Off the Shelf: New books from the bird realm
Published 2:30 am Wednesday, April 1, 2026
By Emily Sly
for the Sequim Gazette
The new Sequim Library opened in March and features beautiful mountain views from the site where the library has been located since the early 1980s. The redesigned space has large south-facing windows, outdoor seating and a stage that provide open vistas. Native plants including serviceberry and camas attract birds, and visitors may hear birdsong, see overhead flights or spot hummingbirds among the flowering bushes.
For serious birders and casual bird fans, the library offers field guides, a NOLS Gear birding kit and bird call recordings. Beyond identification tools, the collection has many books that explore birds through storytelling. Here are some recent publications featuring drama, mayhem and love in the bird realm. (Summaries are adapted from the publishers.)
Birdbrains: A Lyrical Guide to Washington State Birds edited by Susan Rich: Part guide, part literary celebration, this illustrated anthology focuses on 107 Washington birds with poetry, prose and memoir contributed by a wide range of writers. Art by Hiroko Seki appears alongside bird notes and fun facts by Stephanie Delaney, who describes calls, mating rituals, habitat, migration and more.
The Bird with Flaming Red Feet: Seasons with an Uncommonly Common Seabird by Maria Mudd Ruth: This book is a lively and heartfelt natural history of the Pigeon Guillemot, a charismatic seabird with a story to tell. The often-overlooked bird plays an outsized role in marine ecosystem health, earning its status as an “indicator species,” especially for Washington’s Puget Sound.
The author is the keynote speaker at this year’s Olympic Birdfest at the Dungeness River Nature Center. Learn more at olympicbirdfest.org.
We Should All Be Birds by Brian Buckbee with Carol Ann Fitzgerald: Heartbroken after the loss of the love of his life and increasingly isolated by a mysterious illness, Brian Buckbee is unaware that an injured baby pigeon, who he names Two-Step, will change his life. He takes in more injured birds, turning his home into a madcap rescue center. As Two-Step heals and nears release, Brian’s condition worsens, forcing him to confront what comes next.
The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer: A tale of obsession, greed, ambition and a crime that remained unsolved for a hundred years. In 1926 Yorkshire, men are lowered down cliffs to steal seabird eggs. The most beautiful are sold for large sums. A small girl, penniless and neglected, retrieves one such treasure that will alter the course of her life. A century later, a robbery exposes the world of egg trafficking and a long-lost collection.
The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne by Chris Sweeney: The fascinating and remarkable true story of the world’s first forensic ornithologist, Roxie Laybourne, who broke down barriers for women, solved murders and investigated deadly airplane crashes with nothing more than a microscope and a few fragments of feathers.
More Information
Visit the Sequim Library at 630 N. Sequim Ave., open Monday–Thursday 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Friday 9 a.m.–6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Browse the catalog at NOLS.org.
