Colin Whittle confesses that he is a ‘home-patch man’. Almost daily he goes for walks around his local patch in Cumbria, visiting his ‘sitting stones’ to watch the birds. He is particularly fascinated by their flight as well as their varied and changing calls. As he discloses in this journal, spanning his favourite time of year – winter and spring, it is only by the continuous observation of the ordinary that the extraordinary and more interesting bird behaviours are revealed, by simply being there and keeping one’s eyes – and ears – open.
Walking with Birds explores the wildlife, especially birds, of one of the most magnificent and popular Lake District valleys, the valley of Great Langdale, and the coast of Morecambe Bay. It is a culmination of over fifty years’ involvement with wildlife. lt is also a personal narrative concerning the rediscovery of one’s place in the natural world in an age of an ever-increasing alienation of people from nature and its processes. The text is complemented by beautiful watercolours by the author of some of the places and moods he describes.
In his youth Colin Whittle developed an interest in the outdoors and natural history. After originally studying English Literature, he worked for a few years in forestry and then became a freelance lecturer in natural history studies. He is an accomplished artist and poet.