Description

March 2020: Stephen Moss’s Somerset garden is awash with birdsong: chiffchaffs, wrens, robins and a new arrival, the blackcap, all competing to sing as the season gathers pace. Overhead, buzzards soar and ravens tumble, apparently as delighted as he is to herald the new season…But this Spring Equinox is unlike any other. As the nation stumbles toward a collective lockdown, Stephen begins to observe and record the wildlife in his immediate vicinity, with his fox-red Labrador, Rosie, as his companion on his daily exercise. As old routines fall away, and blue skies are no longer crisscrossed by contrails, they discover the bumblebees, butterflies and birdsong on their patch. This evocative account underlines how an unprecedented crisis has changed the way we relate to the natural world, giving us hope for the future at perhaps the darkest time in our lives. And it puts down a marker for the ‘new normal’: the many species around us, all enjoying, for once, a land less lived in than usual by humankind.

Publisher Review

“A beautiful memoir of life and wildlife from one of the UK’s finest nature writers.” Chris Packham; Praise for previous work: “An absorbing account . . . very heartening”. Anna Pavord, Sunday Times; “In simple, lucid prose Moss maps out how ornithology has evolved from a specialist interest for a tiny minority.” Mark Cocker; “Energetic and uplifting.” Jonathan Drummond, Times Literary Supplement; “Moss seeks out Britain’s hidden corners where wildlife survives against the odds.” National Geographic Traveller;”Moss … is a good storyteller, seamlessly linking biological fact with the anecdotal.” Patrick Galbraith, The Times; “An enchanting book… elegiac.” Express, Peter Burton; “An affectionate, enterprising book.” Sunday Times; “Stephen Moss unlocks a trove of folk history . . . Not a page goes by without at least one diverting fact.” The Times; “Entertaining and exciting . . . Moss takes us on a series of wonderful diversions into bird etymology, tracing the tracks of avian meaning.” Philip Hoare, New Statesman; “The book really comes alive when Moss heads out into the field to see the birds . . . Beautifully described.” Spectator; “An absorbing account . . . very heartening”. Anna Pavord, Sunday Times; “The glass is one hundredth full rather than 99 hundredths empty … [a] hopeful stance supported by delightful observations.” Caspar Henderson, Spectator; “In simple, lucid prose Moss maps out how ornithology has evolved from a specialist interest for a tiny minority.” Mark Cocker; “Energetic and uplifting.” Jonathan Drummond, Times Literary Supplement; “An intriguing natural history story.” BBC Wildlife; “Moss seeks out Britain’s hidden corners where wildlife survives against the odds.” National Geographic Traveller; “Moss explores some very unlikely oases for hard-pressed wildlife in the UK.” New Scientist; A wildlife rich tour of the in-between habitats of the British Isles. Simple Things; “Moss … is a good storyteller, seamlessly linking biological fact with the anecdotal.” Patrick Galbraith, The Times; “An enchanting book… elegiac.” Express, Peter Burton; “An affectionate, enterprising book.” Sunday Times; “Stephen Moss unlocks a trove of folk history . . . Not a page goes by without at least one diverting fact.” The Times; “Entertaining and exciting . . . Moss takes us on a series of wonderful diversions into bird etymology, tracing the tracks of avian meaning.” Philip Hoare, New Statesman; “The book really comes alive when Moss heads out into the field to see the birds . . . Beautifully described.” Spectator; “From stone-age remains to modern day skyscrapers, Stephen Moss takes us on an exhilarating journey through place and time, providing a fascinating insight into nature’s relationship with environments created by man.” Mya-Rose Craig, Birdgirl; “Moss’s bible of hidden places to spy wildlife is a welcome addition to our shelves. From London’s city jungle to UK rail corridors, he shows us that rare finds can just be a happy accident in our own back garden.” Wanderlust