Ever wondered what bird is flying above? Been tempted to get outside more, but didn't know quite how to break into birding? Filled with practical advice and charming illustrations, this book is a must have for any new birdwatcher. Covering topics from which binoculars to buy to how to differentiate between birds, it is evident how much thought and care is packed into this small book. Highly recommended.

This is a great book that makes bird watching accessible to all.

Birds are all around us and the author encourages us to observe and pay attention regardless of whether you love with very little greenery around you.

She breaks down all the interesting facts and provides beautiful drawings that also sparked an interest in my younger children.

Although we don't see many of the birds in the book, it's inspired us to learn more about the birds in our garden.

Clare Walker Leslie is both an author and illustrator. In this little book, she encourages beginners at birdwatching to take the first step in taking this hobby into next level. It doesn't require one to be scientist or naturalist. First the joy of watching birds around where we live, be it in the country, suburban, or even in a busy big city like where I live. From there, you'll get curious to what bird that is, what they are doing, why they're doing it, and so on. That curiosity will make one a better observer.

This book hooked me from the first because apparently Clare has been staying at an apartment building, as I do. She shares how she attracted birds by hanging some feeders on the balcony. It made me realize that one CAN do birdwatching without having to travel in the country or visiting a forest. If you imagine this book would be boring and full of technicality or specifications of birds, you were wrong. It feels more like talking with a longtime birdwatcher who's glad to tell you of her love of birds and birdwatching. She wasn't an expert too when she began, but when you do what you love, I believe you'll find ways to learn more. You'll search for it on the internet, you'll find people with the same hobby to talk too, and so on. The possibility would be endless. What you need is to take the first step. And that's what this book will inspire you without being condescending.

Another pleasant part of this book is the sketches and colorful illustrations of birds and birdwatching. My favorite is the feeder hung on her apartment balcony – maybe because I can relate to it, living in an apartment myself. Clare even shares the step-by-step of sketching a bird. You needn't be good at drawing, by the way. There's this technique which she called blind contouring – doing rough-sketch while focusing on the object, without looking at what you’re doing – which seems quite doable. I can't wait to try myself!

Do you love birds, but find the word "birdwatching" intimidating? Read this book, and you'll see that it's actually not that scary! Clare described in details several species of birds (with illustrations) which you'll find in some parts of the world (mainly the US), but like she said in this book, wherever you live, there are always birds around you. Moreover, you’ll learn some interesting things about these birds, though you might perhaps never see them. If you love nature and birds, you'll find this book a helpful guidance.

This book is without a doubt a beginner friendly book on how to begin watching birds. The text is straightforward and accessible to a variety of readers. Even my 3 year old was interested in parts of this book! The illustrations and diagrams are engaging and they encouraged me to look at birds in new ways. I've always wanted to try nature journaling and this provides a great example and tips. I will definitely be reading more of Claire Walker Leslie's books on nature journaling and drawing in the future.

"How to Look at a Bird" is a user-friendly visual guide adorned with captivating illustrations. This book provides a wealth of information on bird shapes, sounds, behaviours, nesting habits, and garden feeding. The only drawback for me is its focus on American birds, leaving a desire for a UK-specific version that showcases our native bird species. Nevertheless, this is a stunning educational book. I am yet to start bird watching but intend to begin doing so as part of my mindfulness journey, this book serves as an excellent starting point, offering a valuable foundation for bird watching.

This one is a simple, fun, beautiful, and easy read on how to begin bird watching and how to draw them. I am not much of a birder. I requested an advance copy of this via Netgalley just out of curiosity and it was rewarding. The whole layout of the book itself is very refreshing. Pages filled with bird drawings, made by the author himself, are very attractive and make this a perfect gift for beginner birders of any age. (I am sure kids interested in bird watching would be delighted by this one.)

The content is divided into six parts, beginning with a sort of intro section titled 'Why are we drawn to birds?'.
Focus areas include how to 'really' observe birds, how to listen to bird sounds, observing with the help of bird feeders, bird activities and behavior, and tips on drawing birds. Each section is simple but informative. Small sections on 'What bird is that?' are given at intervals dealing with basic info on selected birds.

The only problem I noted is that the book mostly deals with native birds of North America so info on specific birds may not come out handy for people of other continents. Still, the beauty and simplicity of the book are enough to attract beginner birders.

Happy birding people!!!!

This is a delightful little book about birds, birding, and drawing birds. The information is concise but thorough and the drawings are really lovely. The author lives in the eastern US, so the birds described focus on that area, but the tips for identification are useful to anyone who loves watching and listening to birds by their backyard feeder or in the wild. I especially liked the pages that described how to draw birds. I recommend this to anyone who loves birds!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

How to Look at a Bird is the perfect book for those looking to start birdwatching. It gives you a step-by-step guide on how to identify birds, starting small and getting more complex. It even includes a chapter on how to draw field drawings of birds and a table for organizing your birdwatching findings! I love the water colors and field drawings included throughout the book. The field drawings are simple and make even a novice feel like they can do it too. The watercolors bring beauty and life to the many birds Clare includes includes in this book. The birds Clare includes are a range of many common birds to a few less common birds, depending on your location. A must-read for any novice birdwatcher or someone looking to start birdwatching.

Firstthings first, this book was a delight and the artwork stunning.
All the watercolour sketches were so vivid and colourful and made this truly a pelasure to read!

"Birds are found across the world, on every continent, in all kinds of habitats, and from the wildest places to the smallest backyard. No matter where you live, there are birds to enjoy just out your window or as you go about your day."

Are you a bird novice or an ornithological wizard? Either way this book has something for you. It's a wonderful source of information on birds and how to go about taking the time to look at them.
"You don't need a science background, expensive equipment, or even loads of time to enjoy watching birds - just lots of curiousity."
What was nice was seeing the artwork from throughout the author's life of bird watching, so if you feel like your drawing skills aren't enough and don't want to try sketching birds as you look at them, the coloured swirl scribbles or circle bodies with triangle wings will put you more at least. And the drawing tips at the end certainly will help.

The guide gives very simple yet useful tips on bird ID'ing, or how to get your eye in on the matter. Offering knowledge about bird size and speed and simple observable traits like that.
The book is littered with facts and advice, the simplest and best being to simply...look up.

The book does well to dive into greater detail about things like bird anatomy, colourations, differencs in sex and age of birds, but never in a way that feels overwhelming. I think the abundance of drawings really aid with this.

While the book is focused on North American birds primarily, the knowledge and tips in contains translates so easily regardless of where you are. Especially the parts about feeding and bathing and how to best set up spots for birds in your garden.

So, if you want to get looking at birds then grab this book, grab a knowledgable friend, and get looking.
And don't be afraid to ask for help, as the author says, no bird question is dumb.

I love Birds, and I have been reading about, and watching shows about them for about six months. I own a couple of birder indexes/guides, but they always seemed more intimidating than helpful, with very little advice for actually going out into the field and, well, looking at the birds.

So when I saw this book on Net Galley (where I obtained it, for free and read it to review it), I snapped it up.

It was easy to read, the pictures were perfect, and approachable, and what’s more it gave me the confidence that I could be a birder. By starting in my own yard. I devoured this title in a single night, Laying in bed, reading about the different birds in our shared ecological region (North East) and marveling at the more distant lands the author went to and birded.

I am going on vacation camping in two days, and believe me, I will take all the knowledge I gleaned from this title and apply it to my trip.

I highly recommend this work for anyone who is new to birdwatching/listening or who wants to see how to keep a bird journal in an easy to digest and practical manner.

This is a fun and beautiful book. The drawings and paintings throughout (done by the author) are a treat to look at and make reading this book a very pleasant and calming experience.

This is a lovely addition to any good nature collection, or indeed any good art/creativity collection. I appreciated the very simple suggestions to help anybody just observe birds, and while I wasn't expecting the "how to draw" section it was very approachable and really made this non-artist think.

What a delight reading this book was! It was a true feast for the eyes with utterly gorgeous illustrations that balanced rustic yet beautifully executed and really made reading it effortless. They’re the sort of drawings I’d love to have framed and put up on my wall! Every single one of them would have been worthy of your wall space and accompanied with short and succinct little pointers about all aspects of birding.

I’m fairly early on in my bird watching hobby and have loved gathering as much information as I can to arm me for future bird watching sessions, so books like these are invaluable. And it helped that this one wa so effortless and fun to read.

It covers a lot, from bird shapes, sounds, behaviour, nests and how to feed them in your garden. I’m from the U.K. and as this book mentioned American birds, the IDing of these species wouldn’t always be applicable to me but it didn’t take any enjoyment out of reading this book. I enjoyed learning about the beautiful range of birds found in America and I could still take away a lot of the information in regards to how to streamline your bird spotting!

It’s a perfect book to have as companion on your shelf, especially if you’re new to starting out. Although I’d argue any well seasoned birder would also get as much enjoyment out of this as anyone else for its straight to the point info and really lovely sketches.

I also loved that near the end of the book it contained pointers about how to do your own bird drawings as well as a handy little space to record your own bird spots. A great well rounded little book!

Very cute book, maybe not the best for an experienced birder but great as a nice coffee table book or to get someone’s interest. The drawings are super adorable