Birdsong in a Time of Silence

...but much more besides, in this first book from Steven Lovatt, ‘a birder, writer, critic & teacher...’I have now bought for my forever shelf, the official release, which measures roughly 14 cm x 22 cm.The purple coloured hardcover is dressed in an attractive dust-jacket with the title & author’s name deeply embossed that follows through to the spine.Inside are 150 good quality, matte finish pages split over 9 chapters as per the CONTENTS at the front (image below refers): 1. The Strangest Spring 2. Month of Blackbirds 3. Lark Ascending 4. The Wren and the Rostrum 5. Songs of Summer 6. Jackdaws in the Chimney 7. Thunder at Solstice 8. Birdsong in the Blood 9. A Light in the Darkness...finishing with the POEMS that are referenced in the book & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.A true awakening...’Birdsong in a time of silence.’ooOooORIGINAL WRITING based on the A.R.C.:For me, it is passionate & amazingly descriptive writing not just about the various birds but also findings on nature walks, thoughts on the changing countryside + the potential damage we are inflicting, all mingling with reflections of the author’s childhood experiences and relevance.Often atmospheric with a mythical or poetical touch, at times, it is all woven around the occasional reminder of the everyday living under the first ‘Covid-19 Lockdown’ restrictions that began precisely one year ago today (at the time of writing) ~ 24th March 2020 ~ where the account begins on page 1, running through to November, seemingly to be split across 9 chapters, each opening with a charming line drawing of a feathered friend, by Katie Marland.📝‘...What the birds are ‘saying’ science can conjecture, but what the birdsong means to us, what we feel in our blood, is that we are not alone, that it’s okay to be shunted on to one of time’s branch-lines for a while, and that it’s okay not to talk; it’s fine just to stop and listen...’From the tiniest…📝 ‘...but loudest of all is the WREN, bobbing and irate on a beech stump, for all the world like a little tinpot dictator bellowing from a rostrum.’...to...📝 ‘Going deeper into the trees, I’m spotted by a JAY, which immediately alerts the whole wood to my presence with a barrage of horrible shrieks.How can such a beautiful bird make such an abominable noise?...’ooOooI am lucky to live in a relatively quiet area, so birdsong is always a blessing, even as the dawn chorus breaks the silence earlier. Coincidentally, this publication arrived on the same day I noticed ‘our’ blackbird’s tune this year. Unmistakable, it is the same sound each time from the male who lords it over the entire garden here. It sounds a bit like 'What are you do...ing?'! He is on the back of the bench when the patio door net curtains open in the morning, patiently waiting, knowing that his breakfast supplement is close!Others are starting their nest building, the wrens in a surprising spot not far from the back door, the robins in the hedgerow with the aforementioned blackbirds choosing the blanket of ivy to build theirs...not far from the feeding station they can both keep an eye on, so no other gets a chance at that juicy green grape slither or plump sultana!I am reminded that, in folklore, ‘a blackbird nesting near a house is a sign of good fortune’, so things can only get better?I learned more about the behaviour of the common garden birds in this publication than from anywhere else...it goes into incredible detail, sometimes a little too much for me particularly on the biological side, but is easy to skip over.Balancing this is that aforementioned amazingly descriptive writing laced throughout, whisking me back to the days of e.g. stumbling on a pretty ramson carpet on the woodland floor with that heady potent scent that is hard to love, but you know you should.Then there is the odd gem to consider trying out (in private!) such as how to ‘spluttle like a magpie’, the importance of ‘song-posts’ & the macabre signs of what may have been a ‘plucking-post’.📝‘Humans have short lifespans and shorter memories, and an unhelpful tendency to think that how things are now is the only way they can be ~ that the present is inevitable and the future will look after itself.It’s in this context that the wake of silence which followed the Covid-19 pandemic can be seen, despite everything, as an opportunity, perhaps even a gift, in the sense that it might restore our awareness of the natural world that is our only home...’Anyway...getting back to the book in hand, I am reluctant to say too much more, as this is an ‘Advance Reading Copy’ and I am aware that it may not be the finished article.The current product detail above is exactly as on the back cover of the copy I received, that is:📝 ‘...The memory returns of my own childhood in those far-off days when I would lie beneath a colourful quilt on warm spring evenings and listen to all the blackbirds of the area singing down the dusk. Those individual birds may be long gone, but the song remains, and though its full meaning may be inaccessible to us, yet nevertheless it seems in moments like these to be an essential ingredient of something we might hesitantly recognize as home...’[11 images attached © Steven Lovatt & Katie Marland/2021]

Beautiful, lyrical writing, often poignant. I gave way to grief for the birds, for nature, and for the greed and consumerism of twenty-first century Western societies several times whilst reading this. However, Lovatt ends with a note of hope, which, in the end, is all we have.

i enjoyed it and learnt a lot from reading it

Given as a present following a review in The Guardian. The recipient says she has thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I've been obsessed with birdsong since I was a child; since my grandfather told me about Beatrice Harrison: one evening in 1924, Ms Harrison was playing the cello in her Surrey garden. After a while, a nightingale started to sing as she played. The nightingale came back the next day, and the day after that, always accompanying her as she played the cello.Ms Harrison contacted the BBC to tell them about her nightingale, and they didn't believe it, but they sent someone to record her playing... just in case. As she started playing, nothing happened. And still nothing happened. But then, suddenly, her nightingale started to sing, and it was recorded, and then broadcast. There are still copies of the recording, along with recordings of the dawn chorus from her garden, if you want to seek it out.So, for me, birdsong has always been something magical; like something out of a fairytale, and I was thrilled to be offered this book to review. As it turns out, it's absolutely wonderful. It is essentially a love letter to birdsong during 4 seasons of lockdown... it's lyrical, and poetic and, despite our terrible, tumultuous circumstances, it makes you feel peaceful.I have multiple books and CDs (look for Stephen Moss who has an entire series on British birdsong) about birdsong, and I loved reading this so much I've ordered the Audible version so we can listen to the author tell us his wonderful story. It will be a gorgeous addition to my birdsong collection.If you've read anything by Robert McFarlane (also highly, highly recommended), you will absolutely love this book. If you enjoy birdsong, too, (and how could you not?) you will absolutely love this book; if you're a fan of the natural world, you will absolutely love this book. Heck, honestly, I can't really think of anyone who wouldn't absolutely love this book.