The Bird with Flaming Red Feet—Seasons with an Uncommonly Common Seabird, by Maria Mudd Ruth
Meeting IN PERSON:
Tuesday, June 23rd @ 4:30 PM
Rose Garden at Squaxin Park
Our beloved longtime SSBA member and author Maria Ruth will be celebrating the release of her new book on April 15th, and we want to celebrate with her by reading and chatting about The Bird with Flaming Red Feet!
Description from the publisher:
The Bird with Flaming Red Feet is a lively and heartfelt natural history of the Pigeon Guillemot, a charismatic seabird with a surprising story to tell. Found along the coast around the North Pacific and from Alaska to Southern California, this talkative and often-overlooked bird plays an outsized role in the health of marine ecosystem–earning its status as an “indicator species,” especially for Washington’s Puget Sound.
Author and longtime volunteer surveyor Maria Mudd Ruth weaves together science, field observation, and community storytelling in this engaging exploration of one bird’s life. Drawing from over a decade of beachside study, she dives deep into the guillemot’s behaviors, quirky traits, and ecological relationships. Along the way, readers meet the passionate citizen scientists who have built a unique community around caring for and studying this vibrant bird.
Bridging the gap between field guide and memoir, The Bird with Flaming Red Feet invites readers to slow down, look closely, and reconnect with the wild places–and creatures–just outside their door. It’s a joyful call to observation, stewardship, and a deeper understanding of our coastal world.
We will be meeting IN PERSON at the Rose Garden at Squaxin Park on Tuesday, June 23rd, at 4:30 PM. Feel free to bring a snack if desired! We will try to have our meeting at one of the picnic tables, covered if it’s drizzly, but we may need to relocate to a nearby location if it’s pouring down rain and no covered areas are available.
To receive the questions we will be discussing and more information as needed, please email Rachel at lightningdash09@yahoo.com to be put on the mailing list. Discussion questions will be emailed out closer to our meeting date.
