Recent praise for Lost Among the Birds:
“Neil Hayward’s prose is disarmingly honest—I found it piercing and fascinating, with its seamless blend of memoir, gentle wisdom and bird-revelations. This is a nature cure for bird-geeks: a hilarious adventure that reignites the will to live, to love and to follow the bird-balm of The Big Year.” –Miriam Darlington, author of Otter Country
“Hayward is a remarkable observer—not only of birds and landscapes, but also of human nature. His keen insights and candid introspection, with a fine balance of humor and poignancy, elevate this story to something more than a mere birding tale, and you don’t have to know a thing about birds to love this book.”—Kenn Kaufman, author of Kingbird Highway
“It’s a delight to join brilliant, witty Neil Hayward on this year-long, madcap dash through some of America’s weirdest, wildest places. And while chasing rare birds yields excitement aplenty, his story shares even more: these are transformative journeys. The author’s feathered quarry give his broken life wings.”—Sy Montgomery, author of Birdology
“A quirky, entertaining and often surprising account of how one man pitted himself against the ultimate North American birding challenge – and won! “—Stephen Moss, naturalist and author of Birds Britannia
“…With precise, lovely descriptions of birds and dry, self-deprecating wit, Hayward recounts his journey through unfamiliar terrain both personal and geographical. Birders and non-birders alike will relate to his search for fulfillment and his delight in “the simple joy that comes from seeing the unexpected…”” – Katie Noah Gibson, Shelf Awareness
“Most of us will never attempt a Big Year; Lost Among the Birds will make you glad that Neil Hayward did.”–Nicholas Martens, Hipster Birders.
“This is one of the best narrative birding books I’ve read in recent years…his writing is lyrical.”–Donna Schulman, 10,000 Birds.
“refreshing openness and … dry English wit”–Susan Pagani, Sierra.
Big Year Press
The Big Year generated quite a bit of interest. Here’s some of the media buzz…
- Boston Globe (front page), “Cambridge man sets bird-watching record,” Jan 2, 2014
- USA Today: “Birding makes big tracks in 2013 and bags young fans,” March 14, 2014
- Audubon: Feature article “King Bird,” July-August 2014
Audubon Magazine article, “King Bird”.
- Grand Forks Herald, “Boston birder visits Grand Forks on ‘Big Year’ quest“, Nov 17, 2013
- Homer News, “Birder achieves Big Year in Homer“, Dec 31, 2013
- Alaska Dispatch, “Homer bird puts record-breaking ‘Big Year’ over the top“, Jan 2, 2014
- Radio Ireland, Mooney Goes Wild, Jan 10, 2014
- Ray Brown’s Talkin’ Birds, “Big Year Champ Neil Hayward“. Syndicated radio program. , Feb 23, 2014
- American Birding Association – Announcement of the 2014 Bird of the Year. Video.
