Secret Nature of Britain

Title: Secret Nature Of Britain

Author: Andrew Cooper

Format: Hardcover Book, No. Pages: 224

Publisher: BBC, ISBN: 0563205946, Year: 1989

In the last hundred years more changes have been wrought on the landscape than ever before: roads and railways criss-cross the country, the noise of heavy machinery drowns out all other sounds, regimented rows of pine forests and neatly marked-out fields bear witness to man's influence on nature. It sometimes seems as if Britain's native flora and fauna have been banished to just a few unspoilt corners - yet if you know how to look for it, an incredible variety of wildlife can be found in even the most unexpected places.

In this book, based on the major BBC tv series, Andrew Cooper explores six very different habitats which have all been shaped or exploited by man - a forestry plantation, a quarry, abandoned clay workings, a game reserve, an army range and a restored steam railway. Clearings in the depth of a carefully managed conifer plantation provide a haven for herds of fallow and roe deer, while overhead a hobby - one of the rarest birds of prey in Britain - twists and dives in search of food. Jackdaws and ravens rise from their cliffside nests in great flocks as a blast from the nearby quarry shatters the silence. One of our rarest butterflies, the Lulworth skipper, suns itself as high-explosive shells from an army training ground whistle overhead. In her underground earth, a vixen suckles her cubs as a steam train rattles by. Drawing on hours of patient observation, Andrew Cooper gives an enthralling and vivid account of each area's natural life against a backdrop of the changing seasons.

Illustrated with the author's own superb photographs which take us into the very heart of the animals' world, Secret Nature of Britain is a must for everyone interested in the natural history of the British countryside.