John Busby was President of the Society of Scottish Artists 1976-79, the RSA and the RSW and has a lifelong interest in wildlife and fascination with birds in particular. In 1989 he began a Seabird Drawing course based at North Berwick which has continued each year since and has illustrated over 35 books about birds and animals mostly about behaviour, ranging from seabirds to tigers, garden birds to otters. His books include Birds in Mallorca 1988 and Landscapes at the Edge of the Sea 2010. One of the superb Langford Press Wildlife Art Series, the book explores larks ascending, profiles and postures, preening, birds in hiding watching us, body language in display and defence, hot pursuit and aerobatics, water and reflections and colour, light and shadows in all of his beautifully rendered line drawings and colourful illustrations. 98 large square pages, colour.
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Sir Peter Scott was the only son of legendary explorer Captain Scott. His godfather was J. M. Barrie and he was married to Elizabeth Jane Howard. He represented GB and Northern Ireland at sailing in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal. He founded the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and also helped found the Worldwide Fund for Nature. A Life In Nature is a portrait of Peter Scott collected from his own conversations, articles and broadcasts, including thoughts on expeditions to Lapland and Africa, conservation and travels in Europe and much more. Originally published in 1967 under the title 'Happy the Man', chapter headings include The Ethics of Shooting, Badgers and Animals in the Wiltshire Woods, Food Production and Conservation, Sightseeing in East Africa's Game Parks, Slimbridge Discovered, South America 1953, Saving a Goose From Extinction, Galapagos Expedition, Fire At Sea, The Story of SGB9, The America's Cup, Britain's Canals, Venice 1939 and Journey to the South Pole among them. 'I believe something goes wrong with man when he cuts himself off from the natural world. I think he knows it, and this is why he keeps gardens and window-boxes and houseplants, and dogs and cats and budgerigars. Man does not live by bread alone. I believe he should take great pains to look after the natural treasures which inspire him as he does to preserve his man-made treasures in art galleries and museums. This is a responsibility we have to future generations.' 432pp and beautiful colour plates featuring Peter's own bird illustrations including a pair of teal and three pintails.
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'Nature is the entire basis of our wellbeing. Without it to lift us, our civilisation will fall.' Trees clean our air and water, hover flies and bees pollinate our crops, the kingfisher inspired the construction of high-speed trains. Here Sunday Times bestselling author Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson explains how we are all connected with the natural world, a life support system like no other, a network that provides some of the most vital goods and services we receive - food, fresh water, medicine, pollination, pollution control, recreation, spiritual health and much more. Her book touches on the hornless rhino, freshwater pearl mussels - caretakers of the water system - purifying moss, wasps and wine, the megafauna that vanished, meat past and present, the sea, the last healthy part of a sick world, blue honey, blossom, Brazil nuts, the fig tree and the fig wasp, wormwood versus malaria, monster spit that slays diabetes, drugs and antibiotics from bugs, mini jellyfish and the conifer that flavours food and feeds salmon, termites and drought, mangroves as breakwaters, moths with an eye for darkness, green washing and white washing with ornamental lawns and wild gardens and the way forward with lost wilderness and new nature. An uplifting tapestry and well stocked pharmacy, we are the caretakers of our natural world. 344pp, beautiful line art.

With plasticised cover to keep off raindrops if using in the field (or forest), this elegant Bloomsbury publication has colour photographs, colour drawings, fact boxes and covers 350 species of trees, one or two per page on glossy white paper. Use the colour code system to recognise conifers, deciduous trees, shrubs or climbing shrubs, identify typical forms, learn about the structure of a tree, leaves, major flower shapes and major fruits and for the environment the importance of trees in our ecosystem. Learn to recognise the English Midland Hawthorn, one of the rose family, its Latin name, height, brilliant red fruit each containing two or three seeds and branches with thorns. The flowers have an unpleasant smell! The castor oil plant is native to the African tropics, an ornamental shrub in Europe with fruit more distinctive than flowers, it grows very rapidly and is poisonous. Nowadays it is used in the cosmetic industry as it makes the skin soft. We learn about the smoke tree, the stag's-horn sumach used to tan leather and for dye by the North American Indians, and the Turkey oak whose hard wood makes excellent fuel and can be used in construction. Did you know that the flesh of blood oranges contains red dye but the fruits only produce this dye if the nights are cool? Native to China, its flowers are pure white unlike those of the lemon. With beautiful layout and design, the text features habitat, range and uses by people through the ages along with identification tips from the experts. Hundreds of stunning colour photos and packed with tree trivia. 256pp, softback.

The author became famous for his documentary series Walking With Elephants on Channel 4 TV. His book comes at a critical time. 50 years ago, Africa was home to just over 1.3 million elephants, but by 1990 the number had halved. Meanwhile in the span of a lifetime, the human population has more than doubled. This book explores the rapid decline of one of the world's favourite animals. Filled with stories from his own time spent travelling with elephants in Africa, and documenting their migration for his TV series, the book is a passionate wake-up call for this endangered species we take for granted and to help halt their extinction and the measures required. Chapters include Ancestors and Evolution, Friends and Relations, A Curious Mind, Poaching, Ivory and Trade, Taking Trophies, Habitat Loss and A World Without. Filled with facts, stories and history. 260pp, paperback with 16 pages of mostly colour photos.

Historians have often interpreted the lack of plant images in palaeolithic cave paintings as meaning our ancestors found vegetation either visually unstimulating or short on meaning, not "alive" as, say, a bison, mammoth or deer. Cave portraits of animals see them walking in air, never grazing and while there are plenty of images of men hunting, there are few of them gathering or working trees and wood, which was just as important. In his lyrical and highly original exploration of the history of our relationship with plants, Richard Mabey enthrals with fascinating tales of plants from all corners of the world. Here is the hunt for mythical plants such as the Amazonian moonflower and wonders of old age like the self-rejuvenating yew of Fortingall, Perthshire, that defies any effort to determine its real age as well as the Methuselahs of the plant world, the Bristlecone Pines of the southwest USA, many of which have been reliably dated to over 5,000 years old. Here too are "intelligent" plants, such as mimosas and the carnivores, plus wonderfully surreal tales of telepathic plants, plants which react to polygraphs (lie detectors) and could pick out a suspect who had killed (i.e., trod upon) another member of its species! Famous and less celebrated scientists, landmark and crazy experiments and thousands of amazing specimens, locations and habitats, Mabey's summation of a lifetime's looking at plants reads as a happy tangle of stories and studies, science and poetry. 374pp paperback with 50+ colour and b/w illus.

The exquisite line art and observation of nature in the pencil drawings of Heather Vallance drew us to this beautifully illustrated modern take on the trickster tale. 'Friendship is like a winding path and you never know what is round the next bend or where that path will lead you. This tale is about such a friendship full of twists and turns and a heartfelt letter to a friend.' Long ago, far from everywhere, someone once found a letter stuffed into a hollow log. It was a letter of pain and love and anger and regret. It was a letter to a friend.' 'We were friends, remember, when you were still around. True friends. Close-as-can-be friends... except for one thing. You were quick and slick and sly, and I was dumber than a pile of rocks. But that's how it was. And it didn't matter. Then you went and stretched the string of friendship until it snapped and we weren't friends anymore. And now you?re gone, and here instead are Hare and Rooster, greedy and grinning and pushing to be my new friend.' 'Fox was as mean as a spoonful of mustard,' Hare tells me.' The farmhouse, frozen ponds, drilling holes to go fishing together, a mouthful of wasps, the trickster is tricked... 'And I can't help wondering... where are you now?' Readers? eyes will be bulging and your whiskers trembling by the end of the moralistic tale injected with a fresh contemporary twist for modern audiences. With beautiful pagemarker, 60 very large pages and exquisite line art.
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A photography book with a difference, there is a motion picture on the front cover reproduced of a horse and rider on the front with legs actually moving as you turn the book side to side just as Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1900) demonstrated in his series of 'Locomotion' photographs. Famous for his invention of very fast photography and his discovery of how animals and people run, Muybridge's photographs showed horses, cats and people moving in their natural and instinctive ways. He invented techniques that showed the specific elements of our motion so that they could be studied and understood. This special big picture book uses a unique combination of words, printed reproductions of his classic photos, and 'lenticular' pictures which seem to move, magically on the page. A man doffs his hat, a cat bursts into a sprint, boxers take punches at each other. The book tells the true story of an enigmatic genius who opened the door to the modern movie. A short introduction, 32 very large pages, illus. Designed for ages 9-18 years but will be loved by curious adults.

Take in the dramatic and contrasting beauty of Scotland and experience both the traditional and popular poetry in verse while immersing yourself in images of peaceful lochs, beautiful trees, reflections on lakes and the emotion of Scottish verse to landscape. This programme was filmed entirely on location and is sure to evoke wonderful nostalgic memories of this beautiful terrain and scenery and stimulate your mind as you journey through a rich tapestry of this vibrant country accompanied by specially written traditional and ambient music. An ideal gift for all generations.

A captivating exploration of the place known as Birdwatcher's Paradise, Sanibel Island, off the southwestern Gulf Coast of Florida. Home to an extraordinary array of migrating and native birds, the island is unique thanks to its variety of insect, mammal and bird species and this delightful film provides a sometimes hilarious and always fascinating close-up of how the birds and wildlife really live. Colour DVD.