Mindful Birding Book List

Holly Merker, Richard Crossley, Sophie Crossley

Transport yourself into the world of birds while amplifying the benefits that connecting with nature brings to our physical and mental wellness. This book guides readers into deeper experiences with birds through focused explorations and meditations, bringing mindfulness together with observation in a way that will heighten awareness and understanding of birds.

Barbara Patterson

This booklet is a compilation of articles on mindfulness and birding written by well-known authors who generously share their expertise with you.

The seven chapters each have three sections. The first part in each chapter discusses mindfulness. The second section is an introduction to ornithology—the study of birds. The third part of each chapter is a mindfulness practice that invites you to connect with your experience in a more individual and personal way.

This booklet is a free resource!

Tammah Watts

A warm welcoming guide to birdwatching and its therapeutic and healing effects.

Licensed therapist, Tammah Watts managed to heal her life and find self-acceptance through powerful connections with birds and nature. Discover how you can find peace, self-love, and contentment with our feathered friends.

AVAILABLE NOW WHEREVER YOU BUY YOUR BOOKS

Pamela Lowell

As a trauma specialist, Pamela Lowell expertly guides us to the connections between therapy, the life of an artist, and the natural world as a place of healing. Lowell, an avid birder, jumped at the chance to accompany Mass Audubon in their weekly Osprey nest monitoring project on the Westport River. She hoped to get some photos of cute Osprey chicks that she could use in her paintings. But what happened next was nothing short of transformative.

Kai Siedenburg

Discover how to connect with the deep peace, simple joy, and healing power of nature anytime, anywhere.  Through intimate original poems, we feel what it’s like to walk on padded paws, to take wing, to root ourselves in the Earth.   And through carefully crafted practices, we learn how to cultivate a direct connection with nature that supports and sustains us wherever we go.

Authored by nature connection guide and Ecotherapist Kai Siedenburg, these books remind us that all beings are potential friends and teachers, and a deeper kinship with nature offers a path to more peace and balance in our lives and in the world.

Melissa Hafting

A powerful photographic journey that celebrates the healing power of birds.

Melissa Hafting is an ethical, passionate, and respected birder, photographer, and mentor. Her love for birding has helped shape who she is and has helped with her mental health, along with enabling her to cope with the difficult aspects of grief and loss after the death of her mother and father.

Angelika Nelson and Holly Merker

“The Power of Birdwatching”

Watching birds and hearing their voices has been shown to have positive effects on our health. When we consciously watch birds, we can reduce stress. Our immune system is strengthened. These effects have been backed up by a number of scientific studies, and you can experience them for yourself with the guidance in this book.

This book is only available in German.

Molly Adams and Sydney Golden Anderson

The Feminist Bird Club's BIRDING FOR A BETTER WORLD illustrates how anyone can engage in the universally available activity of birding, andsupport equity and environmental justice at the same time,

Jon Young

Deep bird language is an ancient discipline, perfected by Indigenous peoples the world over, and science is finally catching up. This groundbreaking book unites the Indigenous knowledge and the author’s own experience of more than four decades in the field to lead us toward a deeper connection to the animals and, in the end, a deeper connection to ourselves.

Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder tells the story of finding meaning in midlife through birds. The book follows the peregrinations of a narrator who learns more from birds than she ever anticipated, as she begins to realize that she herself is a migratory species: born in the former Soviet Union, growing up in Vancouver and Toronto, studying and working in the United States and living in Paris. Coming from a Russian immigrant family of concert pianists who believed that the outdoors were for "other people," Julia Zarankin recounts the challenges and joys of unexpectedly discovering one's wild side and finding one's tribe in the unlikeliest of places.

Aaric Eisenstein

Written during the darkest days of COVID-19, The Avian Rebbe Takes Flight pushes back with light. There are eternal verities and enduring questions that transcend even the most horrific ephemera.

Faith, doubt, intention, science, music, and silence are just some of the topics that you'll be inspired to consider from different perspectives.

Claire Thompson

"In The Art of Mindful Birdwatching, Claire Thompson elegantly weaves a narrative full of her own delightfully documented encounters with birds in amongst sage guidance on using mindfulness to help readers become deeply aware of the present moment. Following Claire's clearly described exercises has the potential to lead one from mere identification to making deeply insightful observations into the life of birds." – British Trust of Ornithology

Philippe J. Duboise and

Elise Rousseau

There is a lot we can learn from birds if we pay attention. This elegant volume invites us to take a step back from our busy lives, to reconnect with nature, and to listen to the tiny philosophers of the sky.

Florence Williams

From forest trails in Korea, to islands in Finland, to eucalyptus groves in California, Florence Williams investigates the science behind nature’s positive effects on the brain. Delving into brand-new research, she uncovers the powers of the natural world to improve health, promote reflection and innovation, and strengthen our relationships. As our modern lives shift dramatically indoors, these ideas―and the answers they yield―are more urgent than ever.

David M. White, Susan M. Guyette

Zen birding is the art of being in the moment with birds as sentient beings. Follow birder and anthropologist David M. White on a journey to a greater awareness of watching birds with these captivating birding stories that illustrate the zen lives of birds and the spiritual lessons we can learn from them for our own lives.

Kathy Willis

A ground-breaking investigation into newly discovered evidence showing that remarkable things happen to our bodies and our minds when our senses connect with the natural world.

We all take for granted the idea that being in nature makes us feel better. But if you were a skeptical scientist—or indeed any kind of skeptic—who wanted hard scientific evidence for this idea, where would you look? And how would that evidence be gathered?

The Green family—Jim, Dedrie, and Hilda—has co-authored Photo Ahimsa under the pseudonym Green Imagery.

Photo Ahimsa is 'mindful' birdwatching in various environments, from backyards to national parks.

We share our mindful moments in this book—that which clinical neuropsychologists tell us: '...most people think of mindfulness practice as meditating on a chair or cushion, which is an important aspect, but we can also be mindful in our day-to-day lives, such as when birdwatching.'

Amy Tan

What are the stories in your backyard? Whether you're a birder, hiker, or simply enjoy being outdoors, this thoughtfully designed journal helps you channel intentional curiosity with room to write and sketch what you observe outdoors. Within The Backyard Bird Journal, you'll find a new introduction from Amy Tan, her "no rules" guide to nature journaling with examples from her own work, and daily journaling pages peppered with quotes and sketch art from The Backyard Bird Chronicles.