This is Bird Note.

Growing up, Murray Burgess loved to read, draw, and tell stories.

And that passion stayed with her as her love for birds grew too.

Now, as an urban ornithologist, Murray wants to inspire a new generation to connect with nature.

I had a couple of books about animals, but I didn't have anything that represented who I was

as a person. I'm a black woman. And I wanted to create something that encourages diverse

groups of people that they can also do these activities and just getting children into

the path that I was kind of getting into. So she wrote a children's book about a little girl

named Sparrow. Sparrow is a super curious five-year-olds. She lives in a suburban kind of neighborhood

and she loves to go outside and color and look at all of the birds

and nature around her. In her whimsical backyard adventures, Sparrow meets birds that many

folks will be familiar with, like mockingbirds, cardinals, and of course, sparrows.

The book, called Sparrow Loves Birds, also includes a short field guide for birders of all ages.

I wanted to include some like tips and tricks for getting people started and wanted it to be as simple as they can just bring the book that

they already have and go outside with no other equipment necessary.

Murray hopes Barrow will encourage families to get outside and enjoy birds together wherever

they are. You can learn more at our website, birdnote.org. I'm Jonies Franklin.