A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
From blackbirds, beavers and beetles to tawny owls, natterjack toads and lemon slugs. Every day of the year, winter or summer, in every corner of the British Isles, there’s plenty to see if you know where – and how – to look. From encounters with the curious black redstart, which winters on our rocky coasts, to the tiny green snowdrop shoots that are the first sign that spring might be round the corner.
And from the blossom-time and dawn choruses of April and May into the abundant noisiness of summer, where days start with hawker dragonflies and drowsy bumblebees and end with glow-worms and ghost moths; to autumn when in the early morning mist of London’s Richmond Park male red deer lock horns in competition for a mate. Nature is always full of surprises – whether it’s the strange behaviour of clothes moths or the gruesome larder of the strike.
Distilling two lifetimes’ knowledge, expert insight and enthusiasm, award-winning authors and passionate naturalists Brett Westwood and Stephen Moss take us through the year, day by day, sharing the unexpected delights that we can experience in our skies, beaches, rivers, fields, forests and back gardens.
‘Vibrant, fascinating, poetic – a year in living things: all the things we love, all the things we wish we could, all the little things we step over and never know – the best of British wildlife from two superb naturalists and writers’
– Chris Packham
“A beautifully written love letter to the astonishing variety of Britain’s wildlife, animal, vegetable and fungal … Although such an elegantly written book can be read cover to cover, it could also function as a day-to-day reference. A nice one to keep by your bedside, suggesting what to look out for tomorrow”
– Sunday Times
“Westwood and Moss are the perfect guides for a seasonal tour of nature’s Wonderland. Inspired, friendly and blessed with apparently limitless knowledge, they reveal the when, where and how of nature. But more than that they offer the here, the gift of making you feel present, sharing the wonder and energy of life all around us, from the mountaintops to the city park”
– Peter Marren
Authors
Brett Westwood is an award-winning producer, presenter and naturalist. He presented the radio series of Natural Histories. His other acclaimed radio series range from Tweet of the Day (winner of Best Radio Series 2014) to Brett Westwood’s Diaries. He is also a consultant for Springwatch and Autumnwatch.
Stephen Moss is a TV producer and best-selling author whose books include Wild Hares and Hummingbirds and The Bumper Book of Nature. The book of Tweet of the Day (which he co-wrote with Brett) won the Thomson Reuters Prize 2014. His TV credits include Birds Britannia, Britain’s Big Wildlife Revival and Springwatch. This is their third book together.