Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Headaches: And Other Answers to Bird Questions You Know You Want to Ask

ISBN13: 9780807085745
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Product Description

In 1983, Mike O’Connor opened the Bird Watcher’s General Store on Cape Cod, which might well have been the first store devoted solely to birding in the United States. Since that time he has answered thousands of questions about birds, both at his store and while walking down the aisles of the supermarket. The questions have ranged from inquiries about individual species (“Are flamingos really real?”) to what and when to feed birds (“Should I bring in my feeders for the summer?”) to the down-and-dirty specifics of backyard birding (“Why are the birds dropping poop in my pool?”). Answering the questions has been easy; keeping a straight face has been hard. Finally, it occurred to O’Connor that if he answered these questions in print, he might be able to buy groceries in peace.

Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Headaches? is the solution for the beginning birder who already has a book that explains the slight variation between Common Ground-Doves and Ruddy Ground-Doves but who is really much more interested in why birds sing at 4:30 A.M. instead of 7:00 A.M., or whether it’s okay to feed bread to birds, or how birds rediscover your feeders so quickly when you’ve just filled them after a long vacation. Or, for that matter, whether flamingos are really real.

“Mike O’Connor knows birds—I mean, REALLY knows them. He has been answering questions about birds for years, and he can deliver the straight scoop with a hilarious twist that makes it unforgettable. Reading this book is almost as fun as bird watching, and that’s saying a lot!” —Kenn Kaufman, author of the Kaufman Field Guide to the Birds of North America

“O’Connor’s book delightfully answers almost any question one could ask about birds. I am impelled to declare that the Chesworth pen and ink drawings add a sprinkling of ‘salt‘ to O’Connor’s bird tales. This is a fun book to read, whether nibbled at a bit at a time, or in one large clump.” —New Hampshire Union Leader

“This is quite possibly the funniest bird book ever written. O’Connor has broken the mold of straight-laced bird books.” —WildBird

Mike O’Connor is the owner of the Bird Watcher’s General Store on Cape Cod. His column, Ask the Bird Folks, appears in The Cape Codder, and his writing has been included in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2004. He lives in Orleans, Massachusetts.

Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Headaches: And Other Answers to Bird Questions You Know You Want to Ask

Tags: Don't, Bird, Answers, Questions, Know, Want

5 Comments

December 18th, 2009 - by Mary Bach

This book answers all kinds of birding questions with a humorist twist. I bought extra copies to give to friends.
Rating: 4 / 5
Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Headaches: And Other Answers to Bird Questions You Know You Want to Ask

December 18th, 2009 - by A. Tony

This book is so funny. If you are a birder or just want a good laugh check this book out. Mike O’connor writes seriously with dead pan humor. More than once did I bust out laughing at his replies to the birders question.
Rating: 5 / 5
Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Headaches: And Other Answers to Bird Questions You Know You Want to Ask

December 18th, 2009 - by J. Scardilli

This is an easy read… yet very enjoyable with great ideas for backyard birders! I actually laughed out loud at some of the quips. It is a book that you can read a few sections when you get a chance, then come back to it over a period of time. I have ordered several for gifts for friends and family who love birdwatching so they can share in the reading experience! Definitely recommended!
Rating: 5 / 5
Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Headaches: And Other Answers to Bird Questions You Know You Want to Ask

December 18th, 2009 - by M. Jeong

I laughed out loud several time through the read. Thanks, Mike O’Conner you’re right on point. We Birders are a real crazy lot…
Rating: 5 / 5
Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Headaches: And Other Answers to Bird Questions You Know You Want to Ask

December 18th, 2009 - by Roberta Beyer

Mr. O’Connor runs a bird store on Cape Cod and writes a column about birds and birders for the local paper there, The Cape Codder. He answers the questions that people who shop in birder stores ask people who run the stores. Often the people who ask the questions are new to birding. Sometimes they are eighty years old and sometimes they are five years old. We’ve never heard a bad question from such people. How do I get birds to come to my backyard? What do I feed them? What kind of birds like peanuts? What is this “thistle” or “nyjer” you sell? If I leave my hummingbird feeders up too long will that keep the hummingbirds from migrating? How do I keep squirrels off my bird feeders? What are the best binoculars? What was that little brown bird that I had at my feeder last weekend? Mr. O’Connor answers them. He answers with wit and verve. His answers are accurate, humane and wise. This is a great book for anyone you know who is beginning to know birds. It is even a good book for a birder of any level. Best of all, you’ll laugh out loud and heaven knows, we could all use some of that these days.
Rating: 5 / 5
Why Don’t Woodpeckers Get Headaches: And Other Answers to Bird Questions You Know You Want to Ask

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