WILDGuides

David Lindo, popularly known as The Urban Birder, is a naturalist, writer, broadcaster, speaker, photographer, wildlife tour leader and educator. His mission is to connect the city folk of the world with the wonderful wildlife that is all around them-even in the middle of the Concrete Jungle. His motto is simple: Look up! He is also the author of The Urban Birder and Tales from Concrete Jungles: Urban Birding around the World (both Bloomsbury). He is a Londoner and runs the website The Urban Birder World. The first guide to urban birding in the UK, from The Urban Birder himself, David Lindo Urban birding is fast becoming ornithology's new rock 'n' roll. Birds and birding have never been cooler-and urban birding is at the cutting edge. How to Be an Urban Birder is the world's first guide to the art of urban birding-which is so easy and great fun! Here, urban birding pioneer David Lindo tells you everything you need to know about birds and birding in towns and cities in the UK. • Includes a brief history of urban birding in the UK • Covers the best places to look for birds in towns and cities • Helps you get to know your urban birds • Gives useful tips on how to attract birds to your garden • Explains what gear you need and how to go about being an urban birder • Features hundreds of cool images and illustrations of birds in urban settings "A good read and well priced. . . . I'm sure many of you will enjoy it."---John Miles, Birdwatching Magazine "After sparking a U.K. birding movement over the past decade, Lindo is now bringing his message to the international stage with his new guide How to Be an Urban Birder, published in August. At 200-plus pages, the book is a satisfying and accessible read for beginner birders everywhere, and is packed full of photos, illustrations, tips, tricks, and anecdotes."---Bryony Angell, Audubon "I heartily recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to learn more about the wildlife immediately around them, even if you live in a suburb or a small village, this book will enrich you contact with nature and teach you how to find and see creatures you never even thought might be close by."---Nick Brown, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust "Anyone looking for an urban nature manual will enjoy David Lindo's How to Be an Urban Birder."---Patrick Barkham, The Guardian "An enjoyable and engaging introduction to the birding opportunities of even the most unlikely looking urban venue. . . . The content is refreshingly up to date too, with lots of handy hints about internet resources, smartphone apps, sound recording, phone-scoping etc. . . . The urban focus is the book's USP, aiming to widen the birdwatching demographic beyond its traditional white, male, middle class, suburban and rural constituencies. If we are to retrieve any sort of connection with the natural world then the engagement of the city-dwelling majority will be vital. This book might be just the necessary catalyst."---Andy Stoddart, Rare Bird Alert "This thorough, richly illustrated guide to urban birding reveals just how easy, accessible and fun the activity can be."---Tom Hodgkinson, Idler "The central message is that there is a world of interest and joy on our doorsteps, even in the middle of London or Glasgow, if you just start looking." "There is much useful information in this book for anyone starting out in the birding world. . . . It is reasonably priced, attractively produced, clearly written and will make an idea stocking-fuller for a general wildlife enthusiast of anyone making their first foray into the world of birds."---Clive Herbert, London Naturalist "[This] book is a treasure trove of information."---Jen Brown, The Happy Birder "Following Lindo's advice, one can learn to open one's eyes and see that nature is right at the doorstep in the form of urban birds." "Enjoy this book, and make sure you look up-deep inside all of us is an Urban Birder!"-Jamie Oliver

Chris Gooddie set fire to a carefully constructed career ladder and warmed his hands over the flames. Then he went traveling all over Asia and beyond in pursuit of the world's most beautiful birds, the pittas. A tale of one man's obsession with rainforest jewels, this is the story of an impossible dream: a quest to see every one of the world's most elusive avian gems--a group of birds known as pittas--in a single year. Insightful, compelling, and laugh-out-loud funny, this is more than a book about birds. It's a true story detailing the lengths to which a man will go to escape his midlife crisis. A travelogue with a difference, it follows a journey from the suburban straitjacket of High Wycombe to the steamy, leech-infested rainforests of remotest Asia, Africa, and Australia. Dangerous situations, personal traumas, and logistical nightmares threaten The Jewel Hunter's progress. Will venomous snakes or razor-clawed bears intervene? Or will running out of fuel mid-Pacific ultimately sink the mission? The race is on. . . . If you've ever yearned to escape your day job, wondered what makes men tick, or simply puzzled over how to make a truly world-class cup of tea, this is a book for you. "[A] highly entertaining read."---Jeremy Brock, Scottish Birds "Do you have a 'plan B'--that secret dream you've quietly nurtured for much of your life? . . . The Jewel Hunter is the real-life story of one man who finally overcame inertia to devote eleven months of his life to his 'plan B': his obsession to see all living species of a small jewel-like songbird, the pittas . . . . [T]his rollicking tale is an engaging and compelling memoir that bird watchers, nature lovers and fans of travel literature will enjoy. This book is a must-read for those who (like me) are nurturing their own dream to go on a tropical birding expedition, and is essential reading for anyone who nurses their own secret 'plan B'."---Devorah Bennu, GrrlScientist "Gooddie's twenty chapters are for the most part straightforwardly chronological, each devoted to one of the major destinations he visited in his quest. The result is a series of adventure tales, 'good reads' all, guaranteed to whet the reader's appetite for exotic locales and their birds. The color photos illustrating the accounts are unfailingly evocative, even--perhaps especially--the poor-quality images of some of the most elusive pitta species. Not a few of Gooddie's photos are the first ever published of the species depicted."---Rick Wright, ABA Blog "Only two other birders have seen all the world's pittas, and neither of them had done so in a single year, but that's what Chris Gooddie set out to do.... The Jewel Hunter is the account of Chris Gooddie's search for these gems, and it's a gripping yarn. In his quest he stepped well off the beaten track. Indeed, to borrow Chris's writing style, he stepped right off the track, slid down the slope into the gully below, then crawled on his belly across the leech-infested forest floor to grab the beauties by the scruff of their beautifully patterned napes.... So, did Chris achieve his goal? I won't spoil the story's ending: it's a rollercoaster ride--and a great read."---Adrian Pitches, British Birds "Stylistically informal, this book conjures up images so vivid it feels like you're riding pillion with Gooddie on his travels, from Uganda to the Solomon Islands, via Taiwan, Thailand and Timor.... [A] unique and readable story."---Steve Rutt, BirdGuides.com "Each chapter of The Jewel Hunter reads like a mini-travel novel."---Donna Schulmann, 10,000 Birds "The Jewel Hunter is a story any birder can relate to, whether or not you've ever done any sort of big year, or even if you have never heard of pittas. I knew very little about these birds before reading this book, and I had no idea what families the Bold-striped Tit-babbler or Jerdon's Baza belonged to, much less what they looked like. But it didn't matter; I still enjoyed reading about them. The

Clive Chatters is chair of the New Forest National Park Authority and has been an active campaigner for the conservation of the area's wildlife, unique culture, and rural economy. This book explores the botanical richness and cultural heritage of the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. The New Forest has become an exceptional area for wildflowers, many of which were once common throughout the lowlands of Britain. The Forest enjoys strong populations of many special wildflowers because it retains a living tradition of free-ranging domestic animals grazing its coastland, extensive commons, and village greens. This book is an exploration of how the wildlife of the Forest is the natural expression of the lives and economy of the people of the Forest. • An introduction to the New Forest and how its commoning economy works • A description of the principal habitats of the Forest and how they relate to one another • Accounts of the people who have explored the Forest for wildflowers from the early 17th century to the present • Descriptions of more than 100 species of the rarer flowering plants and ferns currently known from the National Park, many of which are nationally or internationally rare, scarce, or threatened • An account of Forest conservation issues by someone who has participated in the life of the Forest for more than 20 years "[T]his is a book that deserves to be read by every resident and visitor!" "Flowers of the Forest is a lovely book and one likely to be of interest to visitors as well as to residents."---Ron Toft, TheTravelEditor.com "Clive Chatters clearly knows the forest intimately and he shows the New Forest as a unique environment, a working ecosystem, which pays courtesy to all the complex links that allow it to retain its diversity. Buy the book, read it on the train, and when you get off at Brockenhurst and start walking you will have a richer experience for it."-Darren Topps, NHBS "This book is a beautifully illustrated exploration of the botanical richness and cultural heritage of the New Forest National Park."-In Practice, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management "[N]either botanist nor casual visitor could ask for more."-Andrew Brookes, Hants Butterfly Conservation

"One of The Independent's Best Nature Books of 2014" David Cobham is a renowned British film and television producer and director, notable for such films as The Goshawk, The Vanishing Hedgerows and Tarka the Otter. Bruce Pearson is the author and illustrator of Troubled Waters: Trailing the Albatross, An Artist's Journey; Birdscape; and An Artist on Migration. Britain is home to fifteen species of breeding birds of prey, from the hedgerow-hopping Sparrowhawk to the breathtaking White-tailed Eagle. In this handsomely illustrated book, acclaimed British filmmaker and naturalist David Cobham offers unique and deeply personal insights into Britain's birds of prey and how they are faring today. He delves into the history of these magnificent birds and talks in depth with the scientists and conservationists who are striving to safeguard them. In doing so, he profiles the writers, poets and filmmakers who have done so much to change the public's perception of birds of prey. There are success stories-five birds of prey that were extinct have become reestablished with viable populations-but persecution is still rife. Featuring drawings by famed wildlife artist Bruce Pearson, this book reveals why we must cherish and celebrate our birds of prey, and why we neglect them at our peril. "Engrossing, entertaining and covering a vast range of subjects, this is a highly recommended read."---Matt Merritt, Birdwatching Magazine "Engaging reading. The book will remain a firm favourite with those, like me, for whom these are special birds."---Mike Toms, BBC Wildlife Magazine "Marvellous and touching."---Trevor Heaton, Eastern Daily Press (Weekend) "From the beginning I was struck with the detail and sheer readability of the text and finished the first 40 pages of the Introduction, The Sparrowhawk and The Osprey without a break. . . . A Sparrowhawk's Lament is a desirable little volume which I thoroughly enjoyed, and one I can recommend to blog readers for the next rainy, non-birding day."---Phil Slade, Another Bird Blog "Each of these stories (and others) is addressed in detail, providing a comprehensive and important historical record. Indeed the book's major achievement is its thoroughness--Cobham has spared no pains in his travelling, in his research and in his collaborations. . . . This is a thorough and comprehensive account of Britain's birds of prey and our long and complex relationship with them."---Andy Stoddart, AndyStoddart.weebly.com "A thoughtful and deeply personal book by someone who has spent a lifetime indulging his keen interest in Britain's 15 breeding birds of prey."---Ian Carter, British Birds "Rich in cultural detail, descriptive illustrations, and personal recollections, A Sparrowhawk's Lament: How British Breeding Birds of Prey Are Faring paints a canvas demonstrating how cultural perceptions can be changed to improve conservation outcomes."---Gabriel Thoumi, Mongabay.com "The book is an uplifting tale of wonderful birds, some great places and a lot of gifted raptor enthusiasts."---Mark Avery, Birdwatch "[T]he book pulls no punches and is one of the best books about birds of prey I have read."---RC, Highland News "A book to be read right through or dipped into at leisure, A Sparrowhawk's Lament is a fitting tribute to our birds of prey and those who work to conserve them. Whether beginner or specialist, everyone will learn something about our formidable, yet vulnerable diurnal raptors." "Engrossing and enjoyable to read."---David Lewis, Birds from Behind "David Cobham has written a very understandable biology and history of birds of prey. It was a pleasure to read the words, but the content was, of necessity, sometimes disturbing. I would recommend this book to all who like birds, particularly raptors. British birders and those who visit (like me) will gain a lot of valuable information. It would make a great present to anyone studying hawks."---Roy John, Canadian Field Naturalist "[A] comprehensive and important h