This isn’t a book review as I wrote the Foreword to this book and so can hardly be unbiased. It’s a very good book – and pitched just right to have something to offer to both the expert and the beginner. And Dan Powell’s illustrations are just lovely.
Ian Carter has reviewed books and written a whole bunch of guest blogs on this site but I wouldn’t say I know him well. But we had a chat at the Bird Fair and that reminded me that I was rather lax in not having looked at the finished article of his book.
The book has a simple structure which works well; there is a chapter for each month (starting with January) which takes us through the year and these have five further chapters (History in Britain, The Red Kite Reintroduction Programme, Threats and Problems, To Feed or Not to Feed, World Status) interleaved among them to cover more general aspects of the history and conservation of this bird.
Although the book is kindly dedicated to ‘The many people who have helped with the restoration of the Red Kite in Britain and Ireland’ it is we (for I am a small player in that number) who should thank Ian for his great efforts over many years to that end. And we can now add our thanks for this attractive and valuable book on the subject too.
The Red Kite’s Year by Ian Carter and DanPowell is published by Pelagic.
Inglorious: conflict in the uplands by Mark Avery is published by Bloomsbury – for reviews see here.
Remarkable Birds by Mark Avery is published by Thames and Hudson – for reviews see here.
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Great to see publishers using artists rather than photographs. They add so much ‘personality’ to this book judging by the demo pages available to see on Pelagic’s website.
The book may have gone to the printers too soon to include the fact that last year a pair of Red Kites nested in Derbyshire for the first time in over 150 years nor that this year there were five active nests rearing seven young. We’ll just have to hope that any wandering juveniles don’t find their way up onto the grouse moors…….
Those wishing to find out about Red Kites could not do better than read this book, Ian has been involved with Kites for many years and knows his subject very well. I loved the illustrations. I also have Ian’s earlier book on the Red Kite, not sure if it is still available or not but that too is very good and for those who want even more ” The Kites Tale ” by Roger Lovegrove gives a complete historical perspective. As a self confessed “raptor nut” I have them all.
I see Kites here in mid Wales almost every day but still look at them all or for them when I hear their call, there is something magic about them.