Much like nature itself, Seán Ronayne has resolutely overcome anything thrown at him: a near-death experience as a teenager with septicaemia and meningitis, an autism diagnosis in his early thirties, and struggling his entire life to find a place he was comfortable with in the world, except when surrounded by nature.
It’s easy to find yourself misunderstood by humans. Take the magpie. Ronayne writes of the lazy belief that the bird is attracted to stealing shiny objects: “There was a study published in 2014 debunking this myth. Humans pay no heed when (magpies) pick up non-shiny, non-valuable objects. The myth has come from the observation bias of humans.”
In his own way the Cork man has battled the wrong-headed notions of others, with his crippling shyness and awkwardness in social settings causing a rush to judgment on his character. But many are taking the right kind of notice now, finding solace in his work identifying birds, their sounds and songs. Ronayne has never allowed his otherness to get in the way of pursuing a dream career in ornithology. Or embarking on a project to sound-record all of Ireland’s regularly occurring birds (just three more to record out of almost 200), the focus of an award-winning documentary, Birdsong, earlier this year. It makes sense a book should follow, and Nature Boy is an earnest and uplifting blend of biography, almanac, travelogue, and conservation call-to-arms; the photos, and illustrations by Robert Vaughan, are simply beautiful.
Aside from what you learn and unlearn about birds with the wealth of information Ronayne relays, a charming element of Nature Boy is in how he is unafraid to reveal the doubts he always carries with him, hoping a reader relates to this on a personal level, even now when he will be considered “successful” in the eyes of others. You feel grateful for this openness, and it reminds a reader of the brilliant young mind behind Diary of a Naturalist, Dara McAnulty.
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“My house was once an acorn,” wrote Roger Deakin in Notes from Walnut Tree Farm. Strength can grow from small things. Birds have given Seán Ronayne the structure to build his life into a place he now feels comfortable in, and calls his own. It’s nice of him to throw open the doors and welcome us in.
