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Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets
Discover over 300 varieties of tree found in Britain and Europe with this new edition, in association with the RSPB From a Black Locust to a Downy Oak, discover over 300 varieties of tree, arranged by family and genu, with this pocket-sized guide. In-situ photographs and no nonsense notes covering anatomy and classification will help you identify them in the field quickly and accurately. Maps show you what trees to find where so you can plan your spotting and make the most of your surroundings, whether you are on a holiday browse or serious quest. An ideal guide for all the family.
 Watch a thousand years unfold in the life of one magnificent tree! A thousand years ago, a tiny acorn fell to the ground. As the years pass, it grows . . . and GROWS into an enormous oak tree! As the centuries sweep by, children play games around the tree. Families dance about it. A fleeing king even hides inside its hollow trunk! The tree gives food and shelter to a host of animals, from squirrels and badgers to birds and beetles. After a thousand years, the ancient tree finally falls in a storm - but a new acorn sprouts, and the cycle of life begins all over again. The tree's magical life story is brought to life in Julia Donaldson's rich, dramatic rhyme. Victoria Sandøy's gorgeous, atmospheric illustrations perfectly capture the changing seasons, and the people and wildlife that pass by Children will love spotting all the creatures in the pictures, and seeing the games children play around the tree This is a book that encourages us all to look more closely at nature, and to appreciate the wonder of our ancient trees. The final pages of the book contain extra fascinating facts about oak trees and the animals that depend on them. Praise for The Christmas Pine, also by Julia Donaldson and Victoria Sandøy: "Magical . . . as well as paying tribute to tradition, the gentle rhythmic verse and stunning pictures illuminate the two other things close to Julia's heart: the power of children and song" Julia Donaldson is the author of many of the best-loved children's books ever written. She has been awarded a CBE for services to literature, and is the most celebrated children's writer in Britain today. Many of Julia Donaldson's beloved picture books have been made into award-winning animated films which are regularly shown on the BBC at Christmas.
Includes a new section on clicker training.
A charming, moving account of one man's race to save a herd of elephants. When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of 'rogue' elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand, his common sense told him to refuse. But he was the herd's last chance of survival - dangerous and unpredictable, they would be killed if Anthony wouldn't take them in. As Anthony risked his life to create a bond with the troubled elephants and persuade them to stay on his reserve, he came to realize what a special family they were, from the wise matriarch Nana, who guided the herd, to her warrior sister Frankie, always ready to see off any threat, and their children who fought so hard to survive. With unforgettable characters and exotic wildlife, this is an enthralling book that will appeal to animal lovers and adventurous souls everywhere.
Ontmoet 36 van Suider-Afrika se mees algemene en interessante slange in hierdie lewendige en boeiende kindergids. Ontdek die besondere kenmerkende gewoontes van slange – waar hulle woon, hoe hulle jag, watter gevare hulle bedreig, en hoe hulle hulself beskerm. Meer as 250 bekoorlike foto’s ondersteun die teks. ’n Volledige inleiding tot heelwat kenmerke van die gedrag van slange ontsluit die betowerende wêreld van hierdie wydverspreide reptiele.
'Steve Brusatte, the author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, brings mammals out from the shadow of their more showy predecessors in a beautifully written book that . . . makes the case for them as creatures who are just as engaging as dinosaurs.' - The Sunday Times, 'Best Books For Summer' 'In this terrific new book, Steve Brusatte . . . brings well-known extinct species, the sabre-toothed tigers and the woolly mammoths, thrillingly back to life' - The Times The passing of the age of the dinosaurs allowed mammals to become ascendant. But mammals have a much deeper history. They - or, more precisely, we - originated around the same time as the dinosaurs, over 200 million years ago; mammal roots lie even further back, some 325 million years. Over these immense stretches of geological time, mammals developed their trademark features: hair, keen senses of smell and hearing, big brains and sharp intelligence, fast growth and warm-blooded metabolism, a distinctive line-up of teeth (canines, incisors, premolars, molars), mammary glands that mothers use to nourish their babies with milk, qualities that have underlain their success story. Out of this long and rich evolutionary history came the mammals of today, including our own species and our closest cousins. But today's 6,000 mammal species - the egg-laying monotremes including the platypus, marsupials such as kangaroos and koalas that raise their tiny babies in pouches, and placentals like us, who give birth to well-developed young - are simply the few survivors of a once verdant family tree, which has been pruned both by time and mass extinctions. In The Rise and Reign of the Mammals, palaeontologist Steve Brusatte weaves together the history and evolution of our mammal forebears with stories of the scientists whose fieldwork and discoveries underlie our knowledge, both of iconic mammals like the mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers of which we have all heard, and of fascinating species that few of us are aware of. For what we see today is but a very limited range of the mammals that have existed; in this fascinating and ground-breaking book, Steve Brusatte tells their - and our - story.
Vir sowel die beginner as die meer ervare voelkyker is die kompakte klein gids die antwoord. Die volgende aspekte maak hierdie boekie onontbeerlik: Pas in jou hempsak; Prakties en gebruikersvriendelik; Meer as 400 voelsoorte; Uitstekende kleurfoto’s; Kleurvariasies aangedui; Logiese indeling van voelgroepe; Bondige biologiese inligting; Afrikaanse en Engelse name; Suider-Afrikaanse voelnommers; Verspreidingskaarte volgens die nuwe voelatlas; Indeks. Die boekie sal beslis sy man staan teenoor die grotes en is vir die natuurliefhebber so noodsaaklik soos ‘n verkyker!
Read the powerful account of one woman's struggle to reshape her identity when all normality has fallen away. When lifelong bird-lover Hannah Bourne-Taylor moved with her husband to Ghana seven years ago she couldn't have anticipated how her life would be forever changed by her unexpected encounters with nature and the subsequent bonds she formed. Plucked from the comfort and predictability of her life before, Hannah struggled to establish herself in her new environment, striving to belong in the rural grasslands far away from home. In this challenging situation, she was forced to turn inwards and interrogate her own sense of identity, however in the animal life around her, and in two wild birds in particular, Hannah found a source of solace and a way to reconnect with the world in which she was living. Fledgling is a portrayal of adaptability, resilience and self-discovery in the face of isolation and change, fuelled by the quiet power of nature and the unexpected bonds with animals she encounters. Hannah encourages us to reconsider the conventional boundaries of the relationships people have with animals through her inspiring and very beautiful glimpse ofwhat is possible when we allow ourselves to connect to the natural world. Full of determination and compassion, Fledgling is apowerful meditation on our instinctive connection to nature. It shows that even the tiniest of birds can teach us what is important in life and how to embrace every day.
Jim Moir loves birds. His popularity as a painter has soared in recent years and the simplicity and sincerity of his bird paintings have given them cult status among his fans. Now, for the first time, one hundred of these beautiful paintings are gathered together in this exquisite book. It is a book to remind us why we love birds: because of the shapes, movement, colours and sounds they bring into our lives.
This book describes and illustrates 80 of the larger, more conspicuous and charismatic tree species likely to be seen while travelling in the Kruger National Park. With the aim of assisting readers to make accurate identifications of these majestic plants, each spread contains photographs and succinct text with minimal botanical jargon. To aid identification, a series of maps demarcating 35 different vegetation zones or ‘landscapes’ within the Kruger Park helps readers to determine which tree species are likely to be seen in which area. Part of the NATURE NOW series, this compact ID guide is jampacked with images of trees – an informative safari companion for all who want to make the most of their visit to Kruger.
The smash-hit Sunday Times bestseller that will transform your understanding of our planet and life itself. The more we learn about fungi, the less makes sense without them. They can change our minds, heal our bodies and even help us avoid environmental disaster; they are metabolic masters, earth-makers and key players in most of nature's processes. In Entangled Life, Merlin Sheldrake takes us on a mind-altering journey into their spectacular world, and reveals how these extraordinary organisms transform our understanding of our planet and life itself.
The Madikwe Game Reserve, situated against the Botswana border, just three hours' drive from both Johannesburg and Pretoria, is one of South Africa's prime safari destinations and its fifth biggest game reserve. Madikwe is a Big Five game reserve covering some 75,000 hectares. The rich diversity of vegetation ensures a wide range of game, and the topography offers ideal game viewing opportunities for wilderness safaris. Madikwe is also one of the few places where you can see the Brown Hyena and the Aardwolf, making it extra special. The perfect companion to any foray into the savannah, Madikwe Game Drive includes not only beautiful photographs of a wide array of birds, mammals and reptiles, but informative text which is both extremely compact and highly comprehensive. All statistics that could conceivably help a viewer to identify, catalogue and learn about each animal are provided in concise and clear format. The Latin and colloquial names for each animal are included, along with the Afrikaans, French, German and Zulu names. The listings are given ratings for rarity of sightings, and each animal a tick box for viewers to mark upon sighting.
Botanicum is ’n pragtige volkleur boek wat ’n hele klomp raaisels om plante onthul. Hoe het die eerste plante gelyk? Wanneer het die eerste woude gevorm? Wanneer het plante begin blomme dra? Watter plante is die grootste, kleinste, vreemdste, seldsaamste, lelikste en stinkste op aarde? In Botanicum kan jy die mees eksotiese en veemdste plante bymekaar sien. Leer hoe plante al miljoene jare langer as ons bestaan en fassinerede dinge soos hoekom party plante groen is en ander nie en hoe party plante in water leef en ander in die lug hang sonder enige kontak met die grond. Kom ontdek binne Botanicum die wonderlike planteryk in sy kleurryke, verrassende glorie.
With a new afterword, Why You Are Here: A speech on the opening of the COP26 climate summit As a young man, I felt I was out there in the wild, experiencing the untouched natural world - but it was an illusion. The tragedy of our time has been happening all around us, barely noticeable from day to day - the loss of our planet's wild places, its biodiversity. I have been witness to this decline. A Life on Our Planet contains my witness statement, and my vision for the future - the story of how we came to make this, our greatest mistake, and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right. We have the opportunity to create the perfect home for ourselves and restore the wonderful world we inherited. All we need is the will do so.
The ideal gift for all amateur and seasoned astronomers. “This is a great guide to the night sky at a great priceâ€Astronomy Now “A handy and straightforward guide.†British Astronomical Association's 'Journal' “an ideal Christmas stocking-filler†The Observatory From the UK’s Number One Astronomy publisher, this is the bestselling stargazing handbook to the planets, stars and constellations visible from the northern hemisphere. With 6 pages for each month covering January–December 2024. This practical guide is an easy introduction to astronomy and a useful reference for seasoned stargazers. Designed for Britain and Ireland but usable anywhere in the world between 40°N and 60°N, covering most of Europe, southern Canada and the northern United States. Advice on where to start looking and a map of dark sky sites to avoid light pollution. Charts for the circumpolar and seasonal constellations. Easy-to-use star charts for each month with descriptions of objects and events to look for in 2024. Positions of the moon, visible planets and eclipses. Includes a section on comets and a detailed map of the moon. Now in three editions: Britain and Ireland; North America; Southern Hemisphere. Written and illustrated by astronomical experts, Storm Dunlop and Wil Tirion, and approved by the astronomers of the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
Powerfully moving, Elephant Dawn is the complete, unforgettable story of one woman’s remarkable and life-changing association with the Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe, a celebrated clan of wild, free-roaming giants. It comes at a time when elephants all around Africa face the very real threat of being poached to extinction for their ivory, and Zimbabwe continues to face tumultuous times. In 2001, Sharon Pincott traded her privileged life as a high-flying corporate executive to start a new one with the Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe. She was unpaid, untrained, self-funded and arrived with the starry-eyed idealism of most foreigners during early encounters with Africa. For thirteen years – the worst in Zimbabwe’s volatile history – this intrepid Australian woman lived in the Hwange bush, fighting for the lives of these elephants, forming an extraordinary and life-changing bond with them. Now remote from Robert Mugabe’s rule, Sharon writes without restraint sequentially through the years, taking us on a truly unforgettable ride of hope and heartbreak, profound love and loss, adversity and new beginnings. This is the haunting, all-encompassing story we’ve been waiting for.
Join Sarah Beeny on her journey to live more simply and find her forever home... Throughout her life, Sarah Beeny has been obsessed with the idea of home. From her childhood growing up in a countryside cottage to renovating her very first flat in London to restoring a stately home in Yorkshire, she has never been afraid of the hard work needed to turn a house into a home. Now, in her most recent adventure, Sarah and her family have moved to a former dairy farm in Somerset to build the home of their dreams. In The Simple Life, Sarah will tell the story of her life, sharing tales and experiences in everything including parenting, property, friendships, nature and the environment, all the way through to her recent cancer diagnosis and treatment. Through it all, Sarah tackles challenges and troubles with signature wit and wisdom, discovering life is never as 'simple' as you'd like it to be.
The Meaning of Geese is a book of thrilling encounters with wildlife, of tired legs, punctured tyres and inhospitable weather. Above all, it is the story of Nick Acheson's love for the land in which he was born and raised, and for the wild geese that fill it with sound and spectacle every winter. Renowned naturalist and conservationist Nick Acheson spent countless hours observing and researching wild geese, transported through all weathers by his mother's 40-year-old trusty red bicycle. He meticulously details the geese's arrival, observing what they mean to his beloved Norfolk and the role they play in local people's lives - and what role the birds could play in our changing world. During a time when many people faced the prospect of little work or human contact, Nick followed the pinkfeet and brent geese that filled the Norfolk skies and landscape as they flew in from Iceland and Siberia. In their flocks, Nick encountered rarer geese, including Russian white-fronts, barnacle geese and an extremely unusual grey-bellied brant, a bird he had dreamt of seeing since thumbing his mother's copy of Peter Scott's field guide as a child. To honour the geese's great athletic migrations, Nick kept a diary of his sightings as well as the stories he discovered through the community of people, past and present, who loved them, too. Over seven months Nick cycles over 1,200 miles - the exact length of the pinkfeet's migration to Iceland.
A Times Bestseller Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for UK Nature Writing 2020 'Remarkable, and so profoundly enjoyable to read ... Its importance is huge, setting down a vital marker in the 21st century debate about how we use and abuse the land' - Joyce McMillan, Scotsman Desperate to connect with his native Galloway, Patrick Laurie plunges into work on his family farm in the hills of southwest Scotland. Investing in the oldest and most traditional breeds of Galloway cattle, the Riggit Galloway, he begins to discover how cows once shaped people, places and nature in this remote and half-hidden place. This traditional breed requires different methods of care from modern farming on an industrial, totally unnatural scale. As the cattle begin to dictate the pattern of his life, Patrick stumbles upon the passing of an ancient rural heritage. Always one of the most isolated and insular parts of the country, as the twentieth century progressed, the people of Galloway deserted the land and the moors have been transformed into commercial forest in the last thirty years. The people and the cattle have gone, and this withdrawal has shattered many centuries of tradition and custom. Much has been lost, and the new forests have driven the catastrophic decline of the much-loved curlew, a bird which features strongly in Galloway's consciousness. The links between people, cattle and wild birds become a central theme as Patrick begins to face the reality of life in a vanishing landscape.
The deep sea is the last, vast wilderness on the planet. For centuries, myth-makers and storytellers have concocted imaginary monsters of the deep, and now scientists are looking there to find bizarre, unknown species, chemicals to make new medicines, and to gain a greater understanding of how this world of ours works. With an average depth of 12,000 feet and chasms that plunge much deeper, it forms a frontier for new discoveries. The Brilliant Abyss tells the story of our relationship with the deep sea - how we imagine, explore and exploit it. It captures the golden age of discovery we are currently in and looks back at the history of how we got here, while also looking forward to the unfolding new environmental disasters that are taking place miles beneath the waves, far beyond the public gaze. Throughout history, there have been two distinct groups of deep-sea explorers. Both have sought knowledge but with different and often conflicting ambitions in mind. Some people want to quench their curiosity; many more have been lured by the possibilities of commerce and profit. The tension between these two opposing sides is the theme that runs throughout the book, while readers are taken on a chronological journey through humanity's developing relationship with the deep sea. The Brilliant Abyss ends by looking forwards to humanity's advancing impacts on the deep, including mining and pollution and what we can do about them.
Chris Packham's infectious passion for nature will inspire you on your birdwatching journey. Chris is a lifelong birdwatcher and the perfect guide on a day out bird spotting. Through a series of chapters, he can build you from an absolute beginner exploring your own backyard, giving you tips and insights that he has gained from years of birdwatching. Whether you are in a city or deep in the country, birds are guaranteed and provide an easy doorway into nature. Learn where, when, and how to look and what to look out for. Find out what equipment to buy and how to use it. Discover the different characters and characteristics of birds - from the shy bittern to the bold robin and gymnastic red kite. As you build skills and experience, the book will help you expand horizons from walks with binoculars around your "local patch" to visiting remote wildlife reserves and other nature hotspots, with their contrasting birdlife and different demands, from dense woodland to expansive estuaries teeming with flocks of waders. |
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