[4.5 stars rounded up]

A very enjoyable book that dives into the world of the pigeon guillemot, a playful shorebird that spends its breeding season in the US’s Oregon and Washington coastal bluffs. This book acts as both a breakdown of the pigeon guillemot’s ecology and the act and importance of citizen science in conservation. I live nowhere near the pigeon guillemots (SW Ohio), but I love this bird now. I really commend Ruth’s ability to describe the playfulness and personality that this species has. The guillemots feel like a character in and of themselves (without any anthropomorphization) and you understand why people love them so much. It gives an immediate heart to the story and makes you care about these birds whether or not you’ve ever seen one in the wild before.

Beyond the ecological information about the pigeon guillemot, this book is an ode to citizen science and both the community that develops in it and the pride towards your birds that grows out of it. Ruth interweaves personal anecdotes and her and her team’s own observations about certain behaviors of the bird along with the cited research. The harder facts describe what the most common fish are brought back to the chicks by the parents prior to fledging and what nutrients seem to be the most vital while Ruth’s stories visualize the speed at which the guillemots fly towards their bluffs, the frequency of these deliveries of fish (several times in a half hour!), and the struggle it is to identify which of the very small fish is in the parent’s mouth to record in their observations. I have read books recounting fieldwork/observation work towards animals by many different authors, but Ruth’s is the first to be totally about citizen science.

I like how the book takes the time to include some of the more basic, almost field-journal leaning information throughout the book. The breakdowns of what breeding plumage versus wintering plumage means for migratory birds and the difference between a call and a song in bird vocalization are two that come to mind. I think it fits in well with the author’s call to action about the importance of citizen science that exists throughout the book. I especially love the call she makes in this quote near the end of the book:

“Consider being a "one for all and all for one" kind of birder: One bird, one place, one community, and all the time you need to connect all three in a way that is meaningful for you and helpful to your bird” - Chapter 24

It’s important to get involved with conservation in any way that you can. A lot of the end of the book culminates on how the one hour a week per team of guillamoteers observing the birds and the information gathered during that time leads to direct conservation support towards the birds as well as providing necessary information to scientists in the area studying the species. I felt that this was the most impactful and important part of the book. Though not related to animals/nature, I’ve done volunteer work and I can attest to how important recordable impact is to the person volunteering. It is so vital for people to see the impact of their work and I think this book can really help people see the merit to getting involved in citizen science in that regard.

All together, this is an enchanting book about what most people must see as a simple, everyday shorebird during the summer months in the PNW. It is both a dive into a specific animal and the people who love it and a deeper call to look around at your local natural world and find something to fall in love with and involve yourself in. Highly recommended (also, I have no where else to fit this into but I love the use of the guillemot’s vocalizations as part of the chapter titles. So cute and creative).

Maria Mudd Ruth's The Bird with Flaming Red Feet was a fun, interesting read detailing her experience participating in Pigeon Guillemot surveys along the Washington coast. I have to admit that it was the title and cover that attracted me to this read. I often wonder how someone could write a 200+ page book about a single bird species, but Ruth has done that and it was an enjoyable, informative book that will appeal to anyone interested in birds, wildlife, science, conservation, or general outdoors.

This species is near and dear to my heart as I volunteer educating the public on this and other seabirds along the Oregon coast. I learned so much in reading her book that I will pass on to others!

Thank you Guillemoteers for your hard work on and off the beach to learn more about this beautiful species. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I see these birds where I live and it was a treat to learn more about them. I’m excited for more people to learn about them.