WHAT are the downsides of birdwatching in later life?
If you have been an enthusiast for four decades or more, chances are you can probably identify most, if not all, of the species. But can you still hear them?
Somewhat to his dismay, writer-naturalist Ian Carter has to acknowledge that the high frequency calls and songs of species such Redwings, Goldcrests, Spotted Flycatchers and Treecreepers are now beyond his capacity to detect them.
"The sound of some birds have now gone from my world ever," is his lament.
Advancing years also bring another curious and unwelcome phenomenon - what opticians refer to as 'floaters'.
These are tiny and mobile black dots and lines that, though harmless, can intermittently distract vision.
Occasionally while following a distant bird in flight, he has to ask himself: "Is that the bird or just one of the spots within my eyes?"
In Wild Galloway, the author does not complain about these little inconveniences - he simply acknowledges them with an almost amused sense of detachment.
It is this readiness to be open and frank which lends wisdom and integrity to what is, throughout, a most entertaining and thoughtful account of post-retirement life, spent largely watching wildlife, in an unsung part of South-west Scotland.
Carter, a former Natural England staffer and Red Kite researcher, would probably be embarrassed to be likened to a latter-day Gilbert White or W.H. Hudson, but, like them, he describes his encounters with birds and other wildlife in the most colourful and enchanting of detail.
Here, for example, is how he describes Snipe: "It is on perpetual high alert.
"As soon as a human shape is registered, off it goes, rising up from the ground, firing off its muffled sneezes as it hurtles away into the distance."
This one of those unputdownable books that you can read in just a few sittings, yet is guaranteed to get you thinking for days and weeks thereafter.
Wild Galloway is published in paperback at £17.99 by Caithness-based Whittles Publishing ( www.whittlespublishing.com ).
Plaudits to this go-ahead firm which has developed a most remarkable record for discovering and encouraging brilliant writers who provide refreshing and often controversial perspectives on birds, the activity of birding and a range of other subjects.