Nature Tales: Encounters with Britain's Wildlife

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Nature Tales is a charming collection of encounters with the natural world from historic greats to modern household names, from Wildlife Trusts supporters to leading naturalists, such as: Andrew Lack, Bill Oddie, Charles Darwin, Charles Waterton, Chris Baines, Chris Beardshaw, Colin J. Martin, Colin Tudge, David Lack, Dorothy Wordsworth, Dominic Couzens, Edmund Selous, Edward A Armstrong, Edward Grey, Edward Thomas, Eric Ennion, Francis Kilvert, Gavin Maxwell, Geoffrey Grigson, George Montagu, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Gilbert White, Henry Eliot Howard, Henry Williamson, John Alec Baker, John Aubrey, John Buxton, John Clare, Jules Pretty, Kathleen Jamie, Mark Cocker, Miriam Rothschild, Nan Shepherd, Richard Jefferies, Richard Mabey, Robert Macfarlane, Roger Deakin, Ronald Lockley, Ruth Padel, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Simon Barnes, Sir Alfred Russel Wallace, Sir John Lister Kaye, Sir Joseph Banks, Stephen Moss, Thomas Gray, Tim Dee, William Cobbett, Nick Baker, Elizabeth Jane Howard, and Paul Evans. Including beautifully drawn illustrations, Nature Tales is a charming celebration of Britain's wildlife and countryside.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Foreword (p. vii)
• Introduction (p. ix)
• Chapter 1 In the garden
• From Bonsai to Blue Tits (p. 3)
• My Island in Suffolk (p. 7)
• On the Anger of Hornets (p. 11)
• Hoverfly (p. 15)
• The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Actions of Worms (p. 19)
• Chapter 2 On the wing
• Islay (p. 27)
• Swifts at Nest (p. 33)
• Rooks (p. 35)
• From The Natural History of Selbome (p. 37)
• Ravens (p. 43)
• Trunk Calls (p. 45)
• A Natural Amphitheatre (p. 49)
• The Call of the Wild (p. 53)
• The Gamekeeper at Home (p. 57)
• Cuckoo (p. 59)
• The Peregrine (p. 63)
• From The Natural History of Wiltshire (p. 71)
• The Redstart (p. 75)
• Tawny Owl (p. 77)
• Grey of Fallodon (p. 79)
• From The Running Sky (p. 81)
• Gold-crested Wren (p. 87)
• Adventures among Birds (p. 91)
• Chapter 3 By river and sea
• Bass Rock (p. 97)
• Fish-watching (p. 99)
• Dolphins (p. 103)
• Shells and Other Beach Objects (p. 105)
• The Living Mountain (p. 109)
• The Stream (p. 117)
• The Old Trout (p. 119)
• The Braan Salmon (p. 125)
• Shearwaters (p. 129)
• To the River (p. 133)
• An Appointment with Mrs Maximus (p. 139)
• Chapter 4 Past the hedgerows
• The Hayfields of Stoneborough (p. 149)
• An Encounter with Rural Worcestershire (p. 151)
• Sudden Snow (p. 153)
• Summer (p. 155)
• Early Spring (p. 159)
• The Magic of Horses (p. 165)
• Welsh Farm (p. 171)
• Bollitree and Horncastle (p. 175)
• Chapter 5 Under the trees
• Trees from My Window (p. 181)
• Leaves (p. 185)
• The Pine Wood (p. 191)
• Chapter 6 In the wild
• Very Close Encounters with British Wildlife (p. 199)
• Flight (p. 209)
• The Autumn Stalk (p. 215)
• Chapter 7 From my window
• From Wild Hares and Hummingbirds (p. 223)
• From Natural History Letters (p. 229)
• From The Turning Earth: Seven Days in September (p. 235)
• Chapter 8 Nature trails
• Milkwort on the Gower Peninsula, Wales (p. 245)
• Likenesses (p. 251)
• The End of an Excursion (p. 253)
• Gordale Scar (p. 257)
• The Mountain in Snow (p. 259)
• The Lake Shore at Gowbarrow Park (p. 261)
• Life of the Stream (p. 263)
• Chapter 9 Words and nature
• The Gannet (p. 271)
• Endings (p. 277)
• About The Wildlife Trusts (p. 283)
• Index (p. 286)
• Acknowledgements (p. 290)