Lakeland Book of the Year 2018, Bookends Prize for Art and Literature, WINNER. With its enchanting song, striking orange bill and endearing willingness to share our living space, the blackbird is one of our best-loved birds. And, in common with all our garden wildlife, it plays a critical role in Britain's fragile and precious biodiversity. In The Blackbird Diaries, Karen Lloyd shares her deep-rooted knowledge and affection for the flora and fauna of these isles. And she issues a clarion call for the conservation of endangered habitats and species - most notably the curlew, Europe's largest wading bird. Over the four seasons, Karen intimately chronicles the drama of the natural world as it all unfolds in her garden and in the limestone hills and valleys of Cumbria's South Lakeland. What emerges is a celebration of landscapes that rarely feature in nature writing. But more than that, at a time of critical species loss, she offers rare insights into the lives of animals that may be common but are no less remarkable.

One of the most varied and spectacular natural areas in California, Big Sur's pristine beaches and rich forests are teeming with unique wildlife including sea otters, elephant seals, California condors and hundreds of species of butterflies, birds, reptiles, amphibians and land mammals. This beautifully illustrated guide highlights over 140 familiar and unique species and includes a regional map of the parks, forests and sanctuaries in the region. Laminated for durability, this lightweight, pocket-sized folding guide is an excellent source of portable information and ideal for field use by visitors and residents alike.

A complete beginner's guide to British moths. Moths are sometimes overlooked compared to the day-flying butterflies, however, many moths are even more colourful, accessible and fascinating. Britain and Ireland are home to an incredible array of moths, with more than 2,500 species known, and increasing numbers of people have discovered the joy in watching, catching and photographing this diverse group. But, where should you start in being able to identify them? British Moths: A Gateway Guide is a wonderful introduction to 350 species of the most common and eye-catching adult moths that you may encounter in the UK. Rather than being grouped in taxonomic order, species are organised by season, and similar-looking moths are placed alongside one another for ease of identification. Concise species accounts include information on key features, making it easy to distinguish between confusion species, seasonality, and when and where to see them; each account is also placed alongside photos that have been carefully chosen to aid identification with clearly-marked top tips. From the author of Much Ado About Mothing, this is the perfect companion for anyone wanting to learn more about these beautiful and remarkable creatures - from hawk-moths to tigers and ermines to emeralds.

We all suffer loss in life, be it the loss of a person we love, a pet, health, fortune, identity or fame. In order to assuage the pain of such losses we need to regain balance in our lives. This remarkable man, Poet Tristan, through humor, storytelling, heartbreak, self-deprecation and whimsy, in this, perhaps his first volume of work, helps us to replace that balance through his songs of love and life.

THE SUBTITLE OF THIS BOOK OUGHT TO BE 'THE LEGACY OF BUP and Thane' because, quite simply, if it hadn't been for those two German Shepherd dogs, this book would never, could never, have been written. First, because Bup pulled my adoptive mother out of deep, cold, fast moving irrigation water in the canal when she was three, thus saving her from drowning, and second because Thane, at the age of seven months, fought a house-breaker down a flight of stairs and drove him away one bitter January day when I was living far out and away from town, all alone on a large cattle ranch with no other help within call. Without that big pup, I seriously doubt I would have survived that attack intact, if I had survived it at all. In the first case, I would have been adopted by someone else and might never have grown up with German Shepherd dogs, and in the second case I probably wouldn't have survived at all. _______________ REFLECTIONS FROM THE DOG HOUSE HAS been in the works for over 100 years. The German shepherd dog sprang on to the scene in the late 1890s and early 1900s when a retired German Army Calvery General made the development of national dog breed his mission. This book traces the development, and what many have lamented to be, the decline of this noble breed we call the German shepherd. The book is divided into six parts containing seventeen (17) chapters.

Salmon are one of the most popular and commonly eaten fish and are among the most important fishery resources in the world. They are born and die in fresh water but can live in both fresh water and seawater where they migrate between rivers and oceans, showing amazing abilities to home to their natal stream precisely. However, their dynamic life cycles and mysterious abilities of natal stream imprinting and homing migration are not well understood. Physiological Aspects of Imprinting and Homing Migration in Salmon: Emerging Researches and Opportunities is a pivotal reference source that introduces the dynamic and complicated life cycle of salmon connected with fish migration and climate changes and presents physiological mechanisms of natal stream imprinting and homing in salmon with special references to hormone, olfaction, memory, and behavior. Additionally, salmon resources concerning salmon commercial fisheries, aquaculture, and global propagation systems are discussed. This book is ideally designed for ichthyologists, environmentalists, pisciculture professionals, fisheries, marine biologists, scientists, researchers, academicians, and students seeking coverage on one of the most integral species of fish in the world.

The tiny winged gems we know as hummingbirds occur in the Americas and nowhere else. This guide presents familiar species of North and South America together with basic information on their color patterns, field marks and geographical ranges. Each species description includes information on its habitat and behavior. Also included are tips for using feeders to attract hummingbirds. The Merlin Bird ID app download comes free with guide purchase.