Birdland is an account of how birds inhabit and enhance our lives in Britain. Jon Gower explores our deep and various relationships with birds, from the way in which rare ones excite twitchers through to how they inspire artists and musicians. He visits some of the best places in Britain to watch them at a time when many species are under threat, searching for some species he has always wanted to see such as wryneck, dotterel and barred warbler.

Jon started watching birds when he was 14 years old and so he can chart changes over 50 years, at a time when the countryside has seemingly emptied and in many ways fallen silent. But despite the many reasons for concern, he chooses, still, to be a celebrant of birds and their beauties, in the hope that this will accelerate the care we take of our feathered friends.

'Jon Gower could write about the inside of an empty box and make it a place of wonder. Apply that talent to a splendid subject and you get something very special indeed. From the kittiwakes and whistling Geordie builders of Newcastle to the farmers and great bustards of Salisbury Plain, Birdland is about birds and the bird-people and places of Britain. It is part memoir, part nonfiction, part plea and entirely enthralling...This book, in its maturity, observation, wonder, and reflective gratefulness, is special. For its pause and for its purpose.'

Nation Cymru

‘Hope for the birds’ future lies in the infectious enthusiasm of the people of birdland, just as the book’s reading pleasure does. Gower achieves what he sets out to do: “kindl[ing] the light of care” by sharing joy for the birds, as much as the facts about them. A journey definitely worth taking. The book shows that it is the very interconnectedness of the avian world that makes birds so marvellous – and, beyond this, demonstrates how much they are entwined with our own.’

Times Literary Supplement

'A delightful peregrination around our nation in search not just of birds, but also what birds mean to us; jam-packed with fascinating cultural, scientific and human stories.'

Stephen Moss

'An intelligent, enchanting and uplifting book.'

Tristan Gooley

'Follow the song and be plunged into a world where you will be charmed by birds. Full of knowledge and emotion, this is a wonderful journey to take alongside such an erudite and passionate writer.'

Beccy Speight, CEO of the RSPB

‘A wonderfully descriptive avian journey around Britain. At once witty, poignant and delightful, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.’

Iolo Williams

'A lovely book, born out of a deep affection for birds and a lifetime's fascination for them. Gower is the perfect guide, knowledgeable, inquisitive, passionate. It is a book as much about birds as it is about the pull birds exert over us.'

James Macdonald Lockhart

'A powerful and vital antidote to that awful feeling of "the deadening of life on the planet". A truly beautiful book about birds and people, it is also a quiet masterpiece, by turns moving, funny and revelatory, about living in love with the world.'

Horatio Clare

'This is Jon Gower in his absolute element – pursuing birds through landscape and language to every corner of Britain. Birdland tells stories of heartbreaking loss, but also of joy and determination, and the people fighting to save and celebrate our endangered species. It is charming, sobering, exquisitely observed and, above all, inspirational.'

Tom Bullough

'Magnificent. Jon Gower's patent love of art, culture, history and deep bird knowledge make up his exhilarating story. I never wanted it to end.'

Roger Morgan-Grenville

'A wonderful blend of anecdote and knowledge, brimming with curiosity and erudition and full of fascinating stories.'

Lev Parikian