Birdwatching With Your Eyes Closed

"Most of us can see, but not everyone looks. Most of us can hear, but not everyone listens. This book will help you do both. And, above all, it will tell you how to enjoy." Bill Oddie "He'll tune your ears to winter's lonely voices - robins, wrens, long-tailed tits - before preparing you for the exultant sounds of spring." The Times Learning to identify birdsong is not just a way to become a better bird-spotter. It is tuning in: a way of hearing the soundtrack of Planet Earth... Why do birds sing? What are they trying to say? Birdsong is not just about natural history. It is also about our history. We got melody from birds as we got rhythm from the womb. This vital book, with an accompanying podcast available online, takes you from winter into deepest spring, teaching you how to recognise song after song as the chorus swells. Beginning with the thin, soft song of the robin and ending with the life-affirming melody of nightingales. Along the way, you will learn the science of birdsong the difference between song and call, the physiology of songbirds, what birdsong tells us about evolution, and indeed the very beginnings of life itself. The aim is to give you a flying start in birdsong so that, after reading this book, you'll be listening to order, not chaos, to Bach, not white noise. You will be more aware of the wild world, and better able to understand it.

WATERSTONES NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH We're not just losing the wild world. We're forgetting it. We're no longer noticing it. We've lost the habit of looking and seeing and listening and hearing. BOOKSELLER BOOK OF THE MONTH: 'It is beautifully, persuasively written - and what's more, it works.' But we can make hidden things visible, and this book features 23 spellbinding ways to bring the magic of nature much closer to home. 'Barnes describes the wonders of nature with an infectious enthusiasm' Guardian 'Such a good idea' Chris Packham 'Barnes, a passionate writer on wildlife...is an endearingly boisterous guide' Daily Mail Mammals you never knew existed will enter your world. Birds hidden in treetops will shed their cloak of anonymity. With a single movement of your hand you can make reptiles appear before you. Butterflies you never saw before will bring joy to every sunny day. Creatures of the darkness will enter your consciousness. And as you take on new techniques and a little new equipment, you will discover new creatures and, with them, new areas of yourself that had gone dormant. Once put to use, they wake up and start working again. You become wilder in your mind and in your heart. Once you know the tricks, the wild world begins to appear before you. For anyone who wants to get closer to the nature all around them and bring it back into focus, this is the perfect read.

A BIRDING JOURNEY AT HOME AND BEYOND It began with a flutter of yellow feathers flitting through the trees, casting beams of sunshine and promise that burst through her kitchen window. This was her sign to look up. As a licensed therapist, Tammah Watts knew that she needed to seek and accept hope, love, and support to overcome her chronic pain and cultivate resilience. But she could not predict that the little yellow bird would put her on the path to healing by fostering a powerful connection with birds and the experience of birding. Tammah shares her emotional journey of finding comfort and inspiration from her feathered friends, while providing practical tips and tools to help you: Explore the practice of birdwatching from the comfort of your own home and community Increase your self-awareness, mindfulness, and concentration Find acceptance and alignment with the spirit and beauty of birds Right outside your door flies just what you’ve been looking for to help ease symptoms of stress, pain, depression, and anxiety. All you have to do is look up, take notice, and open your heart and mind. No matter where you are, what you look like, or what you're going through, you can create sacred space and connection with birds and begin to heal.

Young wildlife champion Alex White believes that a lifetime of caring for the environment can start close to home with fantastic experiences. Along with a host of well-known contributors, he reveals the simple and low-cost ways that people can enjoy nature. Together they share their passion, reveal what got them into wildlife in the first place and show how to get closer to it – now they want you to Get Your Boots On. The book also offers indispensable advice for those who would like to get more involved, or even build a career out of their passion for wildlife. Illustrated throughout by Alex’s stunning photographs, this book will appeal to young and old alike. It suggests: when and where to get out there; what to go looking for; how to do it; what to take… and a host of other tips. Practical advice for getting closer to nature. Encouragement from those who have lived it. ‘This fabulous and important book. It’s good, it’s inspirational and – critically – it’s heartening’— Chris Packham. ‘Alex is prominent as a standard-bearer for [a] new generation of wildlife champions… he is giving hope and inspiration to young people across this nation that despite all the challenges we face, it is still possible to make this world a better place for humans and wildlife’— Dominic Dyer, CEO Badger Trust & British Wildlife Advocate Born Free Foundation.

The Everyday Guide to British Birds is the perfect companion for nature enthusiasts and birdwatching beginners. It describes the common and widespread species we're most likely to come across in Britain and explains what makes each of them unique. Clearly illustrated, packed with fascinating facts and written in a friendly style, this RSPB is ideal for anyone who wants to identify and learn more about the birds they encounter, whether in the back garden or the wider countryside.

A perfect companion for nature enthusiasts and birdwatching beginners, in a revised and updated edition. The RSPB Everyday Guide to British Birds describes 80 common and widespread species that we're most likely to come across in the British Isles and explains what makes each of them unique. Packed with fascinating facts and written in a friendly style, this RSPB guide is ideal for anyone who wants to identify and learn more about the birds they encounter, whether that's in their back garden or while they're out and about in urban and suburban settings or the British countryside. Alongside new photos to show both male and female birds where relevant, this second edition includes updates to species distribution and population numbers, as well as information on seasonal changes to British birds and how to attract birds to your garden. The guide also features updates to the UK's Red List species and a new section on birds that are flying high despite the current biodiversity crisis. From owls to finches and crows to woodpeckers, this RSPB guide is ideal for beginner and casual birdwatchers looking to discover more about British birds.

Winner of the 1990 Western States Book Award for Creative Nonfiction, The Telling Distance evokes the yearning expanses of our southwestern deserts and finds them full of sensuous marvels, erratic life forms, eccentric fellow travelers, dry humor, and surprise. In prose that revels in paradox, it reveals desert distances to be doubly telling: they both magnify our spirit and have incomparable tales to tell.

Just Like Children – One should treat animals such as deer, camels, asses, monkeys, mice, snakes, birds, and flies exactly like one’s own son. How little difference there actually is between children and these innocent animals.