Pigeon Guillemots in Winter

“As the shortest day of the year rapidly approaches, the dark and the cold drive many animals who do not migrate into a state of hibernation, estivation, dormancy, or torpor. Many of us human vertebrates feel the urge for late mornings, afternoon naps, or occasional hunkering down.

While other animals may be resting, hundreds of thousands of Pigeon Guillemots remain on the coastal waters of the North Pacific Ocean—fully alive amid rain, sleet, snow, wind, and whitecaps. The sun has moved these guillemots through the year and returned them to a place where they garner their energy for survival. The guillemots are not migrating, not molting, not breeding.

They are on their wintering grounds, in their pale plumage.

They are diving and foraging for food, resting and roosting on the water.

They are paddling around and flying short distances over the water.

They are in their place, sheltering in place, being sheltered only by the feathers on their bodies.

They are waiting—but not waiting.

They are biding their time, free from our attention, knowledge, and passion.

The Pigeon Guillemots are simply being—being the seabirds they are, as the earth and seas spin, carrying us together into a new year.”

from The Bird with the Flaming Red Feet (Mountaineers Books, April 2026)

Calligraphy of Pigeon Guillemot Vocal Sonogram by Sally Penley

Arriving this Spring!

Yes, it’s been a long while since I’ve written a blog. But a I have really good excuse: I’ve written a book!

The Bird with the Flaming Red feet is the biography of a charismatic seabird known as the Pigeon Guillemot. It’s not a Pigeon and it’s last name is pronounced gill-uh-mott. It’s also the story of what happens when you focus on a single bird species for thirteen years, which is a lot of years for someone (me) who describes herself as “not a birder.” During those thirteen years, I was one of some 250 volunteers collecting data on the guillemots for a community science project focused on these birds during their summer breeding season on the Puget Sound coastlines of Washington State.

With several other volunteers, I counted guillemots, took notes on their behavior, and identified the types of fish they carried whole to their chicks sitting in natural burrows and crevices in our coastal bluffs. Our data is used by many scientists and agencies studying these seabirds and the Puget Sound ecosystems.

While I was collected data—once a week for just an hour—I started wondering what the guillemots were doing the other twenty-three hours a day when they weren’t in my binoculars. I became curious about how they lived during the spring, fall, and winter when we weren’t collecting data or paying any attention to them. And then I became a bit obsessed about the guillemots and increasingly devoted to my fellow community scientists. And I became a birder—a one bird-birder. Through the Pigeon Guillemot, my sense of place deepened as did my commitment to understanding and protecting birds (and all wildlife) and their habitats. I learned to slow down (at least for an hour each week) and pay attention to the clues the guillemots revealed about their lives.

I wrote the Bird with Flaming Red Feet to honor the Pigeon Guillemots—a seabird that has brought me so much joy over the years,—and to share stories of a wildly successful, long-term community science project. I hope readers will find my book educational, entertaining, amusing, and inspiring.

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s some advance praise of The Bird with Flaming Red Feet:

“I love everything about this glorious tribute to the Pigeon Guillemot. Swimming effortlessly between lyrical prose and meticulous research, The Bird with Flaming Red Feet captures the wildness, complexity, and charm of these extraordinary birds. Beyond this individual species, Ruth draws us into a wider story—connecting sea, cliffs, curiosity, care, and community—and celebrates what it means to pay attention, to watch, and to fall in love with the wild world. Readers will emerge enchanted by guillemots and the ecological connections that bind us all.” —Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Rooted, Crow Planet, Mozart’s Starling, the Urban Bestiary, and more.

“I very well remember discovering the funny and interesting Pigeon Guillemots soon after I first saw the Pacific Ocean on aroad trip after college. I instantly fell in love, because who can resist these flitty, flirty little coastal companions—and Iinstantly fell in love with this beautiful, companionable book about them. I wish this book had been written much sooner,but it was well worth the wait.” —Carl Safina, author of Alfie and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe

“Finally, a book about Pigeon Guillemots! Engaging, informative, and imbued with deep affection for its subject, The Birdwith Flaming Red Feet is a classic natural history of a classic Northwest seabird.” —Thor Hanson, author of Feathers, Hurricane Lizards, Buzz, and Close to Home

“You may never have heard of a Pigeon Guillemot, but after reading The Bird with Flaming Red Feet, you’ll fall in love with these pudgy little seabirds. A lovely blend of natural history and memoir, this fun and enjoyable book recounts onewoman’s infatuation, as well as reveals how anyone can make important contributions to conservation.” —Scott Weidensaul, author of The Return of the Oystercatcher, A World on the Wing, Living on the Wind, and more.

“The Bird with Flaming Red Feet shines with creative wordplay and storytelling. Centered on a single species of seabird, the Pigeon Guillemot, this book is about finding joy in the natural world, and the huge rewards that come from learning topay attention.” —Kim Heacox, author of The Only Kayak, On Heaven’s Hill, Jimmy Bluefeather, and more.

“A wonderfully inspiring story of how a citizen science project on a little-known but charismatic seabird transforms the author into a knowledgeable auk enthusiast and seabird conservationist.” —Tim Birkhead, author of The Great Auk: Its Extraordinary Life, Hideous Death, and Mysterious Afterlife, The Most Perfect Thing, Birds and Us, The Wisdom of Birds, and more.

You can pre-order your copy now through these brick-and-mortar and online booksellers. You’ll be glad you did.

Mountaineers Books (my wonderful, non-profit publisher based in Seattle, WA)

Browsers Bookshop (my wonderful brick-and-mortar indie bookstore in Olympia, WA). They’ll even ship a signed copy to you.

Bookshop.org (support your local indie bookstore)

Barnes & Noble (in the book biz since 1971)

Amazon

Coming Up for Air

What a whirlwind over the past six months. I’m happy to provide an update from my last post: Dave Upthegrove won the election for Washington State Commission or Public Lands. This is good news for our state forests and possibly good news for the endangered Marbled Murrelet. Dave’s first action in office was to place a six-month moratorium on logging of certain structurally complex mature forests—the kind these seabirds typically nest in.

Speaking of seabirds, I’ve just finished writing a book on the Pigeon Guillemot, the wild-and-crazy cousin of the shy Marbled Murrelet. My book takes a deep dive into the natural history of the guillemot (pronounced gill-uh-mott) and the work of the Salish Sea Guillemot Network. Since 2013, I’ve been a part of this network, which runs a community-science program focussing on the guillemots during their summer breeding season in the Salish Sea. I’m one of some 250 volunteers in the network who spend an hour each week watching the guillemots at their breeding sites in the bluffs, on the beach, and in the nearshore waters.

Over many summers, I’ve learned so much about the guillemot and discovered a deeply satisfying way of birding. I’ve never been drawn to checklisting, but love birding with a group of enthusiastic, curious, and dedicated Guillemoteers. My book is being published in April 2016 by the wonderful Mountaineers Books.

Yes, Pigeon Guillemots is a detour from my plan to write a book on lakes and lake swimming in Washington. But the guilllemots were calling.

Pigeon Guillemots on high alert. (Photo courtesy of Hillary Smith)