What Birds Teach Us by WA Hewson – Book Review

What Birds Teach Us by WA Hewson is a very unique book with the clever idea of highlighting particular traits of birds and finding parallels in our own lives. Each Australian bird species featured in the book has some interesting information about their behaviour with a few words on what we can learn from these birds and how to incorporate that into our own lives and also why it is important for us that we should do so.

For instance, we can learn trust by watching our parents love, care and nurture us, just like the sea eagle chicks who trust their parents when they are pushed out of the nest to fly for the first time, trusting their parent will catch them in time should they not be able to fly.

Another example is that we can strive to remain happy even when things aren’t going our way and be grateful for what we do have, just like the golden whistler who continues singing beautiful melodies even when food may be scarce and they are undergoing hard times.

We can also learn patience by observing the white-faced heron, who is often spotted standing in shallow water, watching and waiting ever so patiently for the right time to act on its next meal as it swims by. In today’s stressful times, it can be very beneficial for people to slow down and use some self-control, and simply wait until the time is right to have what you want instead of pushing the limits to get what you want right now and put yourself in a worse situation.

These are the things that birds teach us and they are thought provoking indeed.

It is obvious from reading the book that the author, Mr Hewson,  has a passion for Australia’s diverse birdlife as this clearly comes across in the knowledgeable information he imparts about each species of bird. Hewson’s knowledge in family counselling also shows in the insightful comments he makes about each bird’s behaviour and how we can be like them. The book is also stunningly illustrated with big, beautiful photographs of Australia’s native birds taken by the author himself.

This is definitely a book to treasure and share with your children and grandchildren and is money well worth spent. I have had this book for about a year now, and I still like to get it out on occasion and flip through the pages and pictures.

Visit the author’s website for more information about this book and to purchase it, and also check out the author’s birding blog.

Please note that I purchased a copy of What Birds Teach Us of my own volition and the views expressed in this review are my own and have not been influenced in any way.