Alfie and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe

Carl Safina

Jan 2024 · Highbridge Audio · Narrated by Carl Safina

About this audiobook

When ecologist Carl Safina and his wife, Patricia, took in a near-death baby owl, they expected that, like other wild orphans they'd rescued, she'd be a temporary presence. But Alfie's feathers were not growing correctly, requiring prolonged care. As Alfie grew and gained strength, she became a part of the family, joining a menagerie of dogs and chickens and making a home for herself in the backyard. Alfie & Me is the story of the remarkable impact this little owl would have on their lives. The continuing bond of trust following her freedom-and her raising of her own wild brood-coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a year in which Carl and Patricia were forced to spend time at home without the normal obligations of work and travel. Witnessing all the fine details of their feathered friend's life offered Carl and Patricia a view of existence from Alfie's perspective. One can travel the world and go nowhere; one can be stuck keeping the faith at home and discover a new world. Safina's relationship with an owl made him want to better understand how people have viewed humanity's relationship with nature across cultures and throughout history. Interwoven with Safina's keen observations, insight, and reflections, Alfie & Me is a work of profound beauties and magical timing harbored within one upended year.

Ratings and reviews

Award-winning behavioral ecologist and writer Carl Safina did not disappoint in this story of a bedraggled baby owlet rescued from the brink of death who becomes part of his family. Safina alternates between Alfie’s story and contemplations of how human beliefs about and attitudes toward nature have changed over time and across cultures. Safina narrates the audiobook himself and does a great job. I recommend this story to nature lovers and those with an interest in ecology and philosophy.

20% on owls and 80% on philosophy, nature, history and religion. Read some other books to know more about owls. I like his books but not this one.

About the author

Carl Safina is a professor at Stony Brook University and the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" fellowship. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Time, the Guardian, Audubon, and National Geographic. He lives in East Setauket, New York.