The moment you see the bird is unique and simultaneously meditative – this is what Zen and the art of birdwatching is all about. The book begins in Antarctica and then turns to landscapes that are interesting for birdwatchers: the North Sea with its mudflats, the island of Helgoland, the wild streams in the Alps, and the city that is increasingly becoming a refuge for birds.

Birds are something magical. Most of them are beautiful or at least look interesting, many sing enchanting songs, they possess an astonishing and still unsolved sense of orientation, and they can fly, something that humans have always dreamed of. Observing these wonderful creatures is fascinating; the binoculars bring the birdwatcher so close that they almost believe they can touch them. But in that moment when you see the bird, truly see it, there is even more: it has something unique, something exciting, and at the same time something meditative. The observer is completely focused on this moment of perception, which pushes aside everything mundane and silences the chatter of thoughts in their head. The author is concerned with experiencing the moment, not with the rarity of a bird. Even the sight of a gray heron gliding through the light and shadow of a forest edge with slow wingbeats, its incomparable gray shifting from light to dark, is unforgettable.