The Eyes of Birds

Newswise — A few years ago, I had the opportunity to hear Terry Tempest Williams speak at a local event. I don’t remember many details of her talk, but I do remember her passion, her commitment, and her dedication to being a voice for the environment. Her book, Finding Beauty in a Broken World has been a guidepost for me as a science writer and writing instructor. In this book, she uses the metaphor of a mosaic to illustrate how nature and humans collide and connect. She opens the book in Ravenna, Italy, where she learned first-hand the ancient art of mosaic. Her description of her experience there is so powerful, it inspired me to visit that city on the Adriatic Sea and literally follow her footsteps to understand how one can take something so broken, like the pieces of glass used to make a mosaic or, say, an environmental disaster, to create something whole and profound again.

That is the point of writing about nature—to inspire people to fall in love with the world around them, and to encourage them to take action to protect that which they love.

Since I began my tenure at BRI, I have produced several books highlighting our research on wildlife. The first, Journey with the Loon, chronicles the life history of the Common Loon, BRI’s signature research subject. Over the years, I have written quite a bit about these iconic waterbirds with the blazing red eyes. While working on this project, I was struck by this quote from Williams that we included in the book, “We miss the eyes of birds, focusing only on the feathers.”

Stop for a moment and read that quote out loud.

Nature writing begs us to pause, to notice, and to think. Nature writers learn to see more deeply, to listen more carefully, to experience more fully the myriad details of the natural world. The words of the nature writer help others to see the world with new, focused eyes.

The nature of nature writing

Nature writing has had a long and winding history, hugging the periphery of social norms and world events. At its roots, nature writing was a way of documenting the natural world— mostly through personal notes and sketches. These early writings were essentially biographies of nature, which described the lives and habits of birds and animals from observation only. Eventually, passive observation evolved into research because of those whose curiosity tugged at their instincts to understand the natural world and their place in it.

In the mid-1700s, the English clergyman and avid gardener Gilbert White noticed a group of house martins in his parish that confused his senses—it was far too late in the season for them to be there. This singular event sent him down a path into the world of nature.

Gilbert’s approach was very different from the naturalists who came before him. His curiosity prompted him to question what he observed; he wanted to know why animals behaved the way they did. He employed a scientific rigor to his approach in trying to answer these questions. He became fascinated with worms and somehow understood their importance in the web of life. His respect for nature was not the norm in his time.

His pioneering writings culminated in the publication of The Natural History of Selbourne and with that he became an early champion of the environment (although he probably had no idea at the time that he was doing so) and an inspiration to the likes of Charles Darwin, William Wordsworth, and others whose work would later lay the foundations for both scientific dogma and literary masterpieces related to environmental studies.

What made Gilbert’s writings about nature truly stand out was his use of language; his poetic style captured the reader’s attention, and he was able to paint with words in such a relatable way that he has captivated his audience for centuries—his beautiful treatise on the natural history of his hometown has never been out of print since its first publication in 1789.

Over time, the poets won over the skeptics and nature writing became popular as a literary genre. Passion, curiosity, and enthusiasm helped shape the thinking of the early nature writers and as they observed and explored the relationships between wildlife and their habitats, they began to see how these relationships could affect human beings.

Through the centuries, as human development changed the natural world, raw and captivating descriptions of nature began to have political and economic implications. Today, nature writers are vocal advocates for the health of the environment.

Although BRI stands firmly on the foundation of quantitative scientific research, we are also advocates for the environment in that we promote awareness and inspire the general public to act on behalf of the natural world, no matter how seemingly inconsequential. Remember, every drop of water helps create an ocean.

The most daunting challenge facing nature writers today is the vast amount of data bombarding the airwaves. Someone has to translate that information into feelings and vision, to make sense of it in a holistic way, and to communicate it to the world at large, especially to those in a position to make critical decisions regarding environmental policy.

So, yes, we are a group of scientists, but we are also nature writers who aim to inspire our readers to learn and care about the environment. We offer a reason for hope that the work we carry out around the world will result in a healthier earth for all its inhabitants.

Over the last decade, BRI has hosted ecotours and creative retreats, sharing our work with the general public. These are a few highlights from those events. Click to enlarge!

A sampling of books about the history of nature writing and writings of some of my favorite authors

• A Natural History of Nature Writing is an overview of the origins and development of a uniquely American literature. Essayist and poet Frank Stewart describes in rich and compelling prose the lives and works of prominent American nature writers of the19th and 20th centuries.
• The Norton Book of Nature Writing is an anthology of best known, and best loved, nature writers. Edited by Robert Finch and John Elder.
• Finding Beauty in a Broken World is one of many wonderful books by Terry Tempest Williams.
• The Alphabet of the Trees: A Guide to Nature Writing is a collection of essays by prominent nature writers who explain their artistic approaches and personal experiences writing about nature.
• Lab Girl by Hope Jahren is part memoir, part biology lesson, part plant catalog—most importantly, it is the story of Life and how we are a part of it.
• Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard
• The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature by David George Haskell