The Seafarers - A Journey among Birds by Stephen Rutt

$35.00 AUD

Category: Nature

The British Isles are remarkable for the extraordinary diversity of seabird life that they support: spectacular colonies of charismatic Arctic terns, elegant fulmars and stoic eiders, to name just a few. Often found in the most remote and dramatic reaches of our isles, these colonies are landscapes shap ed not by us but by the birds. In this moving and lyrical account, Stephen Rutt travels to the farthest corners of the UK to explore the part seabirds have played in our story and what they continue to mean to Britain today. From storm petrels (a small bird whose song is frequently likened to a "fairy being sick") on Mousa to gulls in Newcastle and gannets in Orkney, The Seabirds takes readers into breathtaking landscapes, sights, smells and sounds, bringing these vibrant birds and their habitats to life. In the face of a looming environmental crisis, Stephen Rutt's investigation is both personal and passionate. This beautiful book reveals what it feels like to be immersed in a completely wild landscape, examining the allure of the remote and the search for quietness, isolation and nature in an over-crowded world. ...Show more

Nature's Explorers - Adventurers Who Recorded the Wonders of the Natural World by Natural History Natural History Museum

$40.00 AUD

Category: Nature

Nature's Explorers celebrates the individuals who made great personal endeavours to document the natural world. Superb artworks and photographs spanning three centuries have been chosen to illustrate each essay. From ground-breaking theorists such as Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace to evocativ e artists like Ferdinand Bauer and John James Audubon, these explorers shared an ambition to illuminate new worlds and each embodied the spirit of the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. It was not until the early eighteenth century that artists were included on such expeditions, they were called upon to illustrate the new flora and fauna they discovered and in doing so were also able to provide new insights from social, cultural and historical perspectives. ...Show more

Written in Stone : Reading the Rocks of the Great Ocean Road by Philomena Manifold

$49.95 AUD

Category: Nature

Remarkable Trees by Tony Kirkham; Christina Harrison

$49.99 AUD

Category: Nature

More than 60,000 species of trees are found in an amazing variety of forms, sizes and habitats. Every tree has its own story and here are over 60, selected for their particular resonance and connection with humankind and representing most of the world's major zones and ecologies. In portraits that combi ne vivid cultural and historical narrative with a firm scientific grounding, the authors reveal the details of trees from around the world, both familiar and strange. We use timbers for building and creating, have discovered which tree fruits and seeds taste delicious, and which can kill or cure us, and which species can add colour and spirituality to our lives - from the timber of mahogany to the delights of chocolate and pomegranate, from the medicinal tea tree to the deadly manchineel, and from fragrant frankincense to the highly prized dragon's blood tree. Artists and botanists alike have been inspired by trees for centuries, and a varied and beautiful range of images from the unrivalled archive at Kew illustrate the stories, to create this enlightening and enchanting book. ...Show more

Feeding the Birds at Your Table: A Guide for Australia by Darryl Jones

$24.99 AUD

Category: Nature

Feeding the Birds at Your Table is designed to provide detailed, comprehensive advice and suggestions for people wishing to feed wild birds in Australia from their own backyards and balconies. Millions of Australians feed wild birds in their gardens. Yet there is currently little information or advice o n offer to tell them how to do this properly. This book provides the first readily available source of reliable information relevant to Australia. What’s more, it is written by an expert who feeds birds himself. Including profiles on different types of Australian urban birds, what to feed them and the types of feeders to use, it also has advice on how to create a bird-friendly garden. Feeding the Birds at Your Table offers sensible and practical suggestions so feeding doesn’t only benefit us, but benefits the birds themselves. ‘At last, a sensible, science-based guide to safely feeding wild birds in Australia.’ — Paul Sullivan, CEO, BirdLife Australia ...Show more

Turning the Boat for Home by Richard Mabey

$39.99 AUD

Category: Nature

For five decades Richard Mabey has been a pioneering voice in modern nature writing. From the rediscovery of foraging that led to Food for Free, through his groundbreaking expeditions in the 'edgelands' in the 1970s, to his reflections on the musicality of bird-song, he has consistently explored new way s of thinking about nature and its relation to our lives. In Turning the Boat for Home, he introduces pieces from his rich writing life that reflect on how his ideas evolved. At the heart is a passionate belief that Earth is a commonwealth, of all species. Mabey recalls the fight against the commercial afforestation of the Scottish peatlands and recounts the experience of running a 'community woodland', one of the first in Britain. Plants, the organisms that underpin all life, have been a source of constant fascination. In his encyclopaedic Flora Britannica Mabey explored how deeply they are embedded in our popular culture. But they are also autonomous beings with their own agendas, as experienced in his own 'serendipitous' garden 'in which wild organisms improvise their own landscapes'. From a new viewpoint, 'the slow-moving carapace' of a boat on the Norfolk Broads, Mabey ponders the migration of geese and the home-loving whirligig beetles. His epiphany is that a sense of "neighbourliness" may be the best model for our relationship with the rest of the living world. Throughout there is a commitment to writing and to language, which may be 'our greatest ecological gift'. In a celebration that links the work of the poet John Clare with the political warnings of Rachel Carson, Mabey suggests that 'the answer to the still present threat of a silent spring is for us to sing against the storm.' ...Show more

Enchantment of the Long-Haired Rat: A Rodent History of Australia by Tim Bonyhady

$32.99 AUD

Category: Nature

The Enchantment of the Long-haired Rat tells the story of a small Australian rodent known for its fast and prodigious spread after big rains: plagues for the European colonists who feared and loathed all rats; an abundance of food for the indigenous peoples who feasted with delight in these times of ple nty. While the rats brought despair and hardship for the early colonist eating not only crops and supplies but clothes, boots and saddlery, their presence also offered a lifeline as a food source. The Burke and Wills story might well have had a different ending had the hapless explorers been tempted to follow the example of the Aboriginal people and make use of a nutritious and readily available meal. Tim Bonyhady's account - from the earliest evidence of it, found in caves and overhangs, to its most recent boom triggered by the immense rains across Australia of 2010-11 and current research of its mysterious life - presents a fascinating view of Australia's history, illuminating a species, a continent, its climate and its people. ...Show more

Sharks: A History of Fear by Callum Denness

$29.99 AUD

Category: Nature

For as long as people have lived in Australia, the shark has loomed large in our fears. From the Noongar people of Western Australia who stayed out of the water for fear of being taken, to media hysteria about attacks and even sightings today, sharks occupy the dark recesses of our national psyche unlik e any other predator. They challenge the very sense of ourselves as Australians, a people who hug the coastline and love the freedom of the surf. And the dispute between whether to kill or protect sharks cuts to the political core of our nation, yet another divide between the right and the left. There is no denying that shark attacks have been increasing in recent years, and so have our fears. Where do we go from here? How worried should we be? Journalist Callum Denness deep-dives into the history of our relationship with sharks, and circles our fear by talking to activists, marine biologists, politicians, surfers, survivors and those who've lost loved ones. Compelling and challenging, this is the clearest picture yet of whether or not we can co-exist with sharks. Don't get back into the water until you read SHARKS: A HISTORY OF FEAR. ...Show more

Eucalypts of the Mount Alexander Region by Bernard J. Slattery

$14.95 AUD

Category: Nature

A field guide for beginners to common and uncommon Eucalypts of this region inland of the Great Divide in Victoria. Each species is illustrated with numerous excellent photos and line drawings. Descriptions are technically accurate but free of technical language. Though locally based, the guide would be useful to anyone interested in the 'box-ironbark' regions of Victoria. ...Show more

Owls: Journeys Around the World by David Hollands

$35.00 AUD

Category: Nature

David Hollands first became aware of owls as a young boy upon hearing the quavering hoot of the Tawny Owl which lived, out of sight, in the woods near his home. Their secrets remained undiscovered but then he came across some spectral Barn Owls in an ancient English barn. These were the first owls that he had watched at close quarters and photographed in the night. It was a magical experience and, by then, that first awareness had progressed and become a lifelong passion. David Hollands came to Australia in 1961and for a while, the demands of running a medical practice put a brake on other activities. Nevertheless, his fascination for birds, owls and photography could never remain submerged for long and, in 1999, he completed 'Birds of the Night' - a comprehensive study in words and photographs of Australia's owls, frogmouths and nightjars. However, David's owl studies continued. There were owls to be pursued around the world and he set out to find and photograph as many as possible. By his own admission, he has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. The author's love of birds extends beyond owls and he has also written books on Australia's Birds of Prey and on Kingfishers and Kookaburras. All three books won the Whitley Award for the Best Illustrated Australian Natural History book of that year. ...Show more

Australian Wildlife by PARISH Steve

$34.95 AUD

Category: Nature

This 2010 Whitley-Award-winning book for Popular Zoology is a full-co lour tribute to natural diversity and a journey into an exquisite galler y of Australian animal life. In Australian Wildlife, Steve Parish shares with you personally selected portraits that explain and exemplify his o ngoing passion f or all creatures great and small. Each spread, complemen ted by insightful text, highlights the incredible adaptability of nature and provides a fitting homage to the beauty of Australia's living herit age. ...Show more

Homing by Jon Day

$39.99 AUD

Category: Nature

As a boy, Jon Day was fascinated by pigeons, which he used to rescue from the streets of London. Twenty years later he moved away from the city centre to the suburbs to start a family. But in moving house, he began to lose a sense of what it meant to feel at home. Returning to his childhood obsession wi th the birds, he built a coop in his garden and joined a local pigeon racing club. Over the next few years, as he made a home with his young family in Leyton, he learned to train and race his pigeons, hoping that they might teach him to feel homed. Having lived closely with humans for tens of thousands of years, pigeons have become powerful symbols of peace and domesticity. But they are also much-maligned, and nowadays most people think of these birds, if they do so at all, as vermin. A book about the overlooked beauty of this species, and about what it means to dwell, Homing delves into the curious world of pigeon fancying, explores the scientific mysteries of animal homing, and traces the cultural, political and philosophical meanings of home. It is a book about the making of home and making for home: a book about why we return. ...Show more