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Field Notes from a Hidden City: An Urban Nature Diary
Against the background of austere and beautiful Aberdeen, Woolfson observes the seasons, the streets and the quiet places of her city over the course of a year. She considers the geographic, atmospheric and environmental elements which bring diverse life forms together in close proximity, and in absorbing prose writes of the animals among us: the birds, the rats and squirrels, the spiders and the insects. Her close examination of the natural world leads her to question our prevailing attitudes to urban and non-urban wildlife, and to look again at the values we place on the lives of individual species.
357 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2013
18 people are currently reading
603 people want to read
About the author
Esther Woolfson
10 books23 followersEsther Woolfson was brought up in Glasgow and studied Chinese at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Edinburgh University.
Her critically acclaimed short stories have appeared in many anthologies including 'New Writing Scotland' and several volumes of 'Scottish Short Stories'and have been read on Radio 4.
She has won prizes for them and for nature writing. She was awarded a Scottish Arts Council Travel Grant which enabled her to travel in Poland and Lithuania.
Esther won the Waterstone's/Arvon short prize prize for her short story 'Passing On' and her short story 'Statues' was shortlisted for the Macallan Prize.
Her short story,'Chagall' is in the Scottish Arts Council on-line short story archive and her article, 'Trump in Scotland' was published in the American magazine n+1.
Her book on natural history, Corvus was published by Granta in August, 2008. It was Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4. Her novel Piano Angel was published by Two Ravens Press October 2008.
Esther took part in an Artists' Residency at Aberdeen University's Centre for Environmental Sustainability. She gave a paper on the relationship between the arts and science, in which she examined the breaking-down of the traditional separation between the disciplines.
Esther was Writer in Residence at Kielder as part of the Hexham Book Festival in 2012.
'Field Notes From a Hidden City' is about the relationship between the urban and the 'wild', between the people who live in cities and the most common species who share our living space - pigeons, spiders, rats, squirrels. It touches on themes of biology, climate change, phenology and the ethics of human-animal relations. It is published in February 2013.
Her critically acclaimed short stories have appeared in many anthologies including 'New Writing Scotland' and several volumes of 'Scottish Short Stories'and have been read on Radio 4.
She has won prizes for them and for nature writing. She was awarded a Scottish Arts Council Travel Grant which enabled her to travel in Poland and Lithuania.
Esther won the Waterstone's/Arvon short prize prize for her short story 'Passing On' and her short story 'Statues' was shortlisted for the Macallan Prize.
Her short story,'Chagall' is in the Scottish Arts Council on-line short story archive and her article, 'Trump in Scotland' was published in the American magazine n+1.
Her book on natural history, Corvus was published by Granta in August, 2008. It was Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4. Her novel Piano Angel was published by Two Ravens Press October 2008.
Esther took part in an Artists' Residency at Aberdeen University's Centre for Environmental Sustainability. She gave a paper on the relationship between the arts and science, in which she examined the breaking-down of the traditional separation between the disciplines.
Esther was Writer in Residence at Kielder as part of the Hexham Book Festival in 2012.
'Field Notes From a Hidden City' is about the relationship between the urban and the 'wild', between the people who live in cities and the most common species who share our living space - pigeons, spiders, rats, squirrels. It touches on themes of biology, climate change, phenology and the ethics of human-animal relations. It is published in February 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
August 6, 2017
I don't know what it was with this book, but after reading Corvus: A Life with Birds, this one just paled in comparison. Woolfson seemed to repeat some of the stories in Corvus (or at least make reference to them without further explanation) and seemed to jump all over the place.
September 14, 2024
Quite enjoyed this book about urban nature. The book is more or less in a diary form, with dated entries and contains longer essays as well. Starting off with Snow, to Midwinter, and ending with Into Autumn. The weather is mentioned quite frequently, a main topic. The author lives in Aberdeen, Scotland and weather there can be quite severe and stark.
One striking passage was the description of taking a walk during some strong gale force winds. Not sure why she was out while winds were that strong, maybe it happened suddenly while already out walking.
However, the main discussions in the book are about the small animals around her garden and what is seen when out in the city. These are mostly birds, but a few other small creatures are discussed, such as the squirrels, red and grey. Long essays were devoted to these along slugs and spiders. The compassion for these living beings and their purpose provide a different way of looking at what is typically something grossed out by or frightened about.
Woolfson has had pets in her home, or maybe calling them pets is not quite the right term, but she houses animals that most would not, such as crows and rats, although pet rats are perhaps more common than a crow. Her children had some pets, and as they left the house the pets typically stayed behind.
Her garden is set up to help and encourage the local wildlife, mostly birds, but also encourages other small animals. She feeds the wild birds and helps with providing nesting materials, also houses some a few doves. I did appreciate how the animals she mentioned were always provided with their scientific names. It helped as then one can look it up easily and find what they look like if one wanted a picture. The book contained a few line drawings between sections, which were a nice addition.
One striking passage was the description of taking a walk during some strong gale force winds. Not sure why she was out while winds were that strong, maybe it happened suddenly while already out walking.
However, the main discussions in the book are about the small animals around her garden and what is seen when out in the city. These are mostly birds, but a few other small creatures are discussed, such as the squirrels, red and grey. Long essays were devoted to these along slugs and spiders. The compassion for these living beings and their purpose provide a different way of looking at what is typically something grossed out by or frightened about.
Woolfson has had pets in her home, or maybe calling them pets is not quite the right term, but she houses animals that most would not, such as crows and rats, although pet rats are perhaps more common than a crow. Her children had some pets, and as they left the house the pets typically stayed behind.
Her garden is set up to help and encourage the local wildlife, mostly birds, but also encourages other small animals. She feeds the wild birds and helps with providing nesting materials, also houses some a few doves. I did appreciate how the animals she mentioned were always provided with their scientific names. It helped as then one can look it up easily and find what they look like if one wanted a picture. The book contained a few line drawings between sections, which were a nice addition.
November 4, 2015
Description: Against the background of austere and beautiful Aberdeen, Woolfson observes the seasons, the streets and the quiet places of her city over the course of a year.
Opening: It was almost four in the afternoon on one of the oddly quiet days of December. Snow had fallen again, yet another layer to freeze onto the iron-hard strata of thick, packed ice. In less than a month, the city had been turned into a fortress of ice and stone.
I cannot imagine a better book to contrast with A Long Walk in the Himalaya: A Trek from the Ganges to Kashmir. Field Notes is micro, Weare's tome macro. This is stroll, meander and whimsy; A Long Walk is route march, brisk and purposeful. And I loved both.
Kenneth McKellar - The Northern Lights Of Old Aberdeen
NONFIC NOVEMBER 2015:
CR White Mughals
CR A History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts
3* Rome and the Barbarians
4* Field Notes From A Hidden City
3* The King's Jews: Money, Massacre and Exodus in Medieval England
CR A History of Palestine 634-1099
CR Charlotte Brontë: A Life
3* The Alhambra
CR A Long Walk in the Himalaya: A Trek from the Ganges to Kashmir
Opening: It was almost four in the afternoon on one of the oddly quiet days of December. Snow had fallen again, yet another layer to freeze onto the iron-hard strata of thick, packed ice. In less than a month, the city had been turned into a fortress of ice and stone.
I cannot imagine a better book to contrast with A Long Walk in the Himalaya: A Trek from the Ganges to Kashmir. Field Notes is micro, Weare's tome macro. This is stroll, meander and whimsy; A Long Walk is route march, brisk and purposeful. And I loved both.Kenneth McKellar - The Northern Lights Of Old Aberdeen
NONFIC NOVEMBER 2015:
CR White Mughals
CR A History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts
3* Rome and the Barbarians
4* Field Notes From A Hidden City
3* The King's Jews: Money, Massacre and Exodus in Medieval England
CR A History of Palestine 634-1099
CR Charlotte Brontë: A Life
3* The Alhambra
CR A Long Walk in the Himalaya: A Trek from the Ganges to Kashmir
April 9, 2013
In order to write his nature diary, Thoreau lived as a hermit in the woods. Esther Woolfson has written hers, while living with her family in the Scottish city of Aberdeen. This contrast shows how our perspective on nature has changed over the last two centuries or so. We no longer think of nature as a place but, rather, as a dimension of experience, usually present yet very easy to ignore. For this reason Woolfson's Field Notes of a Hidden City is even more profoundly introspective than Thoreau's Walden. Woolfson looks at manifestations of the natural world in an urban setting such as squirrels, mice, pigeons, crows, and granite in terms of personal experience, science, and history. Like Walden, Field Notes is organized according to the seasons, which, like the rest of nature, must now be rediscovered. The rhythms of the year seem to be present in the wonderfully steady cadences of her prose.
Full disclosure. I am a friend of Esther Woolfson. Does that make me biased? Maybe, but I would have written much the same thing if that were not the case.
Full disclosure. I am a friend of Esther Woolfson. Does that make me biased? Maybe, but I would have written much the same thing if that were not the case.
January 4, 2017
This non-fiction will not be to everyone’s taste, but if you enjoy nature writing or slow, reflexive essays, give it a try. It starts out with winter in Aberdeen in the north of Scotland, so maybe begin the book in June in North America so you aren’t overwhelmed with the cold and dark.
There's a lot about birds in this book - did you know starlings are a threatened species in Britain? That house sparrows are endangered there? Weird to think they're dwindling in their native lands while we think of them as invasive pests. Woolfson probably provides more details about pigeons, crows, rooks, oystercatchers, baby birds, bird rescue, and jackdaws (apparently reviled in Scotland) than most Americans want, but if you're in the right mood it is fascinating.
There are also interesting sections on spiders, arachnophobia, slugs, urban foxes, rats, shrews, native vs. introduced species and red & gray squirrels, some reflections on how we talk about and treat animals and how this relates to how we treat people (invasive species=immigrants), a philosophy of nature, weather, climate change, and Jewish culture and life outdoors.
Wonderful insights, poetic prose, well-grounded research. Now can someone write something like this for the Midwest US?
There's a lot about birds in this book - did you know starlings are a threatened species in Britain? That house sparrows are endangered there? Weird to think they're dwindling in their native lands while we think of them as invasive pests. Woolfson probably provides more details about pigeons, crows, rooks, oystercatchers, baby birds, bird rescue, and jackdaws (apparently reviled in Scotland) than most Americans want, but if you're in the right mood it is fascinating.
There are also interesting sections on spiders, arachnophobia, slugs, urban foxes, rats, shrews, native vs. introduced species and red & gray squirrels, some reflections on how we talk about and treat animals and how this relates to how we treat people (invasive species=immigrants), a philosophy of nature, weather, climate change, and Jewish culture and life outdoors.
Wonderful insights, poetic prose, well-grounded research. Now can someone write something like this for the Midwest US?
July 23, 2017
Lovely writing but I'm finding it slow, even though it's a topic that I am also writing about: nature in the city. In her case, the city is Aberdeen in Scotland. I'm learning some new terms, including "thundersnow" (we were just graced with thundersnow in Seattle) and about creatures like rats and starlings and holiday customs (which I will share in my web site, Living in Season). i finally gave up on this. It's a book to be savored rather than devoured. And it was due at the library.
June 13, 2014
In this fascinating book, Esther Woolfson takes the reader to Aberdeen, Scotland. She writes of the environment and biology of her city throughout one year's time. Aberdeen is a rainy, cold city, home to sea animals such as seals and dolphins as well as the animals and birds that tend to live in cities. Woolfson writes in detail of her observations during the year, taking the reader into a quiet, nuanced life that focuses on how we can live without harming the other creatures that share the world with us.
As she writes, the reader learns many interesting facts. She talks of how pigeons which are often held in disdain, are merely a different kind of dove, a bird which is beloved. Slugs may have contributed to the depiction of Cupid with his arrows from their own ability to shoot a 'love dart' during their courting behavior. She talks about the rapid decline of many species, especially songbirds, leading to birds such as sparrows, which are considered very common due to their former numbers, now being put on endangered lists. We learn that many birds, such as gulls, may live to be forty years old, and that they have the ability to remember places as well as recognize other birds over the years.
Woolfson also writes of emotions stirred by our interaction with nature. She talks of how our children's lives can be marked by the time pets lived in our homes. She talks about the recognizable scent of baby birds, similar to people who talk about puppy breath. She writes about how certain animals and birds are singled out for disdain, often because of how they are given human characteristics by their observers. Two examples of this are magpie and spiders, each of which serve an unique biological function that can't be replaced if they disappear. She also talks about the emerging field of 'invasion biology' which attempts to return an environment to some former point in time as regards the plants and animals found there, and the difficulties in justifying such an endeavor.
Kirkus Reviews recently put this book on their list '2014's Most Overlooked Books'. Readers will be enchanted by the quiet beauty revealed by Woolfson's writing and compelled to look at the world in a different manner by her championing of the sharing of our world. This book is recommended for nonfiction readers and those interested in learning more of how our world works.
As she writes, the reader learns many interesting facts. She talks of how pigeons which are often held in disdain, are merely a different kind of dove, a bird which is beloved. Slugs may have contributed to the depiction of Cupid with his arrows from their own ability to shoot a 'love dart' during their courting behavior. She talks about the rapid decline of many species, especially songbirds, leading to birds such as sparrows, which are considered very common due to their former numbers, now being put on endangered lists. We learn that many birds, such as gulls, may live to be forty years old, and that they have the ability to remember places as well as recognize other birds over the years.
Woolfson also writes of emotions stirred by our interaction with nature. She talks of how our children's lives can be marked by the time pets lived in our homes. She talks about the recognizable scent of baby birds, similar to people who talk about puppy breath. She writes about how certain animals and birds are singled out for disdain, often because of how they are given human characteristics by their observers. Two examples of this are magpie and spiders, each of which serve an unique biological function that can't be replaced if they disappear. She also talks about the emerging field of 'invasion biology' which attempts to return an environment to some former point in time as regards the plants and animals found there, and the difficulties in justifying such an endeavor.
Kirkus Reviews recently put this book on their list '2014's Most Overlooked Books'. Readers will be enchanted by the quiet beauty revealed by Woolfson's writing and compelled to look at the world in a different manner by her championing of the sharing of our world. This book is recommended for nonfiction readers and those interested in learning more of how our world works.
September 20, 2014
I was slightly worried when I picked this up that it would be a bit of a busman's holiday reading this, but I needn't have worried. It's a delightful read and Aberdeen is different enough to London for the urban wildlife to be wildly different. Taking us through a year Field Notes provides musings on the seasons, life in its many forms, the coexistance of humans with nature, individual animals the author knows or comes across, historical facts and modern research, and other fascinating things. Woolfson is a sympathetic observer of creatures great and small, and there were plenty of asides that had me laughing out loud when reading this on the train. It is a great reminder of the joy of observing "ordinary" wildlife and of all the wonder that lives alongside us humans.
April 16, 2016
Written ove the course of a year, Woolfson takes us on a stroll throughout Aberdeen, looking that the natural world around her in this very northern city. Looking at the the wild creatures that inhabit it, and the ones in her house too, she writes short and long entries on subject such as pigeons, slugs foxes and plants.
Some of the passages and entries are beautifully written, they are eloquent and inspirational. There are longer sections of the where she expands on subjects that are she is passionate about, but it feels like these haves been included in to add substance to the book. If only they had just left it as a diary it would have been much better. Really a 2.5 star read.
Some of the passages and entries are beautifully written, they are eloquent and inspirational. There are longer sections of the where she expands on subjects that are she is passionate about, but it feels like these haves been included in to add substance to the book. If only they had just left it as a diary it would have been much better. Really a 2.5 star read.
February 25, 2020
It's always a pleasure spending time within Woolfson's pages, although I had a lump in my throat and tear in my eye at many times. I think she moves me most because she shifts between a focus on tiny things, and then moving out to the bigger picture. I like the way she lives her life, engaged in embedded in place – and the way she shares it with us. This book is six years old, and all the things she is concerned about regarding our climate and environment have only got worse, and we seem to have done so little about it. I can't imagine wanting to read this book in another six years time and still knowing we've done little about it. And sadly I can imagine a time when the wonders of living life close to nature, even in urban environments, is a thing we can only experience within the pages of books like this, written some time ago.
September 3, 2014
This book is a treasure. Woolfson intermingles journal-type observations of nature in Aberdeen, Scotland with longer essays on species and musings about them. The book is all about cycles: weeks in seasons, in years, in calendars, in the Jewish calendar, and our lives within those cycles. I spent a lot of time, in my Kindle edition, noting other authors and publications that I want to read in the future. Since I focus on northern New England flora and fauna, I was hesitant to read this. But her observations and information are as apropos to my life here as life in Scotland.
I will be referencing this book greatly in the future. It must have taken Woolfson a long time to research and reference all of the topics she covers. She is well read and wise. Her writing style took me a while to get used to, but I did and ended up not being able to put this book down. I highly recommend it.
I will be referencing this book greatly in the future. It must have taken Woolfson a long time to research and reference all of the topics she covers. She is well read and wise. Her writing style took me a while to get used to, but I did and ended up not being able to put this book down. I highly recommend it.
May 12, 2017
Rather lovely. Never been to Aberdeen but feel like I know the place now. Only parts I didn't like was the schoolboy physics lesson about the Earth's tilt causing seasons and the description of SAD. For the latter, it was too obvious it was written by a non-sufferer. I guess because SAD is a fairly major annual issue for me, I should have liked a little more gravitas to that section. Choosing to fixate on how everyone's sad these days seemed like too much of a brush-off. But it was a beautiful book and I particularly loved all the recommendations throughout of other books to read. I'll be taking advice on some of those.
September 22, 2014
"It is almost four in the afternoon on one of the oddly quiet days of December. Snow had fallen again, yet another layer to freeze onto the iron-hard strata of thick, packed ice. .. Every afternoon towards dusk, the cold became visible; it fell in a fine mist of ice particles which stung in the throat." Once Woolfson set me down in the middle of a Scottish winter I was hers for the rest that year. This is a beautifully written, wise, and thoughtful book that not only transported me to another country, but out of some of my narrow assumptions about what's beautiful and worthy in nature.
March 19, 2021
I had no idea what the hidden city of the title was until I picked up the book, and it's Aberdeen, a place I have never been, and of which my sum total of knowledge was that it was very far north in Scotland, full of granite, and it rained a lot there. (There's a joke of doubtful truth, here in New Zealand, that when the Scots first settled here they chose Nelson, but the weather was too nice there so they went to Dunedin instead. I don't know where I heard that one, but heard it I have.) Woolfson's diary tracks the changes through the year, and it starts and ends in winter. The pages are full of snow, and rain, and her constant desire to see the aurora borealis, a desire which never eventuates though freezing winds are all too common, and not, I think, much compensation.
Most of the focus, though, is given to the creatures that live in her house and garden, the majority of which are birds. There's not a lot of what you'd call fancy wildlife here. Woolfson seems to have a particular predilection for the common and the disdained; she focuses on creatures like pigeons, sparrows, and rats, wondering how far she should go to make room for them in her house. A little mouse who wants to spend the winter inside and steals the odd tiny bit of food from her birds, fine. The rats that make a home under the house are less fine, but the guilt she feels in having them poisoned is constant. There's a strong focus here on learning to value common creatures for themselves, and the moral consequences of choosing to cause them harm. Why are her Aberdeen neighbours so vicious towards the grey squirrel, for example, and so welcoming to the red? (Though it's a late welcoming, given the national history of slaughter towards those same red squirrels.) It's a very thoughtful book, anyway, and if I do find it a tiny bit slow in places, I still really enjoyed it. And I want to visit Aberdeen now, so there's that.
Most of the focus, though, is given to the creatures that live in her house and garden, the majority of which are birds. There's not a lot of what you'd call fancy wildlife here. Woolfson seems to have a particular predilection for the common and the disdained; she focuses on creatures like pigeons, sparrows, and rats, wondering how far she should go to make room for them in her house. A little mouse who wants to spend the winter inside and steals the odd tiny bit of food from her birds, fine. The rats that make a home under the house are less fine, but the guilt she feels in having them poisoned is constant. There's a strong focus here on learning to value common creatures for themselves, and the moral consequences of choosing to cause them harm. Why are her Aberdeen neighbours so vicious towards the grey squirrel, for example, and so welcoming to the red? (Though it's a late welcoming, given the national history of slaughter towards those same red squirrels.) It's a very thoughtful book, anyway, and if I do find it a tiny bit slow in places, I still really enjoyed it. And I want to visit Aberdeen now, so there's that.
June 3, 2020
This is a great book for anyone that is interested in the urban wildlife around them - although it centres around the author and her city. It’s based in Aberdeen and is written over a year. Her descriptions of the weather and city at that time provoked clear memories for me. I remember the weather - where I was when I experienced it and what was going through my mind at that time. She also uncovered some hidden gems and history of a city that I thought I knew so well.
Parts of the book are quite academic with references to scientific papers. Although I am pretty used to that style I am not sure how much I enjoyed it in this book. Her reflections and observations of the city were what I really enjoyed. It made me think more about the spaces I was often rushing through and all the wildlife - some that I glimpsed but didn’t consider and others that I was completely oblivious to.
It was really enjoyable for me to read a book set in a city that does have so many happy memories for me and that I miss. It did transport me back there. It is a reflection on one person’s experience of the city though and based in the affluent West end which can be very different to how others have experienced the city. Her love for gulls might not be so great if she had lived in a small flat next to the bus depot for 6 years (they are great but also LOUD).
The book covers a lot about birds so I would only recommend it if you like wildlife and birds!
Parts of the book are quite academic with references to scientific papers. Although I am pretty used to that style I am not sure how much I enjoyed it in this book. Her reflections and observations of the city were what I really enjoyed. It made me think more about the spaces I was often rushing through and all the wildlife - some that I glimpsed but didn’t consider and others that I was completely oblivious to.
It was really enjoyable for me to read a book set in a city that does have so many happy memories for me and that I miss. It did transport me back there. It is a reflection on one person’s experience of the city though and based in the affluent West end which can be very different to how others have experienced the city. Her love for gulls might not be so great if she had lived in a small flat next to the bus depot for 6 years (they are great but also LOUD).
The book covers a lot about birds so I would only recommend it if you like wildlife and birds!
May 28, 2024
This very much is a nature diary you can dip in and out of, with entries and chapters on varying subjects across nature, history, anthropology and sociology, many of which are interesting and well researched. Aberdeen loosely features in the background but I didn't finish it with any new knowledge of the city or a desire to visit. At times the eclectic nature makes it less enthralling and I struggled to see a common thread, expecting that there would be some kind of conclusion about how one can still enjoy nature from within the city. Aside from a few mentions of the virtues of appreciating our common wildlife (pigeons, spiders, doves), I take away much from this that I'll remember.
February 7, 2021
I have had this book for a while and never got round to reading it. Once I did I got through it quite quickly and will certainly read Esther's other books as the writing is excellent.
I think the only problem I had with it is that it isn't just an urban nature diary, and at times it meanders rather too far from that given the title into things that aren't directly relevant. Generally though it's thought-provoking and enjoyable.
I think the only problem I had with it is that it isn't just an urban nature diary, and at times it meanders rather too far from that given the title into things that aren't directly relevant. Generally though it's thought-provoking and enjoyable.
April 16, 2022
I really loved the writing style in this book. Partially a diary and partially a series of essays on different urban wildlife it made me stop and look around me in my own landscape and inspired me to a different type of writing.
October 15, 2022
Author lives in Aberdeen, Scotland - very long winters, chilly, windy summers. She's very attentive to mostly the wildlife, tho a few plants, living in the city. Along the way she discusses historical authors and scientists.
January 13, 2023
A beautifully written account of a year in Aberdeen focusing on the city's wildlife. It starts and ends in winter - colder and snowier than now but the same short dark days. I also enjoyed the reflections of humanity's relationship with nature. A comforting winter read I think.
September 23, 2019
A engaging and interesting walk through the year’s natural history and family bird lives. A little stark or even unfeeling in places?
December 20, 2020
quite bird-heavy and i’m more of a fox gal myself
April 25, 2021
Beautifully written throughout, but I found it hard to stay interested in the authors life and musings.
December 28, 2016
Wonderful exploration of everyday life.
April 15, 2014
Certain animals and birds that live closely among us inspire at best indifference, at worst loathing. But why? Esther Woolfson writes beautifully and mulls over our unquestioning and prejudice attitudes. Why is it acceptable to hate the mightily intelligent magpie but love the aggressive robin? What makes the grey squirrel the enemy and the red much loved when both species were introduced to the UK by us when we had no right to decide the geography of species anyway?
Rats, foxes, crows, rabbits, pigeons and even slugs are also the subject of this expertly, lyrically written book that will make any casual admirer of the natural world think differently. For instance, the poisoning of slugs with pellets has a hugely detrimental effect on the more welcome visitors to our gardens like songbirds. A love letter to the less fashionable creatures that we share a planet with who, like us, are simply trying to live.
Rats, foxes, crows, rabbits, pigeons and even slugs are also the subject of this expertly, lyrically written book that will make any casual admirer of the natural world think differently. For instance, the poisoning of slugs with pellets has a hugely detrimental effect on the more welcome visitors to our gardens like songbirds. A love letter to the less fashionable creatures that we share a planet with who, like us, are simply trying to live.
Want to read
August 17, 2014Last week I came across this poetic account of urban natural life in Aberdeen at my local library and couldn't help but borrowing it. It's written as a diary, with emphasis on the observation of urban birds. This promises to be an amusing read at a time where we seem to be locked in a wildlife documentary here in Edinburgh, with the squirrels coming every morning to tap on our kitchen window asking for their breakfast and the seagulls in their breeding season permanently circling the sky above our place looking after their helpless chicks, who are born with this ugly brown envelope which we expect to gradually turn to their parents' dazzling white. Really curious to find out whether someone else may have had the same feeling we're basically the same kind of creatures as these frequently overlooked neighbours. I sometimes feel I could happily spend my life sitting in the kitchen and watching them come and go.
March 26, 2013
Interesting read in form of a year's diary of wildlife in her home town of Aberdeen. Variety of observations and good sense of place but wider interest too with discursions into corvids (her speciality) and other specific species. Scientific touches but not overwhelmingly so. Also much philosophising, some successful, some less so. Enjoyed her attempts to rehabilitate pigeons, grey squirrels and gulls, but she draws the line with rats.
September 27, 2013
I enjoyed this though sometimes found it a little heavy on the technical detail. It certainly sells rats, slugs and magpies more sympathetically than most! The setting and observations are charming and the writing is very fine, taking one on a year's tour of urban wildlife. Living in a city where one can meet not only birds, foxes and squirrels (both types) but also deer on the streets, and can see seals from a city bus route, it was lovely to see it recorded.
July 4, 2014
A human being who, seeing with the clear, unprejudiced eyes of a small child, and possessing a finely- tuned analytical mind, is able to communicate the necessity for living in harmony with this planet and all of its inhabitants, of which we are but one example. Her prose becomes poetry and her prose turns to poetry and one is left to absorb her message while experiencing a re-birth of child-like wonder in the richness of a world that most of us left behind when we 'grew up.'
January 2, 2015
Far more than just a urban nature diary (although fascinating in that regard alone), this is a book about humans and our sometimes confused and contradictory relationship with the natural world or indeed with ourselves. It is clear from her prose that Woolfson is also a gifted short story writer - not a word is wasted and each is perfect.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews