Sukumar Ranganathan, Editor-in-Chief, picks his favourite read of 2021

Joe Harkness’ book begins with an attempted suicide but goes on to become a joyous exploration of birds and the pleasures of birdwatching

“One must maintain a bit of summer even in the middle of winter”. That Thoreau quote appears somewhere in the middle of Bird Therapy, a book by Joe Harkness. Each chapter is headlined and by a lovely little sketch of a bird and a quote. It’s a book that begins with an attempted suicide — but the rest of it is a joyous exploration of birds and the pleasures of birdwatching. It helps Harkness exit the dark place in which he is at the start of the book, which doesn’t surprise me.

Joe Harkness’ book is a joyous exploration of the pleasures of birdwatching. (HT Team)

Sukumar Ranganathan (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

I have always believed that birdwatching combines several things that are good for the body and the mind - exercise (the best birding is done on foot), being outdoors (sometimes in the sun), patience, the sheer pleasure of watching birds and their behaviour, the thrill of spotting a rare species, and focus. Even the discipline of maintaining meticulous field notes can be very fufilling (I know some birdwatchers who make and share extensive field notes) . Harkness writes about each, and how it helped him.

I find birding the perfect diversion from my otherwise always-on job. I’m not very good at it but I enjoy the joy of discovery, the sound of birdsong, and the community of birders, many of whom have become family. I must have read close to 100 books in 2021 (I don’t really keep track, just as I don’t of the number of birds I’ve seen. I’ve also stopped photographing birds because it takes the joy out of birdwatching) but this one really spoke to me.