num_pages: 256
description: The British Isles are remarkable for their extraordinary seabird life: spectacular gatherings of charismatic Arctic terns elegant fulmars and stoic eiders to name just a few. Often found in the most remote and dramatic reaches of our shores these colonies are landscapes shaped not by us but by the birds.In 2015 Stephen Rutt escaped his hectic anxiety-inducing life in London for the bird observatory on North Ronaldsay the most northerly of the Orkney Islands. In thrall to these windswept havens and the people and birds that inhabit them he began a journey to the edges of Britain. From Shetland to the Farnes of Northumberland down to the Welsh islands off the Pembrokeshire coast he explores the part seabirds have played in our history and what they continue to mean to Britain today.The Seafarers is the story of those travels: a love letter written from the rocks and the edges for the salt-stained isolated and ever-changing lives of seabirds. This beguiling book reveals what it feels like to be immersed in a completely wild landscape examining the allure of the remote in an over-crowded world.The writing lures you in making you feel that you too might benefit from venturing out in inclement weather just on the off-chance of seeing something remarkable on the wing to lift your spirits  The NationalA beautifully illuminating portrait of lives lived largely on the wing and at sea . . . In this intimate guide to the wild beauty and complexity of seabirds Stephen Rutt has written a powerful chronicle of resilience and fragility' -- Julian Hoffman author of Irreplaceable and The Small Heart of ThingsAn evocative book  I could taste the salt on my lips and smell the perfume of storm petrels. The Seafarers is a pelagic poem about the birds that exist at the coastal edges of our islands and consciousness. The stories of these hardy birds entwine seamlessly with Stephen Rutt's personal journey to form a narrative as natural and flowing as the passage of shearwater along the face of Atlantic rollers -- Jon Dunn author of Orchid SummerAn arrestingly vivid turn of phrase An accomplished debut from an exciting new voice in Nature writing. -- The Countryman Magazine 5* One of those great joys of a book  I look forward to reading the next book from this author although I acknowledge that he has set his own bar very high  Tonto Williams Electronic ScrapbookWrites as beautifully about Shetland as he does about seabirds  Sally Huband raingeeseandselkies.blogspot.com
language: English
title: The Seafarers: A Journey Among Birds
publisher: Elliott & Thompson