Goshawk Summer: The Diary of an Extraordinary Season in the Forest - WINNER OF THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2022

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Although this book is not designed to be a monograph on the Goshawk it does include many interesting observations, such as the female returning to the nest and sprinkling fresh pine needles onto the male while he is incubating. I've not read about that before and conceivably nobody has been close enough to a nest for long enough to witness it. Could it have been an attempt to get him to move, or did she simply want to add fresh greenery and he happened to be in the way?

Goshawk Scottish Raptor Study Group | | Goshawk

They will take a wide variety of birds and small animals as prey, birds as small as goldcrests to those as large as pheasants. However about two thirds of their diet consists of wood pigeons, crows, rooks and rabbits.Goshawks are present year-round but recorded most often in late winter/early spring during spring aerial displays. The book moves softly, and silently, through the months of summer from April, until the end of June 2020, and does so in diary entries which record just what James observed in the woods, his relationship with nature, and more importantly what he learned about, and from the goshawks, as they live out their challenging, but majestic lives. Sharply observed, every nuance of the woodland area is investigated and brought to life, and the narrative is so finely placed it feels cinematic in quality just as though you are cocooned high above the canopy of the New Forest watching as the ancient woodland unfolds deep below you to share its innermost secrets. I didn’t enjoy Aldred’s writing style though I do respect that his work and painstaking collection of data. I hadn’t planned to read it. I wasn’t enticed by the ‘pandemic’ tag from the publisher, but it won the Wainwright Nature Prize, and it became harder not to.

Goshawk Summer: The Diary of an Extraordinary Season in the

And as the world retreated, something remarkable happened. The noise of our everyday stilled. No more cars, no more off-roaders, no more airplanes roaring in the skies, no one in the Goshawk woods – except James. At this unique moment, James was granted a once in a lifetime opportunity to keep filming. In a way, coronovirus has been something of a boon to some nature writers since it creates a year like no other in which their observations of natural history can be set. It allows there to be juxtaposing of ‘how I feel about this wildlife thing’ against ‘how I feel about this pandemic thing’, and this works well in this account; one moves from the close world of filming at a nest to the broader scene with good effect. But this wildlife account is fascinating in its own right and well worth reading – it’s just that the global pandemic adds to it. Their reputation for taking gamebirds has led them to be the victim of widespread persecution (Petty 2002, Marquiss et al. 2003). This killing prevents the establishment of breeding birds in areas managed for gamebirds, but also such persistent removal of potential recruits restricts population spread into suitable habitats elsewhere in Scotland (Francis & Cook 2011).

I don’t see many Goshawks, and so I was interested to read about film cameraman James Aldred’s experiences filming this species for much of the spring and summer of 2020. Spending so much time with this bird would make it ‘a season unlike any other’ for most of us but it was also a season of covid for our world, although the Goshawks would have been oblivious to that. Aldred writes well, really summoning the feel and atmosphere of a sultry sinking sun or a dewy morning or a misty hazy day. His job sounds incredibly tedious at times yet so so rewarding for the glimpses into species that we wouldn't otherwise encounter. His discussions of foxes, curlews, deer and badgers amongst others are magical. Our interactive online courses are a great way to develop your bird identification skills, whether you're new to the hobby or a competent birder looking to hone your abilities. Browse training courses Status and Trends

Goshawk Summer - Wainwright Prize Goshawk Summer - Wainwright Prize

There definitely should be far more emphasis on fighting goshawk persecution, and why are those same people constantly bemoaning how many corvids we have not waving the flag for the goshawk’s return? If there was any imbalance in corvid numbers I think it infinitely more likely goshawk would correct it properly rather than someone in tweed with a gun arbitrarily deciding that six jays, thirteen magpies and eight crows need to die…or more likely that they all do. DNA research into goshawks is currently taking place and this will allow us to build up a better picture of the species’ population genetic structure, its dispersal from nesting areas and also the relationship between different birds within the population. Francis, I. and Cook, M. (2011). (Eds.). The Breeding Birds of Northeast Scotland. Scottish Ornithologists� Club, Aberdeen. Even though goshawks have an unsettling ability to silently come and go, the alarm calls of these other birds would warn him when they were on their way. “By listening to what the birds in the forest were saying, I could work out which direction the goshawk would be coming from and be ready with the camera.”In Goshawk Summer, Emmy Award winning filmmaker, James Aldred writes very eloquently about his once in a lifetime privilege of observing, at close quarters, a female goshawk, and her mate, as they attempt to rear their offspring, in a place where even the hunters face their own immediate danger. The wildlife is amazing as well .. it really felt you were transported the heart of the woodlands with the wonderful descriptions. Award-winning documentary film-maker James Aldred spent the spring and summer of 2020 filming Goshawks in the New Forest, his childhood home. This book, presented in an extended diary form, catalogues the author’s time with the Goshawks and many of the Forest’s other inhabitants. The text is punchy, with short, sometimes staccato sentences and delivers a very personal take on these magnificent birds, and much else besides. The diary format means that the text jumps around a bit, presenting the reader with short accounts of other encounters – a swan on the A36, an active Buzzard nest down the slope from where he is filming – so don’t expect a developing central narrative. Having said that, this is still an interesting read, full of closely observed detail of Goshawk behaviour and the world of the wildlife film-maker. Petty, S.J. (2002). Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis. In Wernham, C.V., Toms, M.P., Marchant, J.H., Clark, J.A., Siriwardena, G.M. and Baillie, S.R. (Eds.). The Migration Atlas: Movements of the Birds of Britain and Ireland. Poyser, London. Pp. 232-234.

Goshawk Summer | James Aldred | 9781783966127 | NetGalley Goshawk Summer | James Aldred | 9781783966127 | NetGalley

Emmy award-winning cameraman James Aldred grew up near the New Forest. Photograph: Karen Robinson/The ObserverThe idea that pheasant shooting is less of a persecution problem than that of grouse is largely myth, plenty of them sadly are “at it.” This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules. UK Birds of Conservation Concern I also loved the author’s ability to include the reader within his entries and descriptions. I really felt as if I was there as well along for the ride. Goshawk Summer by James Aldred is a stunning and wonderful nature diary and account of one man’s journey documenting and exploring more about the fascinating Goshawk. The images he evokes in his diary entries are highly descriptive and transport you to the heart of the natural environment. Other creatures are also described - Dartford warblers, curlews, dragonflies, foxes among them - and James's love for, and understanding of, these creatures shines through every paragraph.