Bird Words

Poetic images of wild birds

'A paperback of poems by a poet and professional biologist, reminding us that wild birds continue to inspire and delight in a host of different ways.' Rob Hume, RSPB

This selection of poetry conveys the author’s passion for these extraordinary creatures, co-inhabitants of our world, whose appearance, voice and behaviour, especially flight, continue to inspire. This book will appeal to all who delight in seeing wild birds in a natural setting, whether in the garden or park or as an integral part of the lanscape. The poems concern birds from a wide variety of places around the world, - from the woods of England and the mountains of Arizona to the forests of a Caribbean island and the wild southern oceans, home of the Wandering Albatross.

Song Thrush Song

Hidden amongst
Hawthorn brush
Clothing a distant ridge
Or high up, perhaps,
In an Ash tree,
Old and tall,
Whose stately silhouette
Is poetry itself,
The Song Thrush -
In fine voice and feather -
Bewails us all
This late Spring
With its melodious cry;
A stark collection of tunes -
Both ecstatic and plaintive -
Intermixed:
A song
At once
Too ethereal and wry
To wholly enjoy,
And yet,
I myself,
Like many,
Would be the poorer
Were it and its speckled composer
Suddenly,
And forever,
Gone.

Little Tern

Flying low over a wave-lashed spit
Into cold wind
And trailing spray,
Rude enough
To make the hardiest
Rambler
Shudder and glance away,
The Little Tern,
Epitome of grace and beauty,
Pushes steadily on
Without concern.
White bird of slender wings and forked tail
Seeming to our eyes, incredibly frail,
But suited perfectly to its arduous life -
A rugged spirit enduring bleak inlet bay,
Sandbank and coastal waters rife.

What the pros say...

'This delightful book highlights the importance of birds to the British psyche.'
Dr. Nick Carter, British Trust for Ornithology.

What our readers say...

'The poems are a delight to read; a good change from some modern poetry which has hard inanimate topics.'
J. Huchinson, Woodbridge, Suffolk

'It is delightful!'
A. Bingham, Brockenhurst, Hants.