Afield: Forty Years of Birding the American West

Alan Contreras has been birding for over forty years and has literally written the book on Oregon’s birds. As you can imagine, he has quite a few stories to tell.

Afield is a hard book to classify. It has some elements of a traditional memoir, but it is really more of a record of the author’s growth as a birder. Distinct chapters/essays chronicle the author’s life and experiences birding from 1960 through the present.

Some non-birding aspects are necessary to present a clearer portrait of the author both as a man and a birder. However, this book is at its best when it focuses on the birding. Thankfully, that is most of the book. After all, it is not titled Afield for nothing!

The majority of Contreras’ birding is confined to his home state of Oregon. I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting “The Beaver State”, but that did not hinder my enjoyment of these accounts one bit. In fact, I learned a good deal about the birdlife there.

Though most of the birding here is confined geographically, it is varied in every other way. Contreras recounts experiences from throughout his life, thus presenting a historical perspective of both the avifauna and birding in Oregon. The type of birding also varies, from hurried big days to relaxed outings, from chasing rarities to scientific surveys. And we are taken beyond the state line a few times as we accompany the author to Alaska, Arizona, and Texas.

Reading about someone else’s birding can be tedious at best. But Contreras does a good job of keeping things interesting and engaging the reader. The experiences are presented as discrete vignettes rather than a continuous narrative, which helps make Afield a very quick read. But this is not an entirely good thing, as it also highlights the book’s main flaw – it’s too short. At only 144 pages, it feels too brief. I would have loved some more details on the excursions, or maybe for a few more to be included.

Finally, ten very nice paintings by Ramiel Papish have been included (eleven if you include the cover). At least, they seem to be very well done, since they are reproduced in black-and-white. In color, they would have been far more impressive and useful for a reader unfamiliar with any of the birds shown. As they are, they certainly don’t hurt anything, but I don’t see them as adding much value.

Recommendation

Engaging and well written, Afield: Forty Years of Birding the American West should appeal to readers who relish birding tales, along with those interested in Oregon’s birding scene.