Sit still and listen, and open this enchanting book about birds, birdsong and the countryside from the critically acclaimed author of Raptor. Lockhart sets out to write about a series of birds from a nightjar's strange churring song on a heath in the south of England, to a lapwing displaying over the machair in the Outer Hebrides. He writes about eight different and fascinating birds in a journey inspired by a story his granny told him of how she used to relay the songs of birds to her increasingly deaf father, the famous naturalist Seton Gordon. The eight species are all representative of a different habitat. Nightjars on a lowland heath; shearwaters on a mountain overlooking the sea, dippers on a river; skylarks in farmland; ravens in woodland; divers on a loch; lapwings on the coast; and nightingales in dense scrub. Not all of the birds are songbirds in the traditional sense, although each possesses its own distinctive musical voice which can vary from the strange to the joyous - the weird gurgling sound of a shearwater in its burrow to the exuberance of the skylark's song. Each is an audible introduction to the birds and the places where they are found. Poetry, folklore and natural history are woven into the mix and a dipper's stream is painted as vividly as the songbird itself giving a clear sense of the cold running water and mossy banks. 342pp, line art.

Sub-titled 'A Tale of Forgotten Elm Trees, Traditional Craft and Community Spirit' the book calls on us to discover our landscapes more intimately. When renowned craftsman Robert Somerville moved to Hertfordshire he discovered the unexpected rich landscape with wildlife and elm trees, and this wooded farmland inspired him as a life-long woodworker to revive the ancient tradition of hand-raising barns. The book follows the building of Carley Barn over the course of one year. Volunteers from all walks of life joined in, inspired to learn the ancient skill of building elm barns by hand, at its own quiet pace and in the company of others, while using timber from the local woods. The opening chapter reads like a prose poem: 'Immediately, in the absence of machine noise, you can hear what is going on as well as see it. You can hear background birdsong or the soughing of the wind in the branches of trees overhead as you work... A craft is more than a hobby or a trade, it is a way of giving life to things.' 'A bond developed between people born of goodwill, without the need for an economic contract.' In the words of Kate Humble 'A joyful reminder of why nature, being outside, being together and creating beauty is so good for the soul.' 260pp, wonderful line art such as sawing a tenon's shoulder and making mortice lines using dividers plus 16 pages of colour photos and an etching.

Dubbed the 'Radical Rewilder' by The Times, Gow's book is sub-titled 'Turning My Farm into An Ark For Lost Species'. He recounts how he raised a sofa-loving wild boar piglet, transported a raging bison bull across the UK, got bitten by a Scottish wildcat, and restored the ancient white stork to the Knepp Estate with Charlie Burrell and Isabella Tree. After a Shetland ewe captured young Derek's heart, he grew up to become a farmer with a passion for ancient breeds, but when he realised how many of our species were close to extinction, even on his own land, he tore up his traditional Devon farm and transformed it into a rewilding haven for beavers, water voles, lynx, wildcats, harvest mice and more. The story of his amazing work at Broadwoodwidger is highly entertaining and inspiring as tells his riotous adventures rescuing threatened species and he really knows how to get things done. 200pp, line art.

From piddocks and lynchets to Witch's Broom, this book was voted the Best Nature Book of 2021 by Countryfile. Beautifully illustrated, practical and entertaining, one of Britain's best-known naturalists John Wright introduces us to the natural and unnatural mysteries of the countryside. He gives us the tools to identify Robin's Pincushion, Dew ponds and Hollow Ways, to find a flower with black pollen rather than yellow, stranded ponds on grassy hilltops or even pottering on our own back garden encountering things that make us stop and wonder. John reveals the histories and practicalities of those that are man-made and the astounding and intricate lives of the natural mysteries as he illuminates the oddities that pepper our landscape. Funny whimsical observations and dozens of colour photographs throughout, the book is organised by the field, the wood and the seashore. 240 beautiful pages.

In Animals, we discover a different side to the famed photographer who skillfully explores animals' complex relationship with humans and the environment. Tenderness abounds, particularly in scenes of unkempt street dogs sleeping contentedly next to a human. But there's also a kind of essential solitude, with animals belonging to no one and simply wandering through life with only their survival instincts to guide them. See the goat balanced on his owner's back, a wild horse at dawn beside a lake-filled canyon, family pets and cheeky otters and chimps, a beautiful Arabian woman in Dubai with her hawk, an Ethiopian tribe dancing with the dog and a Tibetan monk holding his goose. We witness camels caught in the crossfire during the first Gulf War, a shepherd from Northern Pakistan tenderly feeding his goats, Beverly Hills designer dogs, racehorses on a Hong Kong rooftop, elephants in Thailand and more images selected by ace photographer Steve McCurry from his vast archives. From an elephant resting with his master to a dog led through the rubbles of Kabul, these images by Steve McCurry tell a thousand stories, each a touching tribute to the creatures who share our planet. The photographer presents his favourite shots of animals in this collection ranging from many images from Afghanistan, Asia to South America, the United States to Europe. This kaleidoscopic collection is at once a beautiful travelogue and a touching tribute to the creatures who share our planet. Compact 14 x 19.5 cm, 192 pages, stunning colour. New from Taschen.

The complete definitive encyclopaedia is now available for the first time in large softback, and Bibliophile is the first to acquire copies. It provides meanings, powers, facts and folklore for over 1,001 flower species organised by both scientific and common names, along with a beautiful colour visual depiction. The characteristics, historic meanings and powers from mythology, medieval legends, folklore and flower poetry, symbolic flower meanings have fascinated readers, writers, poets and romantic couples alike for centuries. Extremely popular during the Victorian era, these floriographies blossomed whether helping create a bespoke wedding bouquet or planning stunning garden planting combinations. The use of one particular plant over any other in any working is dependent on its ability to boost confidence in the possible inherent power of that plant and its potent magical elements such as the dandelion puff. Sunflowers represent ambition, constancy and devotion; the daisy childlike playfulness and beauty; the amaryllis adventurousness, passion and the purple tulip eternal love, the Salix or pussywillow illness recovery or receiving a blessing, the petunia creativity and a settled lifestyle, and the rose of Sharon hibiscus persistent love and protection. Four to six entries per page, each with a beautiful colour artwork, Latin and alternative names, symbolic meanings, folklore and facts. 256 large pages, 15.4 x 19cm approx. Colour throughout.

'50 Signs, Symbols and Practices from the Natural World to Bring Inner Peace, Protection and Good Fortune', from a feather to a fallen leaf or a pebble on the beach, we are all drawn to collect natural charms. It is a living symbol of your wishes and this book is an invitation to collect and create your own natural charms for protection, personal insight, good fortune and healing. From a herb sprig or a fallen twiglet or shell, the book features folklore, symbology and practical rituals, alongside ancient crafts and modern techniques and how to use the gifts to make charms, talismans, amulets, altars and natural mandalas. Work with plants, trees, herbs, feathers, shells and stones, and for each there is a beautiful colour or line artwork and fact boxes for techniques such as making a altar to the sea, pressing seaweed and finding the significance of the crow for wisdom, the shadow self, courage, transformation and magic or the robin, a sign from a loved one in spirit. Exquisitely designed, full of colour and colourful pages, 240 natural pages full of wishes and blessings.

Covering all vertebrate animals apart from birds that live wild on land in Britain, and including all four-legged animals, snakes and a slow-worm as well as seals, the land animals described in this book belong to three major groups: amphibians, reptiles or mammals. The main part of the book features more than 70 wild land animals, species by species, their habitats, lifespan, size, life expectancy and how they are related to their surroundings. To help you understand how an animal's observed behaviour is linked to its body structure and lifestyle, pages 8 to 25 outline some of the reasons why animals feed, breed and behave in different ways, and distribution maps are given for each wild species, coloured maroon on the map. Covers skin whether waterproof, furry, breathable, changing colour, a new summer coat or a specially developed under fur and structure such as four limbs of flippers like the seal or as wings like the bat, long or short necks, feet with two toes or legs that spread sideways like the lizard. From adders and badgers to voles and weasels, you will find fascinating facts on where they breed, feed and how to identify each creature in their natural environment which greatly enhances any outdoor experience. All superbly illustrated and with detailed artworks showing how to distinguish between species and special features covering animal centres and recognising tracks and other signs of animal activity. 256pp, 15 x 14cm, softback packed with colour.

Let us go back to Christopher Columbus, to his diary of his first journey, as well as some of his other writings. The originality of the sites confronting the Discoverer, new landscapes, a flora and fauna never seen before, and even human beings different from Europeans, seems to often excite the senses of the Navigator and his mates, but it was hard to convey. His observation is striking. Gerbi wrote that through Columbus's eyes America had 'emblematic parrots and lizards. Myriads of singing birds fill the sky while the ocean is teeming with shoals of playful, multi-coloured fish.' Landscape and nature, portraits, feather-dressed natives, pygmies fighting cranes, depictions of the fountains of youth, engravings, ink, watercolour, gold and silver on paper illustrations plus woodcuts, there is even iconography on cannibalism. 655 pages on special watermarked Italian paper, profusely illustrated, much in colour. Printed on special watermarked paper (as in all this series) in Rome, 1996 First Edition.

The Moon's mighty pull, the power of wind and water, castles and sculptures of art on beaches, arches and monoliths and caves, spits and barriers, fossils and footprints, seaweed and rockpools, jellyfish and guillemots, sand dunes and salt marshes, walruses and dolphins, lighthouses and smugglers, hill forts and pillbox fortresses, Punch and Judy and holiday camp fun, seaside gardens to sea serpents, selkie tales, the weather and ghostly vessels to how Dracula arrived in Whitby. In every season our coasts are magical places bursting with energy and never the same at any passing minute. Violent storms can strike, jellyfish sting and quicksand engulf the unwary. Every step of the 12,000 or more miles sculptured by winds and tides has wildlife to enjoy, human creations to admire, and a wealth of stories to tell, and on every page of this book we see that our coast is truly an amazing and extraordinary place. 144pp, very well illus. New full price publication.