A review by serendipitysbooks
Birdgirl: A Young Environmentalist Looks to the Skies in Search of a Better Future by Mya-Rose Craig

adventurous informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

 Birdgirl is the autobiography of a British young birder, environmentalist and diversity activist, who has traveled to all seven continents, viewed half of the world’s bird species and advocates for environmental and conservation groups to put more effort into encouraging involvement from visible ethnic minorities. I thought she beautifully captured the joys and delights of birding - that magical moment when you finally see a sought after species - as well as the frustrations when, despite your best efforts, the bird proves elusive. However, I do have some concerns about the extreme twitching that she and her family enjoy, and wasn’t fully convinced by her efforts to justify it environmentally. I think it is also important to note the very privileged position she grew up in birding wise - the child of keen birders who were willing and financially able to travel the country and the world in pursuit of birds. Her ornithological achievements must be viewed in this context. This is not to downplay her achievements or deny the disadvantages she has faced, particularly the indefensible racism and Islamophobia she’s had to contend with online, but also the mere fact of being a young brown woman in a field dominated by older white men, no matter how welcoming or encouraging. The other part of this book that caught my attention was her mother’s bipolar disorder and the impact it had on the family as well as on their birding. I thought Craig wrote about this honestly, perceptively and with compassion. 
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