These books are more philosophical than practical (see the native wildlife tag for more tangible ways to help). Wild Treasure is a book by a popular zoologist and TV presenter, how regularly gets up early morning to catch sight of some of Cornwall’s best hidden wildlife. She’ll spend hours waiting for a creature to appear among a hedgerow, scurrying across open fields or taking flight across towering cliffs and sandy beaches. In these brief amazing moments, Hannah is able to see and capture animal behaviour.
In this book, she shares incredible stories, beautiful photographs and often funny meetings with Cornish wildlife, through the course of a year. From spring brown hares boxing in the grass and watching an otter cub hunt in winter wetlands, to witnessing the unique biolumnescence of a glow-worm in summer. This is a remarkable diary and joyous celebration of our nation’s wonderful creatures.
Wild adventures found on every page! Hannah perfectly captures the journey and feelings of watching widllife. Her words encourage you to get your boots on and find these precious spectacles for yourself. Megan McCubbin
Hannah Stitfall is a wildlife presenter and zoologist. She’s a regular digital presenter on BBC Winterwatch and Springwatch and also leads her own seasonal wildlife watching safaris in Cornwall.
Watching Wildlife shows that when you watch wildilfe, you not only learn an animal’s ways, but also look inward. The experience depends on your stillness, silence and full attention. Watching and listening with minimal movement and if possible, staying downwind, so that your present is not sensed.
In this book, he draws us into his magical world, showing how we can learn to watch wildlife well. And what doing so can make for our ability to care for it, and ourselves. Jim Crumley is a Scottish nature writer, whose books often make the case for rewilding.
the wisdom observed by a wildlife rescuer
Animal Wisdom is a fun little guide on what we can learn from nature, to live a happy life. Written by a writer who works at an animal rescue centre in Buckinghamshire, this is self-care gone wild! When life gets you down, lift your spirits with these tiny tips and helpful hints from our friends in the animal kingdom: stretch like a cat, slow down like a sloth, breathe deep like a whale and have the confidence of a lion!
a unique book on watching eight animals
Cry of the Wild is a unique book on eight animals who have had to learn to adapt to the way humans build modern life. A fox (grown strong on pepperoni pizza from East End dustbins) dances along a railway track towards Essex. An orca (mourning the loss of her mother on the Isle of Sky) knows she must now lead the pod as matriarch. At moonrise in a West Country river, an otter floats slowly downstream. Also read of geese ‘flying in from the north with snow falling from their wings’ and life imagined through the eyes of a young rabbit and a white owl.
This book gives us the chance to inhabitat the lives of a cast of wild creatures as they navigate a changed world. By turns tragic and joyful, every story yields fascinating insights into the way our fellow earthlings make their way through life. Charles Foster is a Wainwright-shortlisted nature writer. He is a fellow of Exeter College and University of Oxford and has particular passions for Greece, waves, mountains and swifts.
watching wildlife (over the course of a year)
Wonderland: A Year of Britain’s Wildlife is a highly-reviewed book by two esteemed nature writers. Designed to inspire a love of all creatures, it shows the wildlife that share our planet in every corner of the British Isles – from blackbirds, beavers and bettles to tawny owls, natterjack toads and lemon slugs!
From encounters with the curious black redstart (which winters on rocky coasts) to the tiny green snowdrop shoots that show spring is just around the corner, this book covers everything from the blossom and dawn chorus of April and May to the noisy summer days that start with hawker dragonflies and drowsy bumblebees, and end with glow-worms and ghost moths. And in autumn, meet male red deer who lock horns in the early mist of London’s Richmond Park, in competition for a mate.
what we can learn from wildlife conversations
Eavesdropping on Animals is a book by a Yellowstone wildlife guide, to show you how to learn to tap into animal sounds, and decode the secret conversations happening all around you. Whereas humans once relied on the calls of wild animals to understand the natural world (and their place in it) now this remarkable guide reveals what our ancestors knew long ago: that turning into the owl in the tree or the deer in the gully can tell us important information, and help us feel connected to our wild community.
In this book, wildlife ecologist George Bumann shares fascinating stories and insights that he has gained from leading animal intelligence tours in a USA national park, plus gives advice for readers liviny in any urban, suburban or rural area. You don’t need an exotic location for wildlife encounters: listen and observe creatures in your own backyard, on in local parks, fields and forests.
This book can lead to extraordinary experiences and a profound sense of belonging. Are you read to listen to your wild neighbours? Are you ready to learn how to tell a warning call from a mating call, or a purr of satisfaction from idle chatter? Then this book is for you! Author George has a master’s degree in Wildlife Ecology (and is also a wildlife sculptor).
a charming treasury of 70 British birds
Britain’s Birds is a charming illustrated treasury of 70 of Britain’s beautiful birds. With natural history facts, folklore and literary appearances, the books is a fascinating guide and makes the perfect gift for birders. The book features 40 custom illustrations to help beginners identify the birds.
Don’t play birdsong near birds (can attract predators). Learn how to stop birds flying into windows. Read how to create safe havens for birds (foods to avoid feeding and how to site, buy and clean nest boxes).
Did you know blackbirds may have originally been white? Or the number of times you hear a cuckoo (determines how many children you’ll have?) Or woodpeckers have special shock absorbers built into their beaks? Or in 1958, a puffin was blown inland to Bromley, where he knocked a man off his bicycle?
We’ve given human names to familiar garden birds (Tom Tit, Jenny Wren) because we see them as friends. There were some charming encounters, too. St Francis of Assisi (the patron saint of animals) reputedly duetted with a nightingale. While a blackbird was said to have nested in the outstretched hand of Irish hermit St Kevin of Glendalough. Time and again, gaining the trust of birds was a manifestation of holiness.
Jo Woolf was born in Shropshire and lives in Scotland. She has always had a passion for writing on history and nature, and was invited to be Writer in Residence at Royal Scottish Geographical Society.