here's how it looks.

There's an insane corduroy chickadee hat from Bird Collective, the best damn bird clothing company on the face of the planet. I've been doing some writing for Bird Collective recently, and so it was fun to see them involved here. Plus you can buy my book from their site!

Next there are some really cool songbird socks from Conscious Step. Not only are they beautiful socks, but when I looked on the back I saw that they supported the National Parks Conservation Association, the organization I worked at for 8 years and where I met my wife. Rad!

Last but not least were included some crochet kits from The Woobles. I know these kits are super popular, so I'm really appreciative that they agree to be involved.

Next, I was honored to join Nate on the American Birding Association podcast to talk about the book and its message (and also a whole bunch of other funny stuff). Always a great time with him.

Finally, but perhaps most importantly, World Without Birds has been getting some really good reviews in the places that matter. The Booklist website gave the book a starred review (that's good!), and complimented the tone, the research, and, of course, Asia's illustrations. School Library Journal also had some really nice things to say, calling it "An important book for middle grade readers and bird lovers." 

Good reviews are really satisfying. I really wrestled during the writing of this book with how to present the information without overwhelming readers or causing them to lose hope. There was a lot of helpful back-and-forth with my editors trying to find the right balance, and it's validating to read reviewers who understand our challenge and compliment how we handled things. 

I'm proud of how this book came out, and hope you enjoy it.

World Without Birds out now!

Really proud to announce that my new book, WORLD WITHOUT BIRDS, is out today from Workman!

It's a rollicking and positive run through bird conservation topics around the world. A follow-up to writer Mark Kurlansky's 2012 book WORLD WITHOUT FISH, Birds is a great introduction for young folks (8-15) to learn about bird threats and conservation successes in habitats around the world.

It's a brisk read despite the serious subjects. I cover different ecosystems around the world -- deserts, temperate forests, tropical forests, islands, and more -- and talk about how humans have both caused a bird to go extinct in that habitat but are also saving species from extinction there. For example, I write about how the Dodo's evolution on the island of Mauritius left it vulnerable to extinction, but also how people are working successfully to save another unique island bird, the Kagu of New Caledonia. 

The book is filled with beautiful illustrations from Asia Orlando, one of the most talented wildlife illustrators on the planet. I'm proud of this book and I hope you like it! 

The Worst Shirt I've Ever Seen

Everything in the world is terrible and it's not even fun to point it out anymore. Social media is a wasteland of unending complaints, where slights, slams, digs, bitches, moans, jabs, and whines pile up and blow around like dunes. Like a desert, it's a slog and it stings your eyes.

Worst of all, dust is just dust. All the complaints are given equal weight (which is to say, no weight at all). There's no line between posts protesting America's growing authoritarianism or pointing out the criminal hypocrisy of our ruling classes and, like, post complaining about how gummy bears aren't as brightly colored any more or some shit. It sucks out there.

But my complaints are different. More important, and better observed. Like, take this shirt that was advertised to me on Facebook. How could I not complain about it?

Woof. How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.

1. Loons do not perch in trees. Ever. Loons are water birds, with bodies specially evolved to maximize their swimming abilities. They can barely fly, and even more barely walk. They cannot land in or perch in trees. They just can't. A loon has never been in a tree on purpose.
   
   
2. Snowy Owls also very rarely perch in trees. There are no trees on the tundra where Snowy Owls live. They'll occasionally perch in trees when they come south in the winter (I've seen it happen!), but it's still very rare. They much prefer to hang out on the ground, or on a rooftop.
   
   
3. What the hell is that third thing. There just is not a bird that looks like that. It's a complete fabrication. Why did they do that.
   
   
4. Cardinals are not "Birds of the North Woods." Northern Cardinals are expanding northward, but they are definitely not north woods birds. They barely range into Canada at all. C'mon.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Cardinals have orange bills, not yellow bills.  I talk about this a lot. It's pissed me off forever. Northern Cardinals are nearly always presented in popular media as having yellow bills, but they simply do not have yellow bills. The bird in this image has, like, some kind of shadowed bill that's not as bright yellow as other representations, but it's still bad. Because I said so.
   
   
6. UPDATE: The Snowy Owl has blue eyes. Fran on Twitter (@graveyardgnome) pointed out that the Snowy Owl's eyes are blue in this image, rather than their famous yellow. Unforgiveable. 

OK that's all for now. Be excellent to each other.