written by Carl Safina, W. W. Norton, 2023
review by JoAnn Hackos

Carl Safina is well known for his numerous books on animals: Becoming Wild, Beyond Words, Voyage of the Turtle, Eye of the Albatross, and more. But Alfie & Me is a bird book apart from all the other stories. At the peak of the Covid pandemic, a friend found a baby Screech Owl in very poor condition, most likely dragged out of its nest. Carl, his wife Patricia, their three dogs, and a multitude of chickens welcomed the bedraggled infant into their home in rural Long Island.

Soon Alfie was growing, developing flight feathers, moving throughout the house. Safely indoors, but at a dead end. She needed to be outside, hence the chicken coop. But would she be able to go out on her own? That, indeed, is the focus of the Alfie part of this book. I was delighted to learn all about Alfie as she gradually managed outside the house and the chicken coop, learning to fly, still being fed, but learning to capture prey on her own.

But a second theme is also a focus of Safina’s work. He introduces us to the profound differences between Indigenous cultures and our western and European way of thinking about the natural world. The Indigenous people, he tells us, “Strive to maintain harmonic balances among living and spirit beings.” He contrasts this view with the West’s notion that humans are separate from the natural world, allowing us to exploit the natural world for our own benefit.

Being confined to home during the pandemic allowed Safina to follow Alfie through her release into the wild. Amazingly, Alfie remained in the trees and shrubs surrounding the house, moving seamlessly between the wild and the inside. A wild male Screech Owl appears and attracts Alfie’s attention. Soon they begin mating, informing Safina that Alfie is in fact a female. He installs a nest box, and within the year, three tiny baby Screech Owls appear. Carl refers to them threesome as “the Hoo.” We get to watch them fledging, climbing back up trees after a fall, learning to hold on to branches, and wolf down plenty of insects and rodents.

But just as important to Safina’s account are his discussion of the dissociation from nature of the Western culture. He blames Plato for propounding a “stark dualist doctrine.” Plato gave us a creator god, moving humans away from the body, “from Earth, from Life.” The implications of this separation, Safina argues, are why we are rapidly destroying the natural world.

I believe the message in Alfie & Me is an important one. We are attracted, like Safina, to the natural world that Alfie and her family lives in. But we are part of a culture that has despoiled the natural world. He explains that Indigenous culture and Asian philosophies have a very different point of view. He quotes the Hindu Upanishads:

Those who realize that all life is one are at home everywhere and see themselves on all being. In contrast, Western religion gave mankind the responsibility of subduing the earth, ruling over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and every living creature that moves on the ground. Safina believes that we have not done well with that responsibility.

Alfie & Me is an intriguing account of the life of a young Screech Owl that maintains a close relationship to her humans. It is also an important discussion of our relationship with the natural world. It’s one of the best accounts I have read of our responsibilities to the creatures that occupy the world with us. I hope you’ll find it contains a powerful message as well.