Ecological writer Satish Kumar once wrote that ‘unless you know Nature, you cannot love her’. Likewise, if we wish to protect England’s green and pleasant land, it’s important to get to know why. People who drop fast food litter, pollute our seas with oil and hunt our precious wildlife, obviously were never taught all about why our land is so beautiful and precious.
Northamptonshire is a quiet reserved county in the East Midlands, home to numerous pretty villages and lots of stately homes. One is the childhood home (and now resting place) of Princess Diana, who lies sleeping on an island on the Althorp Estate. The city of Northampton was once England’s hub of shoe-making and had strong links to the industrial revolution. It’s also the resting place of William Shakespeare’s granddaughter (his last living descendent). He has no living direct ancestors.
watching the kingfishers (on River Nene)
Call of the Kingfisher is an enchanting book by a composer and wildlife recordist, who celebrates all the wild things that live on a short stretch of Northamptonshire’s River Nene, especially beautiful blue and orange kingfishers (with bonus birdsong recordings). Don’t play birdsong near birds, it confuses and can make them vulnerable to predators.
For 40 years, the author has walked beside the River Nene at Oundle (a lovely but little-known part of England where bandleader Glenn Miller performed his final concert, before going missing). For a whole year, Nick gave the waterway all his time, so the more he saw the resident kingfishers and heard their high whistling calls.
Also exploring the history and landscape (from Roman and Bronze Age sites to watermills and centuries-old stone churches), he also watches forest dawns and dusks, listening the precious songs of nightingales. Alongside the background tapestry of greens and browns, sights and sounds – all shot through with blue and orange threads of a kingfisher’s glowing feathers.
Nick Penny took an arts degree at Oxford University, then set up a workshop making musical instrument, and writes and plays the Paraguayan harp. After moving to rural Northamptonshire 40 years ago, he became fascinated by birdsong in his local woods, and began to use the sounds in his own music. He is an inspiring speaker on wildlife and birdsong.
