Standing up for Nature
This is, for me, the very best natural history book I have read this year. Now perhaps I ought to mention that I am dining with its author later in the week but we’ll each be paying our own way so I haven’t been bought. It is a delight – and that is in a…
This is the latest book by Martin Bradley (see here and here) aimed primarily at children – and this time he tackles the controversial Hen Harrier. There is a lot to like in this book although I think there are a few snags in it too. Personally I like the illustrations, most of them, very…
I spent Thursday with the World Land Trust who are experts in saving rainforests – working with local people to secure important fragments of biodiversity-rich habitats (that’s not all they do, but it is the thing about their work that I most admire). This book, by a former Director General of WWF International, is a…
There is no such thing as the complete naturalist – that’s part of the fun of nature. There is always more to learn – more mysteries to unravel. And I doubt that Nick Baker would claim to be the complete naturalist. But when you get past the title of the book, and stop harrumphing about…
A book about birds in towns didn’t immediately appeal to me. Birding in built up areas has always seemed to me to be making the best of a bad job rather than a good choice. But I was persuaded by the tales that the Urban Birder tells here. David Lindo – he of the national…
Matthew Oates has worked for the National Trust for ever and is one of the country’s leading experts on butterflies. With this book, he becomes a leading writer about them too. The book is a celebration of British butterflies and is an account of butterfly days going back for over fifty years. Do you remember…
This is another book that I approached with some hesitation. It’s the story of the rescue and rehabilitation of a Peregrine that fell into the sea between the Pembrokeshire coast and Ramsey Island. I wondered whether it might be a bit soft and fluffy for me –…
Nice cover! This is a book about loss – and about joy, and about wonder, and about hope. There’s a lot about the loss of nature over the last few decades and the author mixes this with memories of personal loss. A love of nature can be a support and strength during one’s life. And…
This is a lovely book. I did wonder whether I was going to enjoy the travels of a lone woman through the rainforests of central and South America in search of lots of things including Harpy Eagles – but I very much did. Sarah Woods now works for the RSPB, which I didn’t realise until…
What a hoot! This is a book about owls and owl sounds – it’s a Sound Approach Guide after all. It’s a very smart-looking and well-written book. And I found myself surprised by how much it gripped my interest. The description of the discovery of the new species, the Omani Owl, is a very good…