Red-winged Blackbird
I heard it out of the corner of my ear, the squawk I’ve been waiting for. I ran to the window hoping it was real and not a figment of sound.
I know the call of the Red-winged blackbird. Having not heard it since the end of last summer, my ears are perked-up in anticipation. Looking out and seeing the lack of evidence within the empty tree branches, paradoxically, brought me closer to trusting my auditory muscle than doubting it.
I pressed my cheek on the glass, craned my neck upwards and there he was, fluffing out his feathers with gusto in the neighbor’s magnolia tree. Sounds of glee burst forth, my feet gently stamped the floor, like a kid about to receive a treat they’ve been patiently waiting for. You could say the sounds erupting out of me bordered on manic, and perhaps they were. I had been worried. The Red-winged blackbird was late this year; it usually arrives mid February, between the 15th and 20th .
I’m a quiet worrywart. Maybe it’s more like I have a running current of concern about things. I learned how to be vigilant as a kid, and though I’ve worked on trusting that I don’t have to stand guard for myself, it’s a default state that I return to. When there’s a pattern break in the natural world—the delayed arrival of Red-winged blackbirds, mosquitoes in December, missing fireflies in July—I feel a deep-seated fear that all is not right in the world.
In times like these, the quiet worry that the Red-Winged blackbird wouldn’t show up extends beyond the blackbird. That feeling of unease, fear, and uncertainty is something we can all relate to now, even if one didn’t grow up cultivating vigilance.
In the natural world there are some ways to transform those feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness. I can provide food, water, and shelter to help the bird’s immediate survival. I can also plant native plants that support the bird and the ecosystem, or participate in citizen science to provide data for researchers, which in turn helps policymakers pass legislation to protect these living creatures.
For today, the Red-winged blackbird brought joyful tears to my eyes. He just left his winter home and arrived here, declaring with his squawk that is alive and that more life is coming.
Get your copy of Turning to Birds
A paperback edition of Turning to Birds will be released on May 5. The book is available for purchase in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats everywhere you find books.
Turning to Birds in the Wild
A list of my events and collaborations in the United States (Austin, TX; San Diego, Santa Rosa, and Santa Cruz, CA; Oregon, OH; Wellfleet and Provincetown, MA; Manhattan and Brooklyn, NY; Miami, FL) and Europe (Amsterdam, the Netherlands).
I’m delighted to be joining Elizabeth Gray, CEO of the National Audubon Society, and Ramona Schindelheim, journalist and host of the podcast Birds & Nerds, for a special conversation on avian life, presented by SXSW. (To secure your tickets, click on the date heading.)
Save the date for a special conversation with illustrator Walton Ford to celebrate the paperback release of Turning to Birds. The reading and book signing, hosted by Arader Galleries, begins at 6:00 p.m. (Registration details coming soon.)
I’m thrilled to be joining David Sedaris for a few evenings of readings and book signings. Join us at the San Diego Symphony at 8:00 p.m. Attendees who purchase a copy of Turning to Birds will be given priority in the queue for signatures. (To secure your tickets, click on the date heading.)
I’m thrilled to be joining David Sedaris for a few evenings of readings and book signings. Join us at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts at 8:00 p.m. Attendees who purchase a copy of Turning to Birds will be given priority in the queue for signatures. (To secure your tickets, click on the date heading.)
I’m thrilled to be joining David Sedaris for a few evenings of readings and book signings. Join us at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Attendees who purchase a copy of Turning to Birds will be given priority in the queue for signatures. (To secure your tickets, click on the date heading.)
Save the date for the Biggest Week in American Birding. I’ll be doing a Q&A session, a reading, book signing, guided excursion, and judging the tattoo contest. (Full event schedule and standard registration coming soon.)
Save the date for a reading and book signing at Rough Draft Bar & Books, beginning at 6:00 p.m. (Registration details coming soon.)
June, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Suzanne Bocanegra’s Honor, an Artist Lecture will be travelling to The Holland Festival this June. (Full festival schedule and registration details coming soon.)
August 14, North Kingstown, Rhode Island
Save the date! My good friend Victoria Redel and I will be reading and signing books at The North Kingstown Free Library, beginning at 6:00 p.m. (Event details coming soon.)
August 17, Wellfleet, Massachusetts
Save the date for a reading and book signing hosted by the Wellfleet Public Library, beginning at 7:00 p.m. (Registration details coming soon.)
August 18, Sandwich, Massachusetts
Save the date for a reading and book signing en plein air at Titcomb’s Bookshop, beginning at 6:30 p.m. (Registration details coming soon.)
August 19, Provincetown, Massachusetts
Save the date for a special reading and conversation with musician Billy Hough, followed by a book signing, at The Provincetown Bookshop, beginning at 4:00 p.m. (Registration details coming soon.)
It’s an honor to be joining the exceptional list of authors gathering for the 2026 Miami Book Fair. (Registration details coming soon.)
A Note on Graphics
I’d like to mention the delicately rendered illustrations used for our headers come to us from the immensely skilled artist Anna Koska, whose work is essential to the design of Turning to Birds. You can learn more about Anna’s work on her Instagram (@gremkoska).
What a beautiful vigil you kept. There’s something quietly heroic about listening that carefully to the world. And look, your faith in your own ears was rewarded. The little herald arrived right on cue, puffed with pride, announcing spring like a scruffy trumpeter in a magnolia tree.
Your worry turned into a kind of devotion. You noticed, you cared, you welcomed him back. The world needs exactly that sort of attention. And somewhere out there, that red-winged wanderer is probably quite pleased to have such a patient witness waiting at the window.
I love the sound of the red-winged blackbird! And love this way of refocusing that steady, historical vigilance. How this vigil can help “transform those feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness.”