The Seafarers

Stephen Rutt

ISBN 10: 1783965045 / ISBN 13: 9781783965045

Published by Elliott and Thompson Limited, GB, 2020

About this Item

*WINNER* of the Saltire First Book of the Year 2019 / Longlisted for the Highland Book Prize 2019'A beautifully illuminating portrait of lives lived largely on the wing and at sea" - Julian Hoffman, author of Irreplaceable and The Small Heart of ThingsThe 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.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781783965045

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Seafarers
• Publisher: Elliott and Thompson Limited, GB
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1783965045
• ISBN 13: 9781783965045
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

The British Isles are remarkable for their extraordinary diversity of 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 the isles, these colonies are landscapes shaped not by humans 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 storm petrels (a small bird whose song is frequently likened to a “fairy being sick”) on Mousa to gulls in Newcastle and gannets in Orkney, The Seafarers takes readers into breathtaking landscapes, sights, smells, and sounds, bringing these vibrant birds and their habitats to life. In the face of a looming environmental crisis, Stephen Rutt’s investigation is both personal and passionate. This beautiful book reveals what it feels like to be immersed in a completely wild landscape, examining the allure of the remote and the search for quietness, isolation, and nature in an over-crowded world.
 

About the Author

Stephen Rutt is a birder, naturalist, freelance feature writer and book reviewer whose work has appeared in EarthLines Magazine, Zoomorphic, The Harrier, Surfbirds, BirdGuides and the East Anglian Daily Times. In 2016 he escaped his hectic, anxiety-inducing life in London to spend seven months at the bird observatory on North Ronaldsay, the most northerly island in the Orkney archipelago, where this book was born.