Q&A – Page 4 – Hoopoe – A blog by nhbs

Author Q&A with Dominic Couzens and Gail Ashton: An Identification Guide to Trees of Britain and North-West Europe

An Identification Guide to Trees of Britain and North-West Europe is a fantastic new guide to 89 of the most commonly found and easily recognised trees in the region. Suitable for everyone, from the complete novice to the experienced naturalist, the book contains lively and interesting text from Dominic Couzens, complemented by Gail Ashton’s photographs. These show details of each species throughout the seasons as well as features that are useful for identification.

Dominic Couzens is a bird expert, nature writer and the author of over 40 books. He is also a regular print columnist and writes for Bird Watching Magazine, Nature’s Home (RSPB) and Water Life (WWT). He is passionate about communicating about the natural world and has a particular passion for writing about current threats to the planet and how they can be best addressed.

Gail Ashton is a photographer and writer with a passion for wildlife and invertebrates in particular. Well known for an incredible project where she undertook to photograph 500 UK invertebrates over the course of a year, she is passionate about encouraging everyone, young or old, to observe and appreciate the natural world.

We recently got to the chance to ask Dominic and Gail some questions about the book; about the process of compiling such a guide, the most fascinating things they learned in the process and their concerns for the future of trees in Britain and further afield.

Firstly, can you tell us a little bit about yourselves and how you came to be working together in writing this book?

DC: I am an experienced writer of natural history books and I’ve written a number of field guides, both to birds and mammals. However, in 2021 I came across Gail’s remarkable project to photograph 500 species of invertebrates in a single year. Her fabulous library was the perfect material for an insect guide, so we published An Identification Guide to Garden Insects in 2022. The project was a great success so here we are.

GA: I have always loved nature and one of my favourite ways to be outdoors is in woodland and forest. Studying insects brought me a new layer of fascination for trees as I found out just how many other organisms they support, and just how complex they are. Trees came on the back of the very-well received ‘Garden Insects’, and follows the same, beautiful format and layout.

There are numerous books available on tree identification. What do you think sets your book apart from other ID guides of its kind?

GA: Yes, there are a good number of outstanding tree guides out there – some of which I use myself. But they can be quite expansive and overwhelming, especially for those of us just starting our tree identification journey. This book is a perfect entry-level guide which introduces you to the different ways in which you can look at trees in order to recognise key features.

DC: It’s very different. For a start, while most tree guides even just to Britain have 300 or more species, we have cut this down to about 90. So it’s simplified and entry-level, including all the common wild species and some introduced ones – those that people might see. It is very far from technical and we have tried to make every species interesting and fun in its own right. We have included some really great facts about many of the trees.

I’m always fascinated by the process behind the compilation of such a comprehensive ID guide. What was the most challenging part of writing this book?

DC: Trees are complicated, with all the different parts from leaves to bark. As the writer of most of the text, even though I had a decent grasp of many British trees, it was always a challenge not to forget all the details. The other very difficult task was in selecting the species. We wanted to include all the species people will notice, including such non-natives as Magnolias and Eucalyptus, while including the bona fide wild trees. But we couldn’t find room for all the tricky willows, and in the end we just hope our choice chimes with people.

GA: Believe it or not, the biggest challenge for me was actually finding the trees. It sounds mad, because trees are everywhere, right? But finding that perfect tree to photograph took a lot of research, walking and finding, and then the light had to be right, so I would revisit trees multiple times. Some of the trees were quite difficult to find, such as the Wild Service and Mulberry, so a lot of detective work was required to pinpoint them. I also had to make repeat visits to capture them in all their seasonal phases. There are trees from all over Europe in this book -thousands of miles and hundreds of hours! But those are the lengths I’ll go to get a great photo.

I particularly enjoyed the fascinating facts that you included for each species in the book. Did you learn anything new or particularly surprising about any of the tree species covered over the course of your research?

DC: I learnt an enormous amount. Did you know that each Holly leaf lives an average of seven years, for example? I also love the fact that Monkey Puzzles are essentially adapted to cope with browsing Sauropod dinosaurs.

GA: I became particularly fascinated with the Ginkgo – a unique throwback to the very beginnings of life on Earth; a tree which is neither conifer nor broadleaf, but somewhere in between.

A big part of conservation and land management is knowing what species are where and how many there are. How much do we currently know about the trees present in Britain and their population sizes?

GA: According to Forestry Research, only 13% of the United Kingdom is currently wooded. That’s such a small percentage compared to a few thousand years ago. Our ancient woodlands have all but disappeared, replaced by farmland, urban development and plantations. Veteran trees are our most important, as they support more communities and sequester more carbon than young trees. It’s essential that our remaining veteran trees and woodland fragments are fully protected to ensure the health of our future natural landscapes.

DC: The recent Atlas of British Flora means that we are well covered in these terms. For some of the rarer trees, such as Black Poplars, we know how many individuals there are of each sex.

Within this guide you include information on the months when leaves, flowers and buds might be seen for each species. Do you have any information or a feel for how rapidly climate change is impacting these features?

DC: Trees are a good early-warnings system, and you don’t need to write a book on trees to see that many are coming out earlier than they used to – hazel catkins in December, for example. However, it was very difficult to get any accurate figures for the book because it varies so much from year to year, and we were also covering Northern Europe as well as Britain. However, we certainly got a feel for the potential problems. Birch catkins are coming out earlier in response to warming, but might be approaching the earliest they can cope with physiologically. Oak budburst will affect both the caterpillars that feed on it and the Blue Tits that feed on the caterpillars. On a wider scale, temperature changes will affect the whole distribution of trees through the country, with northern species retreating. We could lose some specialists such as Dwarf Willow, and the climate will also become easier for introduced trees.

GA: I think that trees are more difficult to use as indicators than insects as trees have a much longer generational turnover, and they don’t move; however monitoring the emergence of blossom and leaves in spring and the falling of leaves in autumn is a great citizen science tool to establish changing trends.

Are there any trees in the UK for which the future seems particularly bleak?

DC: There are well known problems for ash trees and to a lesser extent oaks, and we simply don’t know how far their respective diseases will go. But as a warning, remember that the Field Elm, in its various forms, used to be lowland England’s most abundant tree. Paintings by our forebears of the countryside were often dominated by elms – now they are a shadow of their former selves. And as mentioned above, the warming climate will impact upon our more northerly species.

GA: Ash dieback is currently decimating younger adult trees, though there is a glimmer of hope in that veteran ash are currently immune to the fungus. Juniper is in massive decline across the UK due to loss of suitable habitat.

Finally, what are you both working on now? Do you have plans for further books?

DC: We have co-written two books on insects recently: A Year of Garden Bees and Bugs and An Insect a Day, both of which are published by BT Batsford and are narrative-style books.

GA: I am currently working on upcoming books about invertebrates. I have an exhibition of my photos planned, as well as workshops, talks and podcasts.

An Identification Guide to Trees of Britain and North-West Europe was published by John Beaufoy Publishing in April 2024 and is available from nhbs.com.

Author Q&A with Jeremy Biggs & Penny Williams: Ponds, Pools and Puddles

Ponds, pools and puddles are a common sight in our landscape and play a very important part in sustaining wildlife. In Volume 148 of the New Naturalist Series, the authors provide a comprehensive survey of the variety of plants and animal life for which they are a habitat, and discusses the way in which they are used, their importance, and compares their major variations in life cycles. Ponds, Pools and Puddles makes an invaluable contribution to raising awareness of these popular, yet frequently underrated freshwater habitats and gives them the attention they rightly deserve.

Jeremy Biggs and Penny Williams work for Freshwater Habitats Trust, a wildlife conservation charity focused on reversing the decline in freshwater biodiversity. They have been involved in numerous research projects, publications and conferences on the ecology and management of ponds and other freshwater habitats.

We recently had the opportunity to talk to Jeremy and Penny about how they became interested in ponds, whether they think technological advances will play an important role in future pond research and more.

Jeremy Biggs wearing wellies on the side of a large pond looking at something he has caught in a net on a sunny day with clear, blue skies. — Jeremy Biggs

Can you tell us how you both became interested in ponds and pond life?

P: I had a wonderful early experience at primary school: we had a trip to a local pond in Southborough, Kent and caught a Three-spined Stickleback. The teacher brought a couple back to a classroom tank and I watched in amazement as the beautiful azure blue and orange male made a nest and fanned the eggs with his tail.

J: I was interested in wildlife from my teens, particularly birds, but it was at university (Royal Holloway, University of London) that my interest in freshwater was awakened. Crucial for me was an inspirational teacher – the late Dr Nan Duncan – who ran one of the best courses there was on freshwater biology.

I found your definition of a pond interesting as there appears to be so many ways of deciding what constitutes a pond. Can you talk us through the process that you went through to decide on the parameters for your definition?

P: After working on ponds for a couple of years it became clear that we needed an easy-to-use definition, particularly to deal with the inevitable question: is it a pond or a lake? It also had to include temporary ponds, which were hardly recognised in the UK at the time. So, at Freshwater Habitats Trust we went for an area-based definition because that’s easy to measure. We set 2 ha as the pond/lake cut off, as this seemed to best capture the difference between the two. The ‘wet for at least four months of the year’ is included as this is roughly the time needed for ponds to develop a wetland plant community. That means that you should be able go to a basin that’s wet or dry at any time of year and tell if it is a pond. In practice, the lower limit is a little flexible: we use 1m² to include tiny pools and garden ponds, but for practical reasons use 25m² for national counts of ponds where it’s impractical to count every little countryside puddle.

Penny Williams carrying an inflatable kayak by a pond on a sunny day with blue skies. — Penny Williams

It’s clear that the first national pond survey paved the way for gaining a more in-depth understanding of pond classifications, species, ecological preferences and more. What do you think the next step is in gaining an even greater understanding of ponds, and do you think modern, technological research methods will play a big part in this?

P: Current policy, legislation and general awareness of the importance of ponds now lags way behind our knowledge of pond ecology – so although there is still an enormous amount more to find out about pond biology, I think the greatest need is for knowledge that shows the importance and value of ponds for protecting freshwater biodiversity. For example, we need evidence about how high-quality pond creation and restoration can be used, at a landscape scale, to maintain healthy freshwater metapopulations, prevent extinctions and enable the spread of species that may be increasingly isolated by pollution and climate change. This is a real focus for Freshwater Habitats Trust, where we’ve been championing the importance of small waterbodies – and ponds in particular – for more than three decades.

Modern technology will undoubtedly play a part in this: DNA, and eDNA in particular, may be a game changer, although we are some way off from using it for the purpose that I would love: routine monitoring of all waterbodies (rather than just rivers) to get a real understanding of what is happening to freshwater biodiversity in our landscapes and how we can best address that.

New technologies are always exciting but, to be honest, I think the main thing we need at the moment is publicity, publicity, publicity. Widespread knowledge and appreciation at all levels of how wonderful these little waterbodies are.

J: More than a particular technological solution, what we really need is funding for ‘National Pond Survey 2’, led from a conservation perspective and, as we’ve been doing for the last 30 years, generating and testing the ideas that Ponds, Pools and Puddles summarises. There’s so much to learn here: are ponds still declining in quality? What’s the effect of pond management? How do ponds, lakes, streams, wetlands and rivers interact? What about the microbiota which we know next to nothing about (that is something eDNA will help with)? How is climate change affecting ponds?

It was fascinating to learn that there is a much greater variety of species found in ponds in comparison to river communities. How important do you think ponds are in the recovery of nationally scarce or Red Data Book species?

J: The very wide variety of nationally scarce and Red Data Book species found in ponds means that ponds are absolutely vital for the recovery of these species. The special virtue of ponds is that, with their small catchment, we can still find large numbers of very high-quality ponds in the landscape, or create new, near pristine, clean water ponds in areas protected from pollution. This is all much more difficult for streams, rivers and many lakes with their much bigger catchments. There’s no doubt that creating and restoring networks of clean water ponds could put many of our Red Listed freshwater species on an upward trajectory. Indeed, this is one of the aims of Freshwater Habitats Trust’s vision to build the Freshwater Network: to reverse the decline in freshwater biodiversity. This will see us creating a network of wilder, wetter, cleaner, more connected freshwater habitats, and ponds play a big part in this concept.

Delta Pond in Eugene, Oregon surrounded by trees, plants and flowers on the shoreline. — Delta Pond in Eugene, Oregon by Rick Obst, via flickr.

To what extent do you expect climate change to affect the ecological formation and chemical makeup of natural ponds in the future?

P: The effects of climate change on ponds are undoubtedly going to be complex, varied, unexpected and unpredictable. For example, in the Water Friendly Farming project, where we’ve been monitoring the same ponds for over a decade, a clear (but not predicted) result is that shallow ponds are being rapidly encroached by marginal wetland vegetation in dry years, and this vegetation persists so that open water is being lost. However, the effect differs: where ponds are grazed this has been beneficial, sometimes enabling uncommon plants like Orange Foxtail (Alopecurus aequalis) to spread to lovely new poached drawdown zones. In other cases, it has been sad to see little ponds with water buttercups be replaced by just wetland grasses like Sweet-grasses (Glyceria spp) and Creeping Bent (Agrostis stolonifera).

J: Climate change is going to have a big impact, but the effects are going to very difficult to predict. Ponds are so varied, it’s inevitable that their responses will be too. It’s possible to make sweeping generalisations (pollution impacts get worse, many temporary ponds disappear) but there’s a good chance these will wrong. It’ll be crucial to have a good set of observations of what is actually happening to ponds. In the meantime, the priority should be to use ponds to put as much clean water as we can back into the landscape.

What is the most interesting finding that you have come across while researching ponds, pools and puddles?

P: For me it’s undoubtedly been the opportunity to riff on my geological background and delve into the ancient natural processes that shaped ponds in the past – and which still has so much to teach us about ponds (and other freshwaters) today. For example, I love the fact that almost all of today’s wetland plants evolved in landscapes that had already been shaped by grazing and poaching processes for over 200 million years – no wonder many wetland plants benefit from grazing and the presence of muddy ground! And, at a time when many people (including scientists and policymakers) still undervalue ponds as man-made artificial features, some of world’s best-preserved evidence of early life in terrestrial landscapes (the Devonian Rhynie cherts in Scotland which are c400 my) reveal an environment that is full of ponds with the fairy shrimps and tadpole shrimps swimming amongst stoneworts.

J: For me, it’s been the chance to bring together so much information that we simply haven’t had a chance to publish anywhere else. With the amount of time it takes to publish research, we are extremely selective about what we write up in papers. Only the most important results ever make it into print. It’s also allowed us to look at groups we don’t work on so much ourselves (such as the microalgae) and see how these reinforce many of the ideas about ponds from the more obvious bigger plants and animals. It’s also nice to get into the book the truth that many of our biggest and most famous wetlands, like the Coto Donana in Spain, are actually massive pond complexes comprised of over 3,000 temporary ponds!

Pennington Flash Pond through the Trees. — Pennington Flash Pond through the Trees by Ronald Saunders, via flickr.

Are either of you working on any other projects that we can hear about?

J: Freshwater Habitats Trust is really busy at the moment! Amongst other things we are:

– Launching the Freshwater Network: this is our plan to restore freshwater biodiversity taking account of freshwaters, including the critically important small (standing and flowing) that make up most of the water environment but have been largely overlooked for 100 years.

– Developing the network in key regions to protect and restore freshwater biodiversity in some of our most important freshwater landscapes like the New Forest, The Brecks, in the catchment of the R. Thames and in the Yorkshire Lowlands.

– Working with colleagues in Europe and South America looking at pond biodiversity, ecosystem services and climate change as part of the EU Horizon 2020 PONDERFUL project.

– Beginning research on the value of pond buffer zones in a project for Natural England and assessing the role that eDNA can play.

– Creating thousands of new ponds with Amphibian and Reptile Conservation as part of the Newt Conservation Partnership – created for Great Crested Newts but with much wider benefits for wildlife and, critically, monitoring the effects so we can tell whether it’s really making a difference.

– Continuing catchment research which looks at all of the water environment. Fortunately more and more people are realising that in every landscape, small waters are a lifeblood.

– and so many others….

Ponds, Pools and Puddles is available to order from our online bookstore here.

Author Q&A with Tim Mackrill: The Osprey

Persecuted mercilessly in Britain, the magnificent Osprey became extinct in the 1890s. However, the return of the species to Scotland in the 1950s was the catalyst for reintroduction programmes elsewhere, and this remarkable raptor is now an increasingly common sight in our skies. This Poyser monograph includes over 150 photographs and details the distribution, migration, foraging ecology, breeding behaviour and population dynamics of this spectacular bird. It also places emphasis on the conservation efforts across the species British and African haunts, the latter of which has only recently been discovered thanks to satellite tagging technology.

Tim Mackrill holding an Osprey in a field. — © John Wright

Nature conservationist Dr Tim Mackrill completed a PhD on Osprey migration at the University of Leicester and has since worked with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation on various reintroduction projects, including the return of Osprey’s and White-tailed Eagles to England. He managed the Rutland Osprey Project for over ten years and is the founder of the Osprey Leadership Foundation, which aims to inspire the next generation of conservation leaders by working with young people who live along the Osprey’s migratory route.

We recently had the opportunity to speak to Tim about The Osprey, including why he is so captivated by this species, the technological advances that have helped increase our knowledge of them and more.

Your entire adult life, and indeed much of your childhood, appears to have been spent observing and studying Ospreys. What is it about this species that so captivates you?

Anyone who has seen an Osprey will vouch for the fact that they are a spectacular bird, particularly if you have been fortunate enough to see one plunge into water to catch a fish. However, it is the species’ migration that I find so captivating. As I write in chapter 6 of The Osprey, whenever I see a newly arrived Osprey perched beside its nest in the spring, I always think it is rather humbling to consider what the bird might have experienced since leaving its wintering site a few weeks earlier: traversing the Sahara, negotiating imposing mountain ranges, crossing areas of open sea. It could even have flown through the night – its path illuminated only by stars and moonlight – with the urge to reclaim its nest– a source of great motivation to power its way north. The fact that Ospreys are faithful to the same nest site each year, and that we know them as individuals, makes it even more special to see a familiar bird back home in the spring.

Osprey catching a fish in the sea. — Adult female Osprey – The Gambia, by John Wright

In the introduction of your book, you mention that there can be few bird species that are as well studied as the Osprey. What technological advancements over the past few decades do you think have been most influential in increasing our knowledge of this species?

The advances in satellite tracking technology since the 1990s have added greatly to our knowledge of Ospreys. The most recent transmitters are able to log data at very high temporal resolution – as often as once per second in some cases – and this gives some amazing insights into the migratory journeys of individual Ospreys. It has shown how Ospreys are able to adapt their flight according to environmental conditions, and to make very long sea crossings – something that most raptors avoid. It has also demonstrated how experiences on the first migration shape the subsequent migratory habits of individuals, and also how young birds enter the breeding population for the first time.

Historically, the persecution of Ospreys has been a large problem within Britain. Is this something that is still an issue?

Fortunately, this is much less of an issue now. Egg collecting was a major threat during the early years of the Osprey recovery in Scotland, but has declined since the introduction of custodial sentences. Historically, persecution at fishing ponds was a major cause of the population decline of Ospreys in the British Isles, and although the occasional Osprey is still shot, the sight of an Osprey plunging into the water at great speed, and then lifting off a few seconds later with a fish grasped in its talons, is much more likely to excite and inspire people than to create animosity. The success of an Osprey photographic hide at a working trout farm, Horn Mill, in Rutland is testament to that.

Manaton Bay Osprey Family. — Manaton Bay Family by John Wright.

Ospreys appear to respond well to translocation projects. Is this down to the characteristics of their species, or because we have good quality research and evidence to indicate how best to undertake such projects?

Translocation has been a key tool in helping the Osprey recover from the negative impacts of historical persecution and DDT. The first Ospreys to be translocated were in the United States in the late 1970s and in Europe, at Rutland Water, in the mid-1990s. As such, a wealth of information on all aspects of the translocation process has been developed and refined over the years, which means that more recent projects are much better informed than earlier ones. However, it is the species’ own breeding biology that is key. Young Ospreys, particularly males, are highly site faithful and usually return to breed close to their natal site. The imprinting process seems to occur after fledging and prior to migration and so, by moving young birds at around five to six weeks, when they are a fortnight from making their first flight, they regard the release site as home, rather than their natal nest. All young Ospreys undertake their first migration alone, and so as long as translocated Ospreys are provided fish after fledging in the way that wild-fledged birds are provisioned by their parents, they migrate as normal. Then, all being well, they return to the release site for the first time at two years of age.

As a fully piscivorous species, do Ospreys suffer from ingesting water-borne pollutants or plastic waste?

The Osprey is regarded as something of a sentinel species for environmental contaminant exposure and effects in aquatic ecosystems. It was badly affected by DDT in the United States and some parts of Europe. More recently, research in the United States has identified Polybrominated biphenyl ether (PBDE), flame retardants used in thermoplastics, textiles, polyurethane foams and electronic circuitry, as a potential emerging threat to Ospreys.

PBDEs have been shown to bioaccumulate and biomagnify up the food chain, but unlike organochlorine pesticides which have declined in aquatic ecosystems in recent decades, PBDEs have increased since the 1970s. Plastic waste is also an issue, particularly in some of the coastal areas where Ospreys overwinter. It is a sad sight to see a wintering Osprey perched on a beach surrounded by ubiquitous plastic pollution.

Red Kite chasing adult female. — Red Kite chasing adult female by John Wright.

When it comes to the Osprey, where are the gaps in the knowledge? What are the things that you’re still excited to find out about them?

There are still elements of migration that we do not fully understand. We know that young birds use a process known as vector summation (an inherited programme of distance and direction) on their migration, and that adults become expert navigators as they become more experienced, but we do not know the exact mechanisms for this, though factors such as landscape features may be important. Personally, I like the fact that there is still this mystery around certain aspects of bird migration – it adds to the sense of awe that is created by the remarkable journeys of Ospreys and other species.

Finally, what’s keeping you occupied day-to-day at the moment? And do you have plans for further books?

One of the most exciting projects I am involved with at present, through my work with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, is the reintroduction of White-tailed Eagles to southern England. The first pair bred successfully last year and it has been exciting and encouraging to see how the birds are fitting into southern England. Like Ospreys, they take fish from the South Coast estuaries and so there is a wealth of suitable habitat for them. The fact that there are now breeding Ospreys and White-tailed Eagles back on the South Coast of England is very exciting and testament to what a positive, proactive approach to conservation can achieve. I love writing and so I definitely have plans for future books.

A few years ago I also set-up a charity, the Osprey Leadership Foundation (OLF), which works to inspire and enable young conservation leaders. I feel very privileged to have had Roy Dennis, who wrote the foreword for The Osprey, as a friend and mentor for many years, and I hope the work of OLF will help the next generation of conservationists to follow the lead of people like Roy to undertake bold and ambitious projects for nature recovery – we certainly need it.

The Osprey is available to order from our online bookstore.

Author Q&A with Illustrator Mike Langman

Mike Langman has been a full-time illustrator specialising in birds since 1992 and has published a total of 85 books, including Park and Garden Birds and the Guide to Ducks, Geese and Swans, with his work also featuring in many UK birdwatching magazines.

Mike worked for the RSPB at their headquarters in Bedfordshire for nine years after finishing his education at Middlesex Art College in 1983, and his illustrations have been published in most of the RSPB’s quarterly Nature’s Home magazines, on nearly every RSPB reserve, on identification cards, in murals in information centre, and in other outlets across Britain and Europe.

He has been an avid birdwatcher from the age of ten and particularly enjoys birdwatching around his local area in the South West, especially Berry Head in Devon, with his knowledge and expertise regularly sought by local organisations. Mike is also a voluntary art editor for Devon Birds, his local bird society, where he has previously held a number of roles in numerous years between 1994 and 2010.

Mike recently took the time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions about his career in illustration, which mediums he uses to create his drawings and more.

How did you get into illustrating nature?

A love of nature started with walks with my parents and visits to my grandparents – one set keen on birds and the other owned a farm where I could (more or less) have free range to explore. Drawing wildlife came from copying pictures I saw in books of wildlife that excited me, initially big cats but as I watched birds in gardens and countryside I would copy pictures from books of them too.

What are your favourite mediums for illustrating books?

Most of my published work is a mixture of watercolour for its freshness and clarity, but to speed up the process I (like many other published artists) use gouache too, this being opaque pale paint that can be put on top of darker watercolour to create feather edges and highlights etc. A watercolour purist uses the white of the paper to shine through pale areas!

Mike Langman's pencil and watercolour double page illustrations with annotations of a Warbler. — Warbler field sketch by Mike Langman.

How do you approach illustrating a bird you’ve perhaps never seen in real life?

I use whatever I can get my hands on, googling photos or videos (better for capturing character), but I still use skins (dead crudely stuffed birds) held in museums like Tring or even Exeter and Torquay.

How do you record a bird‘s behaviours, and have you seen any unusual behaviours from a common bird?

Yes, as a birder I’m always looking for not just unusual species but behaviours too –– an inquisitive mind leads to a better understanding of the species and I do illustrate behaviour in published work when required to.

What has been your favourite bird to illustrate that you keep coming back to?

That’s a tricky one, but I love seabirds and warblers. I suppose if I had to choose one it‘s the Firecrest for its character and colour – a truly stunning tiny bird. But, I must not forget our south Devon speciality, the Cirl Bunting, and, and I could go on!

Cirl Bunting field sketch in pencil and watercolour by Mike Langman. — Cirl Bunting field sketch by Mike Langman.

How has climate change altered your approach to projects?

I do a huge amount of illustration work from home but I do travel a bit too (although much more locally based than I used to be). At home I’m trying to be as carbon neutral as possible with solar panels, storage batteries, good house insulation and, last year, buying an electric car. When I do travel abroad I do as much wildlife watching as possible – visiting reserves and hiring guides which will help maintain some of the very important and often not so important biologically rich areas.

Do you see wildlife human conflict in your work?

Not so much in the publishing world, but as part of my secondary job as a wildlife guide here in Devon, running walks, tours and cruises, I have witnessed some terrible scenes. Dolphins caught in nets, seals with plastic rings and fishing gear snagged around their necks, jet skis harassing dolphins, fishermen throwing rocks at seals and even fishermen having ‘fun’ catching gulls with baited hooks. Away from the sea we have hedges cut by land owners at the wrong times of year, and housing developments on green land around Torbay in areas I used to watch wildlife...

What bird do you wish you had seen and why?

Pretty much every bird I haven’t seen – but I know that’s not a good thing, practically and in terms of harm to my carbon footprint, and inevitably it’s just not possible. So, I keep it local and look for anything that provides me with a challenge to find, identify and share with others. For more than 30 years I’ve wanted to find a Hume’s Warbler (a small and very rare eastern Siberian migrant) at my local lakes at Clennon Valley in Paignton (where I volunteer as part of the friends group). In December 2023 I did a double take when I heard one calling, ‘Che-wee, Che-wee’. Eventually after what seemed like an eternity I located and watched it, sketched it and shared the sightings immediately with others. The bird stayed around for over a week. I guess I need a new goal now…

What projects are you working on right now?

I’ve just finished the 3rd edition of the Helm Field Guide to the birds of the Middle East and painted its new cover too, which I’m very proud of. I’m also working on some wood etching images (my work completed on the computer!) for Greenspace designs for the Lower Otter Restoration Project.

A collection of books illustrated by Mike Langman can be found in our bookstore here.

Author Q&A with Hugh Warwick: Cull of the Wild

In Cull of the Wild, author Hugh Warwick investigates the ethical and practical challenges of managing invasive species to increase biodiversity. He explores the complicated history of species control over time, while also combining scientific theory and subtle humour, to explain the many issues conservationists face when trying to protect native species from their non-native rivals.

Hugh Warwick is an ecologist, conservationist and writer who specialises in the study of hedgehogs. He has published three books focusing on this species, however he recently expanded his field of study to include invasive species while writing Cull of the Wild. He has previously written for BBC Wildlife, New Scientist, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, is the spokesperson for the Hedgehog Preservation Society, runs courses on both hedgehog conservation, and lectures in creative writing.

Hugh recently took the time to talk to us about his book, including what inspired him to write Cull of the Wild, how he hopes his book will help future conservation methods, and more.

Firstly, what inspired you to write a book on the culling of invasive species?

The very first independent field work I did in 1986 – for the 3rd year project of my degree – took me to North Ronaldsay. My supervisor had a friend who was both the GP and the bird warden on this island, the most northerly in Orkney. He had noted that there seemed to be a correlation between the increase in number of imported hedgehogs (that was the postman’s fault!) and the decrease in breeding success of ground nesting birds – in particular the Arctic Terns. My work was to try and find out how many hedgehogs there were. This turned out to be around 500 – not the 10,000 the Daily Express had reported! The bird observatory organised an airlift to remove the hedgehogs after I had gone and I returned in 1991 to repeat the survey. Since then I have found the collision of ecological study with human concerns really fascinating.

This led me to become involved, rather inevitably, in the Uist hedgehog saga, where the RSPB and Nature Scotland were killing the hedgehogs for the very same reason they had been airlifted from North Ronaldsay. I quickly shifted from reporting on the story for BBC Radio 4, to joining the campaign against the cull, and then doing the research that helped stop it. But while all this was happening, I met a researcher from New Zealand who was telling me that they were killing hedgehogs over there (in the 1860s we sent a load of hogs over to help the colonialists feel more at home) I could see no reason not to kill those hedgehogs.

That apparent contradiction has been spinning in my head ever since and was the springboard for this book.

Close up photograph of a New Zealand Hedgehog walking through long grass. — New Zealand: Hedgehog, by Eli Duke via flickr.

How did you find researching such differing opinions on the subject, and have your preconceived opinions changed over the course of writing this book?

I found this book so very different from all the others I have written. Previous outings have always been with people who are just really pleased to talk – to share their enthusiasm for Beavers or Water Voles or owls. This was the first time where I felt like the initial communication was almost like a job interview – assessing whether I was suitable to talk to. Some people simply refused to talk, others were cagey. I guess I was quite naïve!

The journey of the book is basically one where my head and my heart are in constant debate. I lay out my ‘bunny-hugging’ prejudices at the start. I suppose I was hoping to find that all instances where animals were being killed could be dealt with in other ways.

One of the biggest lessons I learnt, though, was about how people, even ones with whom you have fundamental differences of opinion, share so much common ground. But you will never see that common ground if you charge in at the difference! I love that one of my potentially conflicting interviews ended up with the biggest argument being over who recorded the best version of Sibelius’ 5th Symphony!

In Chapter 1, you discussed that animals are shown to be continually developing to become more like humans – problem solving, making and using tools etc. Do you think this gradual form of humanisation may lead to more equal ‘rights’ between animal species and humans in relation to killing for conservation?

I would not look at this as humanisation – that is slipping back into the human exceptionalism that got us into this mess. Currently the degrees of cruelty we deliver to wildlife is arbitrary, based in large part on language and on the names we give them, even different members of the same species.

We need to recognise that these animals being killed experience pain, joy, fear and hope. If the realisation that different species have the capacity to do human-like things is enough to get this recognised, then that is some progress.

I have been gently eased away from the concept of ‘rights’ for animals and towards a desire to see cruelty minimised. Rights are important and I see their value – but here, I feel the best outcomes will emerge from a utilitarian desire to maximise good and minimise bad. Though that requires we have the idea that these animals, most of whom are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, are individuals and can suffer.

A close up of a Red Squirrel stood on its hind legs on a rock eating a nut it's holding in it's front paws. — Red Squirrel, by Caroline Legg via flickr.

You must have visited many places and spoken to many different people about different species while you were writing this book. Were there any particularly memorable moments or experiences that that have stayed with you?

I did not get to some of the places in this book – time, Covid, money and a desire to minimise flying all conspired to keep the exotic interviews on Zoom. But the adventures I did have were all special.

Heading out along the coastline of South Ronaldsay, Orkney, with Spud – the most handsome labrador I have ever met – was magical. The wind blew, the surf crumped in from the Atlantic, and Spud, well, he followed his nose and we followed him as he tracked down evidence of Stoats.

The Stoat story is so important – it is about speed and trying catch this problem early – they were only found in 2011. But more than the practical, it is also about the buy-in of the local population. If the public are not onside, the conservationists can give up now. So it is about education and communication as much as it is about deciding which traps to use and where to site them.

A close up of a stoat climbing over a dark, wet, mossy log. — Stoat (Mustela erminsea) by big-ashb, via flickr.

In what way do you hope that Cull of the Wild will help future animal conservation efforts?

The overarching message I hope people get from Cull of the Wild is that ecology is both fascinating and VERY challenging when it is part of a conflict. Ecology is not given the level of respect that it should receive. It is always sidelined – economics and politics hog the headlines – yet both of those are but subsets of the wider ecosystem. Without a healthy ecosystem we are on a downward slope to disaster. So, I hope that people will read this book, maybe because they are outraged at the killing, and will then come away realising that ecology is very complex and should be treated with great respect.

I also hope that this book will convince people who hold very firm opinions – opinions that are often amplified by the bubbles in which we tend to linger – that people with differing views may well share many of the same values as themselves. And that to begin discussion at the common ground is the foundation of progress. Argument should not be about winning, but about making things better. Remember, it is quite possible that some of the things you know are wrong. A friend of mine turned up at a conference recently with a t-shirt saying ‘Don’t believe everything you think’. We should be humble enough to recognise we might be wrong.

Are you currently working on any other projects that you can tell us about?

As I write this, the lovely people at the publishers Graffeg are hoping I will stop promoting Cull of the Wild and finish the two books I owe them: one on bats and the other on nocturnal nature. I have another narrative nonfiction brewing – about as different to this book as imaginable. Something which will hopefully bring laughter into our love of nature.

Cull of the Wild is available to order from our online bookstore.

Author Q&A with Chantal Lyons: Groundbreakers

Big, messy and mysterious – crossing paths with a Wild Boar can conjure fear and joy in equal measure. In Groundbreakers, Chantal Lyons gets up close and personal with this complex and intelligent species in the Forest of Dean, and investigates the people across Britain and beyond who celebrate the presence of these animals – or want them gone. From Toulouse and Barcelona where they are growing in number and boldness, to the woods of Kent and Sussex where they are fading away, to Inverness-shire where rewilders welcome them, join Chantal on a journey of discovery as she reveals what it might take for us to coexist with the magnificent Wild Boar.

Chantal Lyons is a naturalist, writer and science communicator. Having grown up in the tidy countryside of Kent, her encounters with the growing rewilding movement opened her eyes to the potential for restoring nature in Britain, and inspired her to study the relations between people and Wild Boar in the Forest of Dean. She currently lives in Cheltenham, never too far from the boar.

Chantal recently took time out of her busy schedule to tell us about her first experience with a Wild Boar, her hopes and fears for the future of their populations in Britain, and more.

First of all, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and what led you to writing a book about Wild Boar in Britain?

Up until my mid-twenties I spent all my writing time churning out unpublishable fantasy and sci-fi novels, alongside a zig-zagging career in the charity sector. The journey to Groundbreakers was perhaps a ponderous one – it started when I went to the Forest of Dean in summer 2014 to research a Masters dissertation in environmental social science. The Forest of Dean was, and still is, one of the few places in the country where Wild Boar have returned since their extirpation from Britain around 700 years ago. I wanted to find out from local residents what it was like to suddenly find yourself living alongside a big, wild, and utterly unfamiliar creature. What I discovered from those interviews astounded me, and I was sure that some established nature writer would soon publish a book about the return of boar to Britain and what this meant for us. No one did. After seven years, I decided to send off a proposal to a publisher who I’d encountered on Twitter, and it snowballed from there.

Could you tell us about your first real life experience with a Wild Boar?

It was a long time in coming! While I was in the Forest of Dean doing the Masters research, I used every spare moment to explore the woods on my own, often following locals’ leads. It always came to nothing. The boar seem to be like cats – you seem to be more likely to meet them the less you want to. But eventually, at the tail end of summer, I went to a spot where I’d heard from someone that a sounder (a family group of boar, which is always led by a matriarch) had been foraging each evening. I heard them softly calling to each other, then there was a rustling in the bracken, and an adult stepped out onto the path to get a look at me. We stared at each other for about two seconds, she gave a belching alarm call, and then she vanished with her family.

Wild boar and 7 piglets lead down on a rocky bank in the Yorkshire Dales. — Wild boar at Bolton Castle in Yorkshire Dales National Park, by HarshLight via flickr.

I appreciated the ways in which you speak about rewilding, in particular the importance of nuance and accepting the unknown. Do you think that uncertainties about the best way to undergo reintroduction projects and their expected outcomes are a significant hindrance to their implementation?

I have heard many a time from rewilding practitioners that the inherent uncertainties in rewilding can make it especially challenging to gain funding, given that projects aimed at restoring nature have traditionally been expected to be able to set clear targets and end-goals. But beyond practicalities like money, I think the bigger challenge is the attitude that reintroducing species for rewilding purposes is too big an unknown, and therefore too big a risk. Of course we should aim to conduct as much scientific research and gather as much knowledge as possible, but we are running out of time to reverse the haemorrhaging of our biodiversity in Britain and globally. To me, it beggars belief that we seem quite happy to continue doing all kinds of things that we know are massively damaging the environment, but reintroducing species? Why, that’s a step too far!

Close up image of two wild boar walking through mud with their snouts and feet covered in wet mud. — Wild boar, by Marieke IJsendoorn-Kuijpers, via flickr.

One part of the book that particularly resonated with me was in ‘The Risks of Being Alive’ where you speak about how, for most modern humans, ‘nothing matters more in life than eliminating all risk to it – even at the cost of happiness’. What do you think it would take for humans to accept more wildness into their lives?

Maybe it’s a cliché to say this, but I think it hugely helps to engage children with nature from a young age, and to continue doing so as they grow up. That of course means ensuring that everyone can access nature.

Beyond that, the question of how to convince people to accept more wildness is an incredibly tricky one, especially in a place like Britain which suffers so badly from ‘ecological tidiness disorder’ (as Benedict Macdonald puts it in Rebirding). The problem is that most of us have not made the connection between our tidy sterilised surroundings and the loss of nature. There is a lack of understanding that the majestically bare plains of Dartmoor or our rolling green fields mean an absence of life; and that you need all manner of species, including big ones, to ensure healthy ecosystems. I didn’t realise this for years. But once you know, you can’t stop wanting to bang the drum.

What are your biggest hopes and worst fears for the future of Wild Boar populations in Britain?

I want the planned, country-wide reintroduction of Wild Boar to become accepted both politically and societally. In the meantime, I hope that the few boar we do have are allowed to thrive. That means more oversight of people carrying out legal shooting of them on their land, and – in the case of the Forest of Dean population – better censusing methods to ensure they are not over-culled (though some culling will always be needed, as the boar currently lack other predators).

What am I most afraid of? That very soon, a disease called African Swine Fever (ASF) which burns through pig populations like wildfire will make its way into Britain. Since Brexit, border controls on pork imports have been so lax that experts think it’s only a matter of time before ASF reaches us. Forestry England is primed to wipe out every last boar in the Forest of Dean if the disease is ever detected in the population. And once they’re gone, it seems very unlikely that they would ever be reintroduced (legally or illegally) again. We will miss a miraculous chance to kickstart the landscape-scale restoration of nature in Britain.

Wild Boar piglets running across the road in a national park park with the sun out. — Wild Boar Sus Scrofa, by Björn, via flickr.

Finally, what is occupying your time at the moment? Are there plans for further books in the pipeline?

I work full-time as a science communicator, which does narrow my research and writing windows! But I am currently working on a proposal for book number two. It’s intended to be something of an evolution of Groundbreakers, picking up a thread that often emerged during my research interviews with people, but which I couldn’t possibly have fitted into this first book…

Groundbreakers is available from our online bookstore.

Author Q&A with Robert Wolton: Hedges

In Hedges, Robert Wolton brings together decades of research and personal experiences from his farm in Devon to explore the ecology, biology, nature conservation and wider environmental values of the hedges in the British Isles. Containing over 300 photographs and figures, this latest addition to the British Wildlife Collection offers a detailed commentary on hedges and their importance in our landscape.

Robert is an ecological consultant and writer specialising in the management of farmland and associated habitats for wildlife. He is a former hedgerow specialist for Natural England, the founder, chair, editor and lead author of the Devon Hedge Group, has been involved in Hedgelink since it began, and has written a number of reports and articles specialising in hedges.

Firstly, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to be contributing to the British Wildlife Collection with a book on hedges?

I’ve had a life-long interest in natural history, even as a schoolboy I was a very keen birdwatcher. Later, at university, I trained as a zoologist with a strong interest in mammals, although subsequently I have been more involved with insects, especially moths and flies. It was perhaps inevitable that I should pursue a career in nature conservation. My passion for hedges was awakened when we bought a small farm in the heart of Devon, my wife, Paula, looking after the cattle and sheep while I went to the office. Initially it was the flower-filled meadows that drew me to the land, but I soon realised that the many thick hedges, full of different trees and shrubs, were glorious and just as special, particularly when I discovered that those small spherical nests I kept finding were made by Hazel Dormice. At that time, 30 years ago, hedges were very under-appreciated in the nature conservation world – there was a gap waiting to be filled and I was able to persuade my bosses in English Nature to allow me to become a part-time national hedge specialist, a role I continued to fill after the organisation morphed into Natural England. Partial retirement gave me the opportunity to write a book on my beloved hedges. I’d always dreamt of having a volume in the British Wildlife Collection, much admiring the series, so when Bloomsbury offered me the chance I jumped at it.

Robert Wolton, author of Hedges, photographed stood by a large pile of thin trees being used to construct a man-made hedge. — Robert Wolton making a hedge.

I tend to think of hedges as being man-made. But is there such a thing as a natural hedge? And if so, how do these come about?

Most hedges in Britain and Ireland are indeed man-made. Some, though, have grown up naturally along fence lines and ditches – these are termed spontaneous hedges and I think they are becoming more frequent, especially along the sides of roads and railway lines. Trees and shrubs, their seeds carried by wind, birds and mammals, can colonise strips of rough grassland remarkably quickly, often protected to begin with by brambles. It does not take many years before there’s at least a proto-hedge present, and after a decade or two it may be difficult to tell it was not planted. Another way hedges have come into being is through strips of woodland being left when land is cleared for agriculture. These are called ghost hedges. Their origin is often given away by the presence of unexpectedly high numbers of trees and herbs characteristic of ancient woodland because they have poor dispersal abilities.

I particularly enjoyed the chapter in your book on the origins and history of hedges. Do you think that the study of hedges can give us an insight into the natural and social history of our country?

Without a doubt. Throughout our countryside, away from the open moors and fens, the pattern of fields, as defined by hedges and sometimes drystone walls, allows the history of the landscape to be read, often going back centuries, even sometimes millennia. We are so fortunate in these islands still to have this landscape continuity – it has been lost over much of continental Europe. In places like Dartmoor, which I can see from our farm, layer upon layer of history can be unpicked through studying the networks of field boundaries, most of which are banked hedges. Some can be traced back to the Bronze Age, 3,500 years ago. This may be exceptional, but even so, most of the hedges in Britain, and many in Ireland, probably date back to Medieval times. They are a hugely important part of our cultural heritage. We love our hedges. This is evident not just in the countryside, but across our villages, towns and cities, in our gardens and parks. Hedge topiary is, after all, a national pastime!

Farmland hedge leading towards a forest at the end of a farm track along the right-hand side of a field. — Hedge, by Damien Walmsley via Flickr.

As you describe early on in the book, there are many different types of hedge, from those that consist of just a single species to very diverse multi-species ones, even ones that have been allowed to mature into lines of trees. Is there a type of hedge that is best for the surrounding wildlife and environment and that we should be trying to replicate or maintain as much as possible?

If you put me on the spot, I’ll answer this question by saying that thick, dense, bushy hedges are the best for wildlife, preferably with margins full of tussocky grasses and wildflowers. But really we should be thinking about what networks of hedges look like, because there’s no such thing as a perfect hedge. Different birds, mammals and insects like different conditions, and in any case you can’t keep a hedge in the same state for ever, however carefully you manage it. Basically, the trees and shrubs are always trying to reach maturity, and as they do so gaps develops beneath their canopies and between them. That’s when laying or coppicing are needed, to rejuvenate the hedge and make it more dense and bushy. A lot more research needs to be done on this, but probably, from a wildlife point of view, at least half of all the hedges in a network, say that covering a decent-sized farm, should be in this condition. On the other hand, from a climate perspective, where we need to capture as much carbon as quickly as possible, tall hedges with many mature trees are best. You can see there are tensions here, all part of the challenge of managing hedges well. Who said it was easy?

A dusty track running in a straight line with hedges on both sides and tall, narrow, straight trees behind the left hand hedge. — Into the Distance, by Dave S via Flickr.

As both a farmer and an ecologist, I’m sure you are more attuned than many to the conflicting needs of making a living from the land and managing hedges for the benefit of wildlife and conservation. Do you think financial incentives are the only way to encourage landowners and farmers to both plant more and maintain existing hedges?

Financial incentives like government grants will always be important to landowners and farmers because good hedges benefit society at large just as much as those who own and manage them. Things like plentiful wildlife, carbon capture, reduced risk of homes flooding and beautiful landscapes rarely bring in any income to offset costs, let alone profit – it is right that they are supported from the public purse.

Still, hedges can be of direct financial value to farmers through serving as living fences, preventing the loss of soil or providing logs and wood chips for heating. They can also increase crop yields through boosting numbers of pollinators and the predators of pests. To some extent, these direct benefits to farm businesses have been forgotten in recent decades in the drive for increased food production regardless of environmental cost, but they are now being appreciated much more as new ways of working the land, such as regenerative farming, catch on.

And we should not overlook the fact that more and more landowners and farmers are prepared to bear at least some of the costs of good hedge management simply because they gain huge satisfaction from healthy hedges and all the wildlife they contain. The pleasure of seeing a covey of Partridges or a charm of Goldfinches, or hearing the purring song of the Turtle Dove, cannot be priced.

A narrow, windy track going through a high sided hedge into the distance in a circle. — by Oli Haines.

Finally, how did you find the experience of writing this book, and will there be other publications from you on the horizon?

This is my first ‘big’ book, and I was apprehensive to say the least when I started writing it, in 2022. But with a lot of encouragement from my wife and friends I soon got into the swing of things. Challenging for sure but personally most rewarding – exploring new facets, checking information and trying to find the best way to pass on my enthusiasm for the subject. Above all, it felt good to share knowledge collected over many years. Bloomsbury’s support was invaluable, there’s no way I could have self-published. As to whether there are more books in me, I’m not sure. Perhaps one on hedges in gardens? There again, I have a passion for wet woodland, another habitat that’s been much neglected. It’s all too soon to say.

Hedges is available to order from our bookstore.

British Wildlife Collection: interview with series editor Katy Roper

The British Wildlife Collection is a series of beautifully presented books on all aspects of British natural history. Since the series began in 2012, it has covered such diverse topics as mushrooms, meadows and mountain flowers, and books have been written by some of Britain’s finest writers and experts in their field. Filled with beautiful images, these wide-ranging and well-researched titles are a joy for any naturalist who is passionate about British wildlife and landscapes.

Katy Roper is a Senior Commissioning Editor at Bloomsbury Publishing and is responsible for the British Wildlife Collection. She recently took some time to chat with us about this excellent series; how it began, what makes it stand out from others of its kind and what we can expect from the collection over the next year. Keep reading for the full conversation with Katy, and browse the full British Wildlife Collection at nhbs.com.

Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself; what you do and what your involvement is with the British Wildlife Collection?

I’m a Senior Commissioning Editor in the wildlife team at Bloomsbury Publishing. The British Wildlife Collection is one of the lists I’m lucky enough to look after; I’m responsible for signing up new books with authors and then seeing them through to the point at which they go off to the printer. Being immersed in these books means that I’m always learning something new: from the surprising fact that saltmarsh occurs as far inland as Staffordshire, through to how to successfully use a pooter to collect ants (without inhaling live insects!).

Published in 2012, the first title in the series was Mushrooms by Peter Marren. Could you tell us more about how the British Wildlife Collection initially came about?

Yes, the series was conceived by Andrew Branson who founded and, for 25 years, ran the publication of the excellent British Wildlife magazine. I believe that Andrew’s intention was to produce a series of seminal books that would capture the essence of the magazine in terms of being informative, well-written and thought-provoking whilst providing the author the space to explore their chosen subject in detail and develop the overall narrative.

For anyone unfamiliar with the books from this collection, how would you describe them and who do you consider to be their intended audience?

The series covers all aspects of British natural history and we encourage our authors to cover elements of ecology, history, management, conservation and culture; in other words, to explore the human relationship with their particular subject. The books are written in a way that we hope appeals to a wide readership, from academics and conservation professionals through to enthusiastic amateur naturalists and people who simply want to know more about the British countryside and its inhabitants.

All the books in the series are incredibly well-researched and comprehensive. How long does it typically take to go from conception to publication for a single title?

It varies depending on the author and their other commitments, but I’d say it typically takes around three years from the date the contract is signed until the book hits the shelves. I think our record for the shortest time is 13 months (I won’t tell you the longest!).

The books are beautifully produced and printed and, without exception, are authored by the most well-respected experts in their field. It is no surprise that they have rapidly become collectors’ items for so many British naturalists. What do you think makes these monographs stand out from others of their type?

The series is relatively new and is still evolving, but our ultimate aim is to build an indispensable reference source on all aspects of our wildlife by commissioning some of our finest writers and leading experts to write accessible and engaging books that are then carefully designed to incorporate hundreds of carefully chosen photographs and illustrations to bring the text to life. We hope that our readers come away from them, as one reviewer put it, ‘better-informed than ever, but also hugely entertained’. Oh, and they each feature a beautiful specially commissioned cover artwork by the peerless Carry Akroyd.

Finally, are you able to give us any information as to what subjects we can expect to be covered in the next year or so, or is this a closely guarded secret?

Hedges by Robert Wolton is coming out in February this year, and beyond that we’re excited to be welcoming Peter Marren back to the series with a book entitled Rare Plants. He’ll be followed by Trevor Dines with Urban Plants and David Goode with Bogs.

All books in the British Wildlife Collection are available from nhbs.com. Please contact our customer services team if you would like to set up a standing order for this series – this will ensure that you automatically receive each new title as soon as it is published.

Author Q&A with Derek Gow: Hunt for the Shadow Wolf

Renowned rewilder Derek Gow has a dream: that one day we will see the return of the wolf to Britain. As Derek worked to reintroduce the beaver, he began to hear stories of the wolf. With increasing curiosity, Derek started to piece together fragments of information, stories and artefacts to reveal a shadowy creature that first walked proud through these lands and then was hunted to extinction as coexistence turned to fear, hatred and domination.

With bitingly funny but also tender stories, Hunt for the Shadow Wolf is Derek’s quest to uncover the true nature of this creature because, as we seek to heal our landscape, we must reconcile our relationship with it. Before we can even begin to bring the wolf back, we need to understand it.

Derek recently took time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about Hunt for the Shadow Wolf, including how his fascination with the wolf began, what role it could play in Britain’s landscape and more.

As well as being packed with personal stories and fascinating snippets of wolf biology and behaviour, Hunt for the Shadow Wolf is an incredibly well-researched history of the wolf, told through the myths and legends that abound throughout our lands. How and when did your fascination with the wolf and its history in Britain begin?

My personal interest in the wolf story began early. I remember quite clearly my grandmother, who was a slight, erect, sprightly soul, telling both myself and my bored brother on a long car journey to Dundee the story about a place called wolf clyde which was near to where we lived in the Scottish borders at that time where the last wolf in Scotland was killed. It was just nonsense about a woman with children being attacked by the wolf which she brained in response with a pancake griddle, but nevertheless it began a slow smoking interest in the old myths which given the opportunity I was keen to explore further.

Why do you think that an understanding of the historical culture, myths and legends surrounding a species has relevance to its conservation and role in our ecosystems today?

A factual understanding of the history of this much maligned species in Britain is very important as the lies we made up in the darkness of our ignorance to try to twist the cultural character of the wolf into one of loathing and repulsion still sway the responses of a phenomenal number of individuals and organisations to this day. Despite the very best of our advanced understandings of what wolves are and what they do, this toxic taint is still bubbling strongly.

Even in children’s tales, the wolf invariably represents a character of fear, violence and threat. Do you think these types of stories have a significant role to play in the development of our feelings towards wolves as adults?

Absolutely as they reflect only the darkness in the minds of the adults who wrote them and by so doing chose to corrupt a bad reputation without thinking into an even darker evil to infect the minds of the young. Nowadays it’s gratifying to see in so many good environmental centres throughout Europe, within the wolves expanding range, more understanding and compassionate explanations about both their history and the reality of living with them.

Britain is in a unique position compared to mainland Europe in that wolves will never be able to repopulate of their own accord. Do you think that a reintroduction project will ever occur, and what are the key challenges that stand in its way?

I think we should reintroduce the wolf and prepare the way for even more of our lost beasts. Farming has had it all its own way without balance of any sort. If a species gets in our way, we kill it. It’s what we are doing to badgers right now. In the past we inflicted so much heartbreakingly visible cruelty. Now, we destroy on a scale that’s colossal without thinking about the smallest of creatures and those tinier still that inhabit the soil. It’s a viciously unnecessary process.

Eurasischer Wolf sniffing a moss covered rock, taken by C Bruck. — Eurasischer Wolf (Canis Lupus) by C. Brück

What role do you think the wolf could have in healing the landscapes of our currently denuded Britain?

I think they would both move deer considerably and by doing so disrupt their grazing patterns for the betterment of forest understory regeneration. I think they would make those that keep sheep consider their worth and then, if these animals are of value, protect them better. I think their very presence, wild but unthreatening, would more than that of any other creature enable all of us now living on this island to establish, if we wished to do so, our relationship with the natural world.

As well as travelling widely to locations where wolves live in the wild, you have also had the incredible experience of hand-rearing wolves in a wildlife centre. What is your most memorable first-hand experience with a wolf or wolf pack?

Naida, one of my tame cubs, ate my car keys. I only had one set and had to wait for what seemed an eternity for them to pass through her before picking my way through her enormous turds to get them back.

Finally, what is occupying your time this winter? Do you have plans for more books?

Lots of things. The last of bits of farming – feeding my cows. Dog walks and avoiding the rain. Trying to develop a foundation to help us breed even more threatened British species for reintroductions. And books? Well, on long dark evenings I have been researching the intriguing history of the European Bison. not the bits of sadness that brought the species to its knees in the early 20th century, but the complicated individuals who for a time held its future in the palms of their hands. Great characters like the 11th Duke of Bedford, who assembled breeding herds of threatened species on his Woburn estate, and tyrants like Hermann Goering, who used slave labour to create vast parks within which he hunted. It’s an intriguing slant that’s little known but it saved the species for a time when the world for them has become a better place where they can roam in peace, a range that is vast. There might be a book in that!!

Explore other titles by Derek Gow here.

Supplier interview with Fran Tattersall from Wildlife Acoustics

Wildlife Acoustics creates world leading wildlife acoustic monitoring tools, specially designed to help scientists make impactful discoveries that expand our understanding of this biologically diverse planet.

A passionate and innovative group of technologists, operational experts, wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists, they have a zeal for helping their customers succeed in their research —understanding their needs and creating wildlife audio recording and analysis tools specially designed to help them conduct research across the globe.

We recently chatted with Fran Tattersall about the history of the company, their latest products, and the incredible ways that they are enabling researchers to collect vital data.

Fran works as the European Business Development Consultant for Wildlife Acoustics and is passionate about the environment and conservation. She is incredibly knowledgeable about the company and their products, and we were grateful to her for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer our questions.

Could you tell us about the history of Wildlife Acoustics? What inspired its creation?

Wildlife Acoustics was founded by Ian Agranat, an engineer, technologist, and nature enthusiast who is still the company’s CEO.

On a family hike in the early 2000s, Ian’s brother-in-law wondered aloud about creating a device for recording and identifying birds by their songs. Wildlife Acoustics’ first product, Song Sleuth, was launched shortly thereafter. Long before we were familiar with such tools, Song Sleuth used AI to identify North American bird species by their calls!

The US Geological Service was intrigued by the possibilities and asked Ian to develop a reliable, programmable recorder and software to help identify bird calls. This led to the invention of the Song Meter SM1, the first commercially available, built-for-purpose acoustic wildlife recorder, and the Song Scope software. Biologists now had a fully integrated, cost-effective, weatherproof solution for monitoring and analyzing the vocalizations of birds, amphibians, and terrestrial animals. (The first SM1 is still in the field today!)

Can you tell us more about the people that use Wildlife Acoustics’ products and what they use them for?

We have products for anyone who wants to record vocal wildlife, bats, or soundscapes!

Our recorders and sound analysis software are used for research projects at universities and NGOs around the world. For example, Bat Conservation International used a Song Meter SM4BAT-FS to re-discover the Hills Horseshoe bat in Rwanda—an endemic species once thought to be extirpated.

Song Meter recorders are also used by ecological consultancies working on everything from large infrastructure projects, such as HS2 and wind farms, to individual householders replacing their roofs.

Our Echo Meter Touch 2 bat detector, which allows people to use their Android devices to hear bats echolocating in real time, has been particularly popular with the general public and is a great engagement tool on bat walks. More recently, our Song Meter Micro has gained popularity with birders who want to record nocturnal migration flyovers.

What are some of the most interesting ways you have seen Wildlife Acoustics’ products being used?

In February, we will be hosting a webinar on the use of our recorders in cold places, and one of the speakers is monitoring glaciers with a Song Meter SM4. I’m looking forward to learning more about that!

More usually our recorders are listening to wildlife. Mammals are my personal favourite species group. We have people recording Maned Wolves, Manatees, elephants, Okapi, moose, Rock Hyrax, and many more.

Interestingly, it’s not just bats that use ultrasound to communicate. Our “bat” recorders have been instrumental in finding and monitoring the invasive White-toothed Shrew in northeast England and discovering that Indonesian Slow Loris use ultrasound to avoid predators. We even have a customer who records lab rats “laughing” when tickled.

Our customers are always finding fascinating new ways to use our equipment!

The new Song Meter Mini 2 and Song Meter Micro 2 are due to be launched soon. How do the new versions compare to their predecessors?

We’ve listened to customer feedback and improved the enclosure, extended battery life even further, created separate AA and Li-ion versions (18650 batteries) for the Mini 2 and the Mini Bat 2, and added a quarter-inch, 20-thread-per-inch tripod mount.

The ergonomics of the closure mechanism have been improved, using a hinged lid that can be secured with a simple cable lock. No more having to keep track of a separate lid. And the whole thing is now IP67-rated and built to withstand even the most rugged terrestrial deployments.

AA battery life has been significantly improved thanks to a larger battery tray that doubles the capacity from four to eight batteries. So for a Mini Bat 2, that means up to fifty 10-hour nights of recording, and for a Mini 2, it’s 420 hours of acoustic recording! (And best of all, the price of the AA versions remains the same.)

On the Micro 2, in addition to housing improvements, we improved the design by making room for an additional AA battery, which extends recording time by 33 percent.

Which of the new products is your favourite and why?

I enjoy exploring the new science of acoustic indices and soundscape analysis and am looking forward to using the Song Meter Micro 2, which has a flatter frequency response than its predecessor, making it eminently suitable for this type of work.

It’s also a great little device to take on wildlife holidays because it is so small—perfect for recording dawn choruses, nocturnal soundscapes, and finding that elusive bird. It’s always exciting to look at the contents of your SD card in the morning and hear what’s been around!

What can you tell us about plans for new features or products in the future?

Only that we’re not resting on our laurels. Our engineers are working on new ideas all the time, and NHBS will be the first to know when we’re ready to make announcements!

All of Wildlife Acoustics’ products are available at nhbs.com. For more information or advice tailored to your specific requirements, please contact us and speak with one of our technical advisors.