‘A cracking read.’ IOLA WILLIAMS ‘What an incredible achievement!’ ALISON STEADMAN ‘An inspirational odyssey.’ NICK BAKER 'Immediately accessible.' BBC COUNTRYFILE - Mike Dilger's nationwide quest to find 1,000 wild plant species in a single year. For most of 2020, Mike Dilger’s day-job of travelling to the four corners of the British Isles all but disappeared. Having been confined to one place by the Covid pandemic, and with daily dog walks his sole permitted outdoor pursuit, the simple pleasure of getting to know the flowers at his feet reignited a long-buried botanical passion. Now Mike is on a mission: to see a thousand different wild plants in one calendar year, and assess how our fascinating flora is faring in modern Britain. From Cornwall to Kent and Breckland to the Scottish Highlands, Mike meets the resilient reserve wardens and courageous conservationists tasked with protecting some of the nation’s richest botanical sites, and experiences first-hand the many difficulties associated with saving our rarest and most charismatic plants. Taking in city centres, mountain tops and every conceivable habitat in between, One Thousand Shades of Green is a manifesto on how to love and conserve our green and pleasant land, and celebrates the beauty and diversity of the nation’s plants.

Have you ever wondered what 'our' birds get up to when they're not pinching our peanuts, pilfering our pyracantha berries or nesting under the eaves of our homes? The One Show's natural history star Mike Dilger tells us the answers in Nightingales in November. This brilliant almanac tells the very different personal and annual stories of twelve well-known birds we deign to call 'British'. Through a lyrical narrative, Nightingales in November showcases amazing avian facts gleaned over decades by birdwatchers, ringers, nest recorders and migration recorders. The perfect 'dip-into' book, any enquiring naturalist will be able to find out such facts as where British-breeding swallows spend Christmas Day, when to look out for juvenile tawny owls, or when is the best date in the calendar to listen out for nightingales. By using a combination of cutting-edge satellite technology and millions of ringing records, Nightingales in November reveals the mysteries of migration, tracking the regular movements of, for example, cuckoos for the eight months they're not in the UK, or divulging why not all robins are the 'stay-at-home' territorial types we once imagined. Illustrated throughout by Darren Woodhead, the birds featured include a rich mix of resident birds, summer visitors, winter visitors and passage migrants. Nightingales in November is a great read for anyone with a fondness for British birds.

Discover the amazing wildlife you can find in your own garden with this fascinating guide! Find out all about garden birds, animals, plants and creepy-crawlies. Turn the pages to discover colourful butterflies, friendly robins, shy hedgehogs and much more. You might even get some unexpected visitors! Features stunning photographs, brilliant facts and handy tips on where and when to spot the wildlife that visits your garden. The perfect guide for young nature-lovers everywhere!

Wild Town takes you on an amazing journey through the secret world of wildlife in Britain's towns and cities. With eye-catching photography, fascinating facts, and details on the locals as well as some unexpected visitors, this is the ultimate urban safari!

An insightful assessment of the nation's flora, following Mike Dilger's quest to find 1,000 plant species over the course of a year. For most of 2020, Mike Dilger's normal day-job of travelling to the four corners of the British Isles to film wildlife for The One Show all but disappeared, limiting his daily wildlife fixes to those short walks to and from home with son and dog. With his wings clipped, he couldn't shake the feeling he was missing out and even felt he was suffering from some form of 'nature deficit disorder'. But as spring slowly turned to summer, the simple pleasure of getting to know the wild plants on his own local patch turned his daily exercise from being somewhat tedious to utterly enthralling. Realising how little he knew about the wild plants just beyond his doorstep became the catalyst for reigniting a long-buried botanical passion. With the arrival of 2021 and a third lockdown, Mike decides to pack an eye lens and plant book alongside his trusty binoculars to see as many of our wild plants as possible, with 1,000 species the steep target. With the 'plant race' running for an entire calendar year, he joins up with other hardcore botanists, pointing him towards good sites with impressive plant lists and even precise coordinates for twitching for a small, select range of marquee species. During the course of the year he meets up with the resilient reserve wardens and courageous conservationists tasked with protecting some of the nations' richest botanical sites, and experiences first-hand the many difficulties associated with saving our rarest and most charismatic plants.

After the best part of forty years spent either living under his parents' roof, in the tropical rainforests of three continents, a vast array of student digs or most recently a one-bedroom flat, The One Show's Mike Dilger has at last bought a house - and with it, a (potentially) glorious garden... 'Potential' was definitely the word that sprang to mind the very first time Mike and his partner Christina viewed their new 'house-and-garden-to-be' in a small rural village some eight miles south of Bristol. And so begins their year-long journey to create their very own wildlife sanctuary. From otters to badgers, chickens to hedgehogs, an orchard, a pond and compost bins, to the best birdlife imaginable, what began as a straightforward mission soon became the adventure of a lifetime. Illustrated throughout with beautiful black-and-white line drawings by Christina Holvey, Mike Dilger's partner-in-crime, this light-hearted nature tale with a twist will appeal to wildlife enthusiasts and keen gardeners alike.