Gods of the Morning
A Bird’s Eye View of a Highland Year
John Lister-Kaye
“Every spring I look forward to the rooks’ return to the rookery, to the soap opera of their contact bickering, sabotaging and thieving from their neighbours’ nests”
Available as Paperback, eBook
A lyrical celebration of the British countryside from one of our best-known nature writers
Winner of the Richard Jefferies Society Writers’ Prize
‘No one writes more movingly, or with such transporting poetic skill, about encounters with wild creatures. Its pages course with sympathy, humility, and wisdom’ Helen Macdonald, author of H is for Hawk
From his home deep in a Scottish glen, John Lister-Kaye has watched and come to understand intimately the movements and habits of the animals, and in particular the birds, that inhabit the wild and magnificent Highlands. Drawing on a lifetime of observation, Gods of the Morning is his wise and affectionate celebration of the British countryside and the birds that come and go through the year. It is also a lyrical reminder of the relationship we have lost with the seasons and a call to look afresh at the natural world around us.
“Exquisitely observed and deeply evocative, Gods of the Morning is a joyful affirmation of the changing seasons, the wonders of wildlife and the value of living close to nature. Generous, poetic and wise, John Lister-Kaye is a national treasure”
Patrick Barkham
author Of Badgerlands
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“Compelling … a tour de force of forensic observation and imaginative reconstruction. The prose carries a deep, rich polish”
Mark Cocker
spectator
“John Lister-Kaye keeps a seasoned eye on the seasonal behaviour of birds, logging unusual variations in their migration and nesting patterns, and developing a wry sense of their character … Though Lister-Kaye warns of the damage caused by humankind, and sometimes strikes an elegiac note, he sings full-throatedly in praise of the persistence of nature”
the Times
”Gods of the Morning is a rich treasury of secrets stolen from the Highlands, seen through the eyes of a great naturalist”
Chris Packham
“I am addicted to the writings of John Lister-Kaye. Reading this book is to be at his side on the hills of Scotland. You can practically smell the leaf mould and stare in the merlin’s eyes”
Joanna Lumley
John Lister-Kaye
Sir John Lister-Kaye is one of Britain’s best-known naturalists and conservationists. He is the author of nine books on wildlife and the environment, including At the Water’s Edge, and has lectured all over the world. He has served prominently in the RSPB, the Nature Conservancy Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Wildlife Trust. In 2003 he was awarded an OBE for services to nature conservation. He lives with his wife and family among the mountains of the Scottish Highlands, where he runs the world-famous Aigas Field Centre.
www.lister-kaye.co.uk
www.aigas.co.uk
