Human, Nature

Ian Carter took early retirement after twenty-five years as an ornithologist with Natural England. He was closely involved with the Red Kite reintroduction programme and wider work on the conservation of birds of prey, bird reintroductions and wildlife management. The cultural and philosophical aspects of nature conservation have always fascinated him, especially their influence on our attitudes towards the natural world. He has written articles for wildlife magazines including British Birds, British Wildlife and Birdwatch, and has co-authored papers in scientific journals. He wrote The Red Kite (Arlequin Press 2007) and, with Dan Powell, The Red Kite’s Year (Pelagic Publishing 2019), and has been on the Editorial Board of the journal British Birds for over twenty years. He keeps a wildlife diary and has written something in it (however dull) every day for over thirty-five years.

Acknowledgements

Introduction



CLOSE TO HOME

The island effect

The late-summer lull

Man’s best friend?

A rat’s life

Local patch wildlife

Familiar species

All-time favourite



HUMAN NATURE

Number conundrum

Mario or mud pies?

Splitting headaches

The naming game

Missing from the list

A love of birds?

Unwelcome wildlife

The sound of silence

Health-enhancing House Martins

Adopt a species

Wanted: dead or alive

The state of nature

Urban wildlife



CONFLICTS

Recent arrivals

Rescuing wildlife

The culture of killing

A tale of two raptors

Meddling with wildlife

Moving things around



WILD PLACES

The pursuit of wildness

Seabirds at sea

Western Isles refuge

A change of scene

Western Isles revisited

Index