Raptor

I love watching birds, but I'm not a birdwatcher. If I am out walking and see a bird I'll stop and watch it until it has gone, I don't have the patience to spend the day hiding in a hedge hoping to catch sight of a certain bird, I get restless and end up leaving to explore elsewhere. Lockhart has spent a large amount of his time walking in dire conditions, camping on remote islands for days, stalking wasps and hiding in hedges so that he can catch the briefest glimpse of the various Raptors mentioned here, he has written this book to give lazy bastards like me a taste of the birdwatching experience.

Another side of birdwatching is the boredom and how your mind will wonder, Lockhart has captured that here, in between glimpses of Raptors you get a history lesson on the bird and the areas it inhabits. A huge amount of this book is in fact a biography of William MacGillivray, an amazing man, born in 1796 he is obsessed with nature, any animal (especially raptors) or plant fascinates him. One day he walks from Aberdeen to London, he has many diversions but manages the journey in 2 months and on a budget of £10, that in itself is amazing. He writes, not for fame or money but for his love of nature, his main works are a history of British birds in five volumes. Unfortunately because of his modesty his work is largely unknown, other writers since have taken the limelight from him. Hopefully this book will raise some awareness for the chap, I'd never heard of him but will be reading up on him more now.

I've enjoyed this book, full of interesting facts about the birds as well as info on how to identify them. Lockhart has put so much effort into creating this book, it really shows and adds to the reading experience.

Link to my Blog review of this book. felcherman.wordpress.com/2017/09/10/raptor-a-journey-through-birds-by-james-macdonald-lockhart/