Roy Dennis

'Absolutely Joyous' Chris Packham A collection of vibrant essays to inform, stimulate and inspire every nature lover. Through unparallelled expertise as a field naturalist, Roy Dennis is able to write about the natural world in a way that considers both the problems and the progress in ecology and conservation. Beginning with cottongrass, whose snow-white blooms blow gently in the wind across the wetter moors and bogs, this is a year-round trove of insight and knowledge for anyone who cares about the natural world – from birdsong and biodiversity to sphagnum and species reintroduction. Written by one of our most prominent advocates for rewilding, the essays have a clear message: “Never give up on trying to conserve and restore wildlife and the wild places you cherish. It’s essential to try and to succeed. And remember, it’s never ‘if’, but ‘when’ – and with climate chaos closing in, the time is now.

Essays of a naturalist through the year

Cottongrass Summer

The distinctive white-tailed sea eagle was driven to extinction in Britain more than 200 years ago, but this immense predator is making a return to our skies, thanks to Roy Dennis, an ornithologist, conservationist and arguably the driving force behind the UK's reintroduction agenda. Roy was instrumental in returning the Osprey, red kite and golden eagle to the British Isles, but the road to reintroduction isn't an easy one. In what will surely be the seminal book on British reintroductions, Roy details the painstaking process of returning the Goldeneye to Scotland, one duckling at a time, the die-hard determination needed to make a dazzling success of the red kite reintroduction and the leap of faith we will all need to make to accept sharing our forests and skies with large carnivores again. He also illustrates all that we have to gain by restoring our ecosystems to balance. Filled with a lifetime's worth of stories from the front lines of conservation, Reintroduction offers an eye-opening insight into the complexities of reintroducing extinct animals to Britain. It's also an intimate portrait of these apex predators and a reminder of why we need them.

Restoring the Wild: Sixty Years of Rewilding Our Skies, Woods and Waterways

The author, an ornithologist, explores the flora and wildlife which resides around a smallish loch near his home in the northern Highlands of Scotland

A Year in the Life of a Scottish Loch

The Loch

Peregrine Falcons

Mistletoe Winter is a collection of essays on our environment, nature and wildlife, covering biodiversity, habitat conservation, rewilding and individual species. As in his companion volume, Cottongrass Summer, Roy Dennis balances his alarm at the crisis confronting the natural world with his own sense of optimism that new generations can make crucial changes for the future. His essays are informed by his considerable experience of working in nature to tackle species decline, degradation of habitats, the impact of farming practices, and to promote better stewardship of the land. One of our most prominent advocates for our planet and its species, Roy Dennis writes with insight and originality. This volume will provide inspiration and ideas for everyone who cares about our planet and its species.

Mistletoe Winter

Reintroducing the Red Kite, Osprey and Sea Eagle

Restoring the Wild

A Life of Ospreys tells the story not only of the osprey, but of the osprey watcher, following the bird's fortunes in Scotland, seeing its numbers rise from that single pair in the 1950s to close to 200 pairs today. It traces the osprey's history in Scotland and the rest of the UK - including the bad old days of egg thieves and the shooting of birds as specimens - to the present day, with satellite radios allowing us to follow and map the every move of the osprey on its migration to Africa and back. With many personal anecdotes and insights, the book covers the ecology and conservation of the osprey from Roy pioneering the building of artificial nests - instrumental in increasing their numbers and range - to starting the first European translocation of chicks from their nests in the Highlands and releasing them at Rutland Water Nature Reserve in the Midlands.

Roy Dennis

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