Walking with birds

I have just finished reading "Walking with birds" by Colin Whittle,a nice little book to dip in and out of with some very nice descriptions of birds and their habitat. The writer bases the book over the seasons of Autumn,Winter and Spring missing out Summer as it would make the book too bulky and also the area he covers is very busy in Summer so he thinks the wildlife behaves differently, The area the writer covers is mainly Great Langdale in the Lake District with occasional trips to Leighton Moss and Morcambe Bay. There is no chasing rare birds but notes of the everyday behavior of mainly resident birds and seasonal visitors. His poetic descriptions of the flora and fauna would please even non birders,I think my favourite description is for a Tawny Owl whose plumage is described as "cryptic fruit cake colours" pretty good use of words in my opinion. The style is similar to that of J.A.Baker's "The Perigrine" which has become a bit of a classic among bird books. I would have liked a sketch map of the area but,as some named spots are on private land this may have caused problems with access. A good book for those dark evenings after a good days birding or to encourage you to put the boots on,grab the bins and get out on your local patch.