Wonderland: A Year of Britain’s Wildlife is a book by two esteemed nature writers. Designed to inspire a love of all creatures, it shows wildlife that share our planet in every corner of the British Isles – from blackbirds, beavers and beetles to tawny owls, natterjack toads and lemon slugs!
Don’t encourage birds if you live with cats (keep them inside at dawn and dusk, when birds are likely feeding). Avoid tin or coloured birdhouses (these overheat and attract predators. Don’t play birdsong near birds (makes them vulnerable to predators). Avoid facing indoor foliage to outdoor gardens, to help stop birds flying into windows.
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.
The richest farmland for wildlife includes wetlands, old hedgerows, meadows and woodland. The open fields themselves are home to skylarks and brown hares. Birds such as yellowhammers, tree sparrows, corn buntings, lapwings and grey partridges are always good to find.
In winter, find a weedy field and you may see twittering flocks of finches and buntings. In some agricultural landscapes, wintering lapwings and golden plovers find a home. And gaggles of pink-footed geese fly in from Iceland, to grub for beet and potatoes under wide open skies.
Brett Westwood is an award-winning producer and naturalist, who has presented on Tweet of the Day and also consults for BBC Springwatch and Autumnwatch. Stephen Moss is one of England’s top nature writers, and teaches nature writing at Bath University.
A beautifully written love letter to the astonishing variety of Britain’s wildlife. A nice one to keep by your bedside, suggesting what to look out for tomorrow. Sunday Times
The perfect guides for a seasonal tour. Inspired, friendly and blessed with apparently limitless knowledge. Peter Marran
A Book on How to Watch Native Wildlife
Watching Wildlife shows that when you watch wildlife, 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. He is the author of several species-specific books, and a lovely quartet of books by season too.
