Author Steve Burrows on Birding

A Siege of Bitterns, the first book in the Birder Murder Mystery series by Steve Burrows

Steve Burrows, author of the Birder Murder Mystery series, who Margaret Cannon called a major talent , ruminates on the connection between birding and literature in his guest post for 49th Shelf.

He writes: 
When you think about it, there aren’t many things you can do for free while sitting in a chair that will transport you to another world. Reading fiction is one. Watching birds is another. To sit and watch the activity at backyard feeders is to enter a realm in which there will be much that is familiar to readers of great fiction. There are triumphs and tragedies, feuds and collaborations, rewards and injustice. In short, the stuff of life—all played out against a backdrop of suet and seed. But other story elements exist at the bird feeders, too, those that make us question, as all good fiction does, what we think we know, and what we hold dear.
Read the full post for more of his thoughts on birding and literature. He also suggests other great books about birds!