When I first took up bird watching many years ago, one of the first books I bought to learn more about it was a copy of Margaret Morse Nice’s 1939 classic “The Watcher at the Nest” (I’m nothing if not anachronistic). Among the many things I learned from reading it are counted two qualities that have largely defined my life as a naturalist ever since: an appreciation of taking the time to make careful observations of even the most common species in the most everyday surroundings, and a deep love for the classic books of natural history.