The phrase “birds of a feather flock together” is especially true in California, and those birds come in many different feathers.
From sparrows and doves to hawks and owls, to gulls and pelicans, California is filled with winged, beaked and feathered creatures that have casual bird enthusiasts to full-on ornithologists reaching for their phones. Author and illustrator Sophie Wood Brinker, who grew up in Santa Cruz, has chronicled 25 native bird species in Heyday Books’ latest installment of its “Birds of California” series, “Birds of Santa Cruz.”
She will be diving into these fascinating fowl during a discussion with Lisa Olivera at 4 p.m. June 27 at the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station. More information at ptreyesbooks.com.
Wood Brinker, a graduate of Santa Cruz High School, has had an interest in birds for as long as she can remember.
Bolinas resident Sophie Wood Brinker is the author and illustrator of Heyday Books’ “Birds of Santa Cruz.” (Courtesy of Sophie Wood Brinker)
“My parents would take me kayaking, and we always had a field guide laminated and printed out when we would kayak,” she said. “That was one of my first entry points into birding.”
Wood Brinker studied peace and global studies at Earlham College in Indiana and graduated from the science illustration program at CSU Monterey Bay, where she fell in love with illustrating science and wildlife, particularly birds. Now residing in Bolinas, she was connected with Marthine Satris, associate publisher at Heyday. The Berkeley-based publishing company publishes books on a variety of topics, including social justice and the environment. One of its latest endeavors is the “Birds of California,” a guide to birds that make up different parts of the Golden State. Past books have included “Birds of Berkeley,” “Birds of Lake Merritt,” “Birds of Point Reyes” and “Birds of the California Delta.”
“It’s been so wonderful to work with Heyday,” Wood Brinker said. “They’re so incredible to work with.”
Throughout “Birds of Santa Cruz,” Wood Brinker details about 25 different species of birds Santa Cruzans have frequently seen wading through watersheds, congregating at beaches or simply perched in trees. Among the featured birds are California quail, turkey vultures, Anna’s hummingbirds, red-shouldered hawks, mourning doves, violet-green swallows, Brandt’s cormorants and great blue herons.
(Courtesy of Heyday Books)
Picking a favorite is nearly impossible for Wood Brinker, but she found the brown pelican particularly fascinating, especially their diving techniques. When they see fish from above, they fold in their wings and shoot downward while special pockets along their necks and stomachs inflate to help break their falls. She also likes their “community organizing” abilities.
“I think about the way that they fly together and also the community organizing that happened to save them from (synthetic pesticide) DDT,” she said.
Wood Brinker took a lot of inspiration for the illustrations from her grandmother’s birding books.
“She lived in Pacific Grove, and connecting to her through writing this book was really special,” she said. “She passed away, and it felt really meaningful to look through her notes in the birding books as a way to write this book.”
Additionally, Wood Brinker relied on advice from birdwatching friends and she did an illustrative exhibit for the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History called “From the Shoreline to the Summit,” depicting the various habitats throughout Santa Cruz County and wildlife therein, and worked off that.
Wood Brinker hopes readers will learn more about the different types of birds they see every day.
“I wanted writing this book to be a connecting point for people to get to know their winged neighbors,” she said. “Birds are really such a beautiful part of our everyday lives, even if we’re running errands or sitting on a bench on West Cliff or looking out a window, we’re always in a relationship with birds.”
— Lifestyles Editor Colleen Bidwill contributed to this report.
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