THE WOLF BORDER
An expert on wolves, Rachel is enticed home to Cumbria from her job on a Native American reservation by a lucrative offer from an enigmatic aristocrat: he wants to reintroduce these once native creatures to his vast estate. In a beguiling page-turner, suspense builds gradually around the richly drawn characters – until suddenly, without realising it, you’ve arrived at the painful, tantalising twist in the tail.
Hall’s spare prose stunningly evokes the edgy wonder of wolves in a story that floats the fascinating prospect of how they’d fare in an ever-shrinking wilderness that only just clings to the margins of our land.
July 2015 The last time I went down to the beach, I probably ended up digging a pointlessly big hole, going rockpooling and jumping some little waves. But now I’ve read this book, my next trip to the seaside might be slightly more imaginative. Fiona Danks and Jo Schofield (co-authors of The Stick Book and The Wild Weather Book) have compiled 68 inspiring activities to do by the sea, ranging from the classic (skimming stones; ball games) to the creative (stick puppets; driftwood monsters) and the captivating (flaming boats; glowing holes). For once the buckets and spades might have to stay at home. Yes, but I think that the situation is now slowly improving as people begin to notice nature more, such as squawking parakeets or a robin patiently perched on a garden spade.
How do you start birding in towns and cities?
To get into urban birding you need an open mind. You have to believe that nature can be found in the most unlikely of places. Don’t walk
Tales From Concrete Jungles? My book is aimed at people who are essentially already birders. It is about the species I have encountered on city breaks in the UK and Europe. I’m hoping it will inspire readers to take a fresh look at their neighbourhood, or encourage them to discover a temporary local patch if they are visiting a city for the first time.
Who should read
features a series of articles that David has written for the magazine Bird Watching since 2006 (Bloomsbury, £14.99). www.bloomsbury.com
BBC Wildlife
99