Rebirding: Winner of the Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation: Restoring Britain's Wildlife

Rewilding is something of a growing concept, seemingly on a landscape scale. In this book Benedict Macdonald discusses rewilding with an emphasis on birds and shows how it can be applied almost everywhere, from road verges to National Parks. He argues that restoring natural processes through rewilding over large area will allow our birds to recover. Macdonald believes that the “wildwood” do ancient Britain and Western Europe was a savanna like mosaic kept open by large herbivores, rather than high canopy forest. He sets out his view that the extensive mixed farming that was universal in Europe up to the last century mimicked that mosaic. The intensification of agriculture and the associated cleansing of the countryside of food has caused declines in once common species of birds. This, he argues, could be reversed by allowing, or managing, the more marginal areas back into a wild state. He states that bringing back iconic wildlife such as wild cattle, elk, lynx and Dalmatian pelican could provide sustainable rural jobs in eco-tourism and in hunting. He calls for boldness in asking for NGOs and the government to bring large, landscape-scale tracts of land back to nature, as well as for us all to be a wee bit less tidy so that we leave more space for nature. I may not agree with everything he says, just most of it, but this is a thought provoking and original book. It’s a manifesto for a wilder, more sustainable and exciting future.

The word "rewilding" only entered the language within the last 20 years. The concept of rewilding is to restore the landscape to its natural state. This has often involved the introduction of grazing animals to facilitate habitat restoration. The best known rewilding projects, at Knepp in Sussex and Alladale in Sutherland have had startling success in increasing numbers of struggling species, particularly cuckoos and turtle doves at Knepp. Rebirding applies the same principles to demonstrate how rewilding in Britain can bring about a reversal in bird species declines and give these species a bright future. Equally importantly it shows how such measures will provide a vibrant living landscape and can also bring economic benefit, particularly to economically struggling parts of the country. The early part of the book makes depressing reading as MacDonald describes the manifold ways in which we have decimated our bird populations, especially since the industrial revolution. Simple persecution, population fragmentation, over grazing , (especially by sheep), devastation of insect populations, agricultural monoculture, herbicides, etc, etc. One begins to wonder how any birds have survived at all! MacDonald disputes the received wisdom that dense oak woodland covered our landscape in prehistoric times. He posits that large herbivores initially, and subsequently domestic livestock created a mosaic landscape in which different habitats developed suiting a wide variety of species. Conservation aims should be to recreate such a mosaic; wet grasslands beloved of snipe and lapwing, scrub for nightingale and whitethroat, wetland areas for ducks and waders, open woodlands for pied flycatchers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and so forth. He points to such habitats in eastern Europe where agricultural practices have not yet devastated the landscape. While the creation of good habitat will ensure that good numbers of birds will return, some species which became extinct won't. Corncrakes on migration for example will fly over perfectly adequate created habitat as they are hard wired to return to their natal territories. To maximize the potential of new habitat, it will be necessary to reintroduce absent species and of course there has been great success with cranes, great bustards, cirl buntings, and of course corncrakes in the Nene washes. Successes, but there should be more of them. So much of our landscape is managed in a way which is devastating for nature; prairie arable monoculture, grouse moors, sitka spruce plantation forestry, upland sheep farming. MacDonald examines all these habitats and demonstrates with examples from other countries how these areas can become rich in wildlife again. His case studies suggest a future for grouse moors, the Somerset levels, and other managed landscapes. Let nature return and the benefits to the local economy will be startling. Look at how Mull now earns over ten million pounds per annum from eagle tourism. And remember too how vigorously white tailed eagle reintroduction was initially opposed by so many islanders. This is not the first book on rewilding; the concept is in fact at the forefront of current conservation thinking; ecological improvement on a landscape scale. What makes Rebirding so compelling is how it offers convincing solutions which will not only restore avian populations but which will benefit both the people who live there and those who visit. It should be compulsory reading for environmental policy makers. And we the public and the conservation organizations which represent us must mobilise to fight for such a future for our countryside. Read the book and you'll find out why the front cover picture of a pelican is not so outlandish for a book about British birds.

Fantastic book, anyone with even the slightest interest in British birds and nature conservation should read it. It explains what we've lost and how we lost it, but also how we could regain our bird life. Agriculture, woodland, rivers and even pelicans are all looked at in detail but with an easy to read approach, you won't need a degree in ecology to understand. Fascinating detail on birds like cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, wrynecks, nightingales, willow tits and red-backed shrikes and why they're disappearing from our landscapes. Even touches on wildlife gardening and how to really benefit your local birds and wildlife... plant those native shrubs - hawthorn, rowan, goat willow, buckthorn and guelder rose. I love this book.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light. --Martin Luther King Jr I number myself among those who were complacently smug about their approach to the environment, particularly with gardening, but then I read Benedict MacDonald's book and realized that I must radically rethink my approach. Among other things, I suffer from that all too familiar syndrome of Ecological Tidiness Disorder. MacDonald made me see how rather than simply gardening with wildlife as an afterthought, I really ought to be doing ecosystem gardening. Caring for birds in one's garden is about more than putting out a bird table, not using pesticides or ensuring paradise isn't paved over, but also about ensuring an adequate food supply through the use of various native fauna in the garden including simply not tidying up hedges or the ivy or pulling nettles. It is also about choosing the correct flora to go in one's garden to encourage the island effect and create larger natural havens for our birds. My defense is that I had not truly appreciated how dire the situation was until I read his book. I had suffered from accepting the new normal without realising how devoid of life that normal had become. I was all too willing to believe that most of the decline in the bird population was down to things beyond my control and to not even consider post-fledgling starvation and how that might effect migration. This book changed that view. If we know a certain percentage of birds will not make it back from Africa every year, then we had best do all in our power to ensure the absolute numbers leaving these shores after the breeding season are as strong as possible and that includes increasing food sources around the country through a more wild or ecosystem based approach if you will. His book is a compelling read filled with hard facts and figures but also a great deal of optimism. Pelicans flying again in the Somerset Levels, or even people in towns and villages starting once again to hear the cuckoo calling on the spring breeze -- these are things that MacDonald makes you believe could happen. His thought-provoking arguments for controlled deer culling and re-purposing grouse moors are excellent and well-argued but it was the chapters on gardening which really engaged me. A clarion call to arms and a game changer for me in every sense of the word. A book everyone with even a passing interest in British nature should read.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough, it has scratched the itch left behind after reading many disappointing texts on the key issue of rewilding in Britain. For birders and non-birders alike, the vehicle of birds used to delve into the heart of the issues surrounding our countryside and rewilding in the UK is brilliant. Thoroughly considered arguments and perspectives makes for a fascinating read, I didn’t feel lectured at any point and it avoided an obviously preachy tone that some rewilding books can take. Read it in a week, I hope there’s more to come in the future...

As a lifelong countryman, having spent my 57 years living in villages in The Fens and Berkshire, I was moved by Ben Macdonald's thoroughly researched account of all the species biodiversity we have lost from our countryside. Recalling the massive decline in our insect population and of birds which were a common sight in my youth, such as Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Tree Sparrow, Macdonald gives a compelling account of Britain's uniquely destructive uses of our landscape. Far from being a 'crowded island', we have room to accommodate all the habitat necessary to enable all those threatened species to thrive and recover sustainable populations. Despite being a blow-by-blow account of all the mistakes and mismanagement that have given us the most denuded and species-poor landscape in Europe, this is, in the end, a book full of hope and inspiration. It provides a vision for how we can enable our countryside to recover, in a way that benefits not just the threatened species but also creates jobs where there are none and allows local communities to thrive. I want every policy-maker and big landowner to read this book and catch a glimpse of how much better life could be for us and all the creatures that share this wonderful island. Definitely my book of the decade.

I have only just started reading this book. Benedict is very good at painting a picture of what the British Isles must have looked like when we first arrived and through a lot of research has laid out what has happened since. The book is very accessible to those who are not experts in the field and Benedict has a wonderful way is telling stories alongside the hard facts, this makes the book thoroughly engaging throughout. This book offers hope and a solution to the plight birds and other animals are facing - this book should be read by all!

A fantastic and insightful book into the current state of our bird and wildlife on an ecosystem scale. A great manual to show how we can restore bird species and populations. Written in a beautiful manner, complete with accurate and full references. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of nature in the uk.

I am not a birdwatcher or even particularly knowledgeable about birds, I came to this book after reading Isabella Tree's 'Wilding'. While this latter book is inspiring as a record of a practical experiment, 'Rebirding' sets itself broader objectives: aiming to explain how we got to current degraded state of nature, what could be different and, all importantly, how change could financed and sustained. And it achieves in meeting all three of these objectives. One of the biggest revelations for me is how it carefully illustrates how our very language has changed to circumscribe our thinking; it had never occurred to me that what we now think of as 'farmyard' birds survived very well before humans started farming or that 'house martins' had only recently adapted to living among houses. Where 'Wilding' sometimes reads like patrician rant in favour of landowners being given public money without strings attached, 'Rebirding' excels in carefully demonstrating the economic illiteracy of some aspects of current agricultural funding and in setting out how ecotourism and flood protection services could be economically viable. A fabulous read and a blueprint for a better, wilder future.

Absolutely loved the concept and also how he takes you along the journey with him. This is hugely readable and accessible to people like with me with a relatively limited understanding of wildlife and nature (beyond being a fan). The author uses some truly startling facts and illustrations to paint a picture of what could be - the real question is will there be enough people out there prepared to help Britain achieve its true potential as he proposes. I do hope so, as the future he describes is infinitely more interesting and exciting than the prospect of our current direction. Fascinating and alarming in equal proportions, this must be wider read and endorsed if we are to leave any kind of legacy for the next generation.

Rewilding is something of a growing concept, seemingly on a landscape scale. In this book Benedict Macdonald discusses rewilding with an emphasis on birds and shows how it can be applied almost everywhere, from road verges to National Parks. He argues that restoring natural processes through rewilding over large area will allow our birds to recover. Macdonald believes that the “wildwood” do ancient Britain and Western Europe was a savanna like mosaic kept open by large herbivores, rather than high canopy forest. He sets out his view that the extensive mixed farming that was universal in Europe up to the last century mimicked that mosaic. The intensification of agriculture and the associated cleansing of the countryside of food has caused declines in once common species of birds. This, he argues, could be reversed by allowing, or managing, the more marginal areas back into a wild state. He states that bringing back iconic wildlife such as wild cattle, elk, lynx and Dalmatian pelican could provide sustainable rural jobs in eco-tourism and in hunting. He calls for boldness in asking for NGOs and the government to bring large, landscape-scale tracts of land back to nature, as well as for us all to be a wee bit less tidy so that we leave more space for nature. I may not agree with everything he says, just most of it, but this is a thought provoking and original book. It’s a manifesto for a wilder, more sustainable and exciting future.

The word "rewilding" only entered the language within the last 20 years. The concept of rewilding is to restore the landscape to its natural state. This has often involved the introduction of grazing animals to facilitate habitat restoration. The best known rewilding projects, at Knepp in Sussex and Alladale in Sutherland have had startling success in increasing numbers of struggling species, particularly cuckoos and turtle doves at Knepp. Rebirding applies the same principles to demonstrate how rewilding in Britain can bring about a reversal in bird species declines and give these species a bright future. Equally importantly it shows how such measures will provide a vibrant living landscape and can also bring economic benefit, particularly to economically struggling parts of the country. The early part of the book makes depressing reading as MacDonald describes the manifold ways in which we have decimated our bird populations, especially since the industrial revolution. Simple persecution, population fragmentation, over grazing , (especially by sheep), devastation of insect populations, agricultural monoculture, herbicides, etc, etc. One begins to wonder how any birds have survived at all! MacDonald disputes the received wisdom that dense oak woodland covered our landscape in prehistoric times. He posits that large herbivores initially, and subsequently domestic livestock created a mosaic landscape in which different habitats developed suiting a wide variety of species. Conservation aims should be to recreate such a mosaic; wet grasslands beloved of snipe and lapwing, scrub for nightingale and whitethroat, wetland areas for ducks and waders, open woodlands for pied flycatchers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and so forth. He points to such habitats in eastern Europe where agricultural practices have not yet devastated the landscape. While the creation of good habitat will ensure that good numbers of birds will return, some species which became extinct won't. Corncrakes on migration for example will fly over perfectly adequate created habitat as they are hard wired to return to their natal territories. To maximize the potential of new habitat, it will be necessary to reintroduce absent species and of course there has been great success with cranes, great bustards, cirl buntings, and of course corncrakes in the Nene washes. Successes, but there should be more of them. So much of our landscape is managed in a way which is devastating for nature; prairie arable monoculture, grouse moors, sitka spruce plantation forestry, upland sheep farming. MacDonald examines all these habitats and demonstrates with examples from other countries how these areas can become rich in wildlife again. His case studies suggest a future for grouse moors, the Somerset levels, and other managed landscapes. Let nature return and the benefits to the local economy will be startling. Look at how Mull now earns over ten million pounds per annum from eagle tourism. And remember too how vigorously white tailed eagle reintroduction was initially opposed by so many islanders. This is not the first book on rewilding; the concept is in fact at the forefront of current conservation thinking; ecological improvement on a landscape scale. What makes Rebirding so compelling is how it offers convincing solutions which will not only restore avian populations but which will benefit both the people who live there and those who visit. It should be compulsory reading for environmental policy makers. And we the public and the conservation organizations which represent us must mobilise to fight for such a future for our countryside. Read the book and you'll find out why the front cover picture of a pelican is not so outlandish for a book about British birds.

Fantastic book, anyone with even the slightest interest in British birds and nature conservation should read it. It explains what we've lost and how we lost it, but also how we could regain our bird life. Agriculture, woodland, rivers and even pelicans are all looked at in detail but with an easy to read approach, you won't need a degree in ecology to understand. Fascinating detail on birds like cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, wrynecks, nightingales, willow tits and red-backed shrikes and why they're disappearing from our landscapes. Even touches on wildlife gardening and how to really benefit your local birds and wildlife... plant those native shrubs - hawthorn, rowan, goat willow, buckthorn and guelder rose. I love this book.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light. --Martin Luther King Jr I number myself among those who were complacently smug about their approach to the environment, particularly with gardening, but then I read Benedict MacDonald's book and realized that I must radically rethink my approach. Among other things, I suffer from that all too familiar syndrome of Ecological Tidiness Disorder. MacDonald made me see how rather than simply gardening with wildlife as an afterthought, I really ought to be doing ecosystem gardening. Caring for birds in one's garden is about more than putting out a bird table, not using pesticides or ensuring paradise isn't paved over, but also about ensuring an adequate food supply through the use of various native fauna in the garden including simply not tidying up hedges or the ivy or pulling nettles. It is also about choosing the correct flora to go in one's garden to encourage the island effect and create larger natural havens for our birds. My defense is that I had not truly appreciated how dire the situation was until I read his book. I had suffered from accepting the new normal without realising how devoid of life that normal had become. I was all too willing to believe that most of the decline in the bird population was down to things beyond my control and to not even consider post-fledgling starvation and how that might effect migration. This book changed that view. If we know a certain percentage of birds will not make it back from Africa every year, then we had best do all in our power to ensure the absolute numbers leaving these shores after the breeding season are as strong as possible and that includes increasing food sources around the country through a more wild or ecosystem based approach if you will. His book is a compelling read filled with hard facts and figures but also a great deal of optimism. Pelicans flying again in the Somerset Levels, or even people in towns and villages starting once again to hear the cuckoo calling on the spring breeze -- these are things that MacDonald makes you believe could happen. His thought-provoking arguments for controlled deer culling and re-purposing grouse moors are excellent and well-argued but it was the chapters on gardening which really engaged me. A clarion call to arms and a game changer for me in every sense of the word. A book everyone with even a passing interest in British nature should read.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough, it has scratched the itch left behind after reading many disappointing texts on the key issue of rewilding in Britain. For birders and non-birders alike, the vehicle of birds used to delve into the heart of the issues surrounding our countryside and rewilding in the UK is brilliant. Thoroughly considered arguments and perspectives makes for a fascinating read, I didn’t feel lectured at any point and it avoided an obviously preachy tone that some rewilding books can take. Read it in a week, I hope there’s more to come in the future...

As a lifelong countryman, having spent my 57 years living in villages in The Fens and Berkshire, I was moved by Ben Macdonald's thoroughly researched account of all the species biodiversity we have lost from our countryside. Recalling the massive decline in our insect population and of birds which were a common sight in my youth, such as Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Tree Sparrow, Macdonald gives a compelling account of Britain's uniquely destructive uses of our landscape. Far from being a 'crowded island', we have room to accommodate all the habitat necessary to enable all those threatened species to thrive and recover sustainable populations. Despite being a blow-by-blow account of all the mistakes and mismanagement that have given us the most denuded and species-poor landscape in Europe, this is, in the end, a book full of hope and inspiration. It provides a vision for how we can enable our countryside to recover, in a way that benefits not just the threatened species but also creates jobs where there are none and allows local communities to thrive. I want every policy-maker and big landowner to read this book and catch a glimpse of how much better life could be for us and all the creatures that share this wonderful island. Definitely my book of the decade.

I have only just started reading this book. Benedict is very good at painting a picture of what the British Isles must have looked like when we first arrived and through a lot of research has laid out what has happened since. The book is very accessible to those who are not experts in the field and Benedict has a wonderful way is telling stories alongside the hard facts, this makes the book thoroughly engaging throughout. This book offers hope and a solution to the plight birds and other animals are facing - this book should be read by all!

A fantastic and insightful book into the current state of our bird and wildlife on an ecosystem scale. A great manual to show how we can restore bird species and populations. Written in a beautiful manner, complete with accurate and full references. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of nature in the uk.

I am not a birdwatcher or even particularly knowledgeable about birds, I came to this book after reading Isabella Tree's 'Wilding'. While this latter book is inspiring as a record of a practical experiment, 'Rebirding' sets itself broader objectives: aiming to explain how we got to current degraded state of nature, what could be different and, all importantly, how change could financed and sustained. And it achieves in meeting all three of these objectives. One of the biggest revelations for me is how it carefully illustrates how our very language has changed to circumscribe our thinking; it had never occurred to me that what we now think of as 'farmyard' birds survived very well before humans started farming or that 'house martins' had only recently adapted to living among houses. Where 'Wilding' sometimes reads like patrician rant in favour of landowners being given public money without strings attached, 'Rebirding' excels in carefully demonstrating the economic illiteracy of some aspects of current agricultural funding and in setting out how ecotourism and flood protection services could be economically viable. A fabulous read and a blueprint for a better, wilder future.

Absolutely loved the concept and also how he takes you along the journey with him. This is hugely readable and accessible to people like with me with a relatively limited understanding of wildlife and nature (beyond being a fan). The author uses some truly startling facts and illustrations to paint a picture of what could be - the real question is will there be enough people out there prepared to help Britain achieve its true potential as he proposes. I do hope so, as the future he describes is infinitely more interesting and exciting than the prospect of our current direction. Fascinating and alarming in equal proportions, this must be wider read and endorsed if we are to leave any kind of legacy for the next generation.

Rewilding is something of a growing concept, seemingly on a landscape scale. In this book Benedict Macdonald discusses rewilding with an emphasis on birds and shows how it can be applied almost everywhere, from road verges to National Parks. He argues that restoring natural processes through rewilding over large area will allow our birds to recover. Macdonald believes that the “wildwood” do ancient Britain and Western Europe was a savanna like mosaic kept open by large herbivores, rather than high canopy forest. He sets out his view that the extensive mixed farming that was universal in Europe up to the last century mimicked that mosaic. The intensification of agriculture and the associated cleansing of the countryside of food has caused declines in once common species of birds. This, he argues, could be reversed by allowing, or managing, the more marginal areas back into a wild state. He states that bringing back iconic wildlife such as wild cattle, elk, lynx and Dalmatian pelican could provide sustainable rural jobs in eco-tourism and in hunting. He calls for boldness in asking for NGOs and the government to bring large, landscape-scale tracts of land back to nature, as well as for us all to be a wee bit less tidy so that we leave more space for nature. I may not agree with everything he says, just most of it, but this is a thought provoking and original book. It’s a manifesto for a wilder, more sustainable and exciting future.

The word "rewilding" only entered the language within the last 20 years. The concept of rewilding is to restore the landscape to its natural state. This has often involved the introduction of grazing animals to facilitate habitat restoration. The best known rewilding projects, at Knepp in Sussex and Alladale in Sutherland have had startling success in increasing numbers of struggling species, particularly cuckoos and turtle doves at Knepp. Rebirding applies the same principles to demonstrate how rewilding in Britain can bring about a reversal in bird species declines and give these species a bright future. Equally importantly it shows how such measures will provide a vibrant living landscape and can also bring economic benefit, particularly to economically struggling parts of the country. The early part of the book makes depressing reading as MacDonald describes the manifold ways in which we have decimated our bird populations, especially since the industrial revolution. Simple persecution, population fragmentation, over grazing , (especially by sheep), devastation of insect populations, agricultural monoculture, herbicides, etc, etc. One begins to wonder how any birds have survived at all! MacDonald disputes the received wisdom that dense oak woodland covered our landscape in prehistoric times. He posits that large herbivores initially, and subsequently domestic livestock created a mosaic landscape in which different habitats developed suiting a wide variety of species. Conservation aims should be to recreate such a mosaic; wet grasslands beloved of snipe and lapwing, scrub for nightingale and whitethroat, wetland areas for ducks and waders, open woodlands for pied flycatchers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and so forth. He points to such habitats in eastern Europe where agricultural practices have not yet devastated the landscape. While the creation of good habitat will ensure that good numbers of birds will return, some species which became extinct won't. Corncrakes on migration for example will fly over perfectly adequate created habitat as they are hard wired to return to their natal territories. To maximize the potential of new habitat, it will be necessary to reintroduce absent species and of course there has been great success with cranes, great bustards, cirl buntings, and of course corncrakes in the Nene washes. Successes, but there should be more of them. So much of our landscape is managed in a way which is devastating for nature; prairie arable monoculture, grouse moors, sitka spruce plantation forestry, upland sheep farming. MacDonald examines all these habitats and demonstrates with examples from other countries how these areas can become rich in wildlife again. His case studies suggest a future for grouse moors, the Somerset levels, and other managed landscapes. Let nature return and the benefits to the local economy will be startling. Look at how Mull now earns over ten million pounds per annum from eagle tourism. And remember too how vigorously white tailed eagle reintroduction was initially opposed by so many islanders. This is not the first book on rewilding; the concept is in fact at the forefront of current conservation thinking; ecological improvement on a landscape scale. What makes Rebirding so compelling is how it offers convincing solutions which will not only restore avian populations but which will benefit both the people who live there and those who visit. It should be compulsory reading for environmental policy makers. And we the public and the conservation organizations which represent us must mobilise to fight for such a future for our countryside. Read the book and you'll find out why the front cover picture of a pelican is not so outlandish for a book about British birds.

Fantastic book, anyone with even the slightest interest in British birds and nature conservation should read it. It explains what we've lost and how we lost it, but also how we could regain our bird life. Agriculture, woodland, rivers and even pelicans are all looked at in detail but with an easy to read approach, you won't need a degree in ecology to understand. Fascinating detail on birds like cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, wrynecks, nightingales, willow tits and red-backed shrikes and why they're disappearing from our landscapes. Even touches on wildlife gardening and how to really benefit your local birds and wildlife... plant those native shrubs - hawthorn, rowan, goat willow, buckthorn and guelder rose. I love this book.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light. --Martin Luther King Jr I number myself among those who were complacently smug about their approach to the environment, particularly with gardening, but then I read Benedict MacDonald's book and realized that I must radically rethink my approach. Among other things, I suffer from that all too familiar syndrome of Ecological Tidiness Disorder. MacDonald made me see how rather than simply gardening with wildlife as an afterthought, I really ought to be doing ecosystem gardening. Caring for birds in one's garden is about more than putting out a bird table, not using pesticides or ensuring paradise isn't paved over, but also about ensuring an adequate food supply through the use of various native fauna in the garden including simply not tidying up hedges or the ivy or pulling nettles. It is also about choosing the correct flora to go in one's garden to encourage the island effect and create larger natural havens for our birds. My defense is that I had not truly appreciated how dire the situation was until I read his book. I had suffered from accepting the new normal without realising how devoid of life that normal had become. I was all too willing to believe that most of the decline in the bird population was down to things beyond my control and to not even consider post-fledgling starvation and how that might effect migration. This book changed that view. If we know a certain percentage of birds will not make it back from Africa every year, then we had best do all in our power to ensure the absolute numbers leaving these shores after the breeding season are as strong as possible and that includes increasing food sources around the country through a more wild or ecosystem based approach if you will. His book is a compelling read filled with hard facts and figures but also a great deal of optimism. Pelicans flying again in the Somerset Levels, or even people in towns and villages starting once again to hear the cuckoo calling on the spring breeze -- these are things that MacDonald makes you believe could happen. His thought-provoking arguments for controlled deer culling and re-purposing grouse moors are excellent and well-argued but it was the chapters on gardening which really engaged me. A clarion call to arms and a game changer for me in every sense of the word. A book everyone with even a passing interest in British nature should read.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough, it has scratched the itch left behind after reading many disappointing texts on the key issue of rewilding in Britain. For birders and non-birders alike, the vehicle of birds used to delve into the heart of the issues surrounding our countryside and rewilding in the UK is brilliant. Thoroughly considered arguments and perspectives makes for a fascinating read, I didn’t feel lectured at any point and it avoided an obviously preachy tone that some rewilding books can take. Read it in a week, I hope there’s more to come in the future...

As a lifelong countryman, having spent my 57 years living in villages in The Fens and Berkshire, I was moved by Ben Macdonald's thoroughly researched account of all the species biodiversity we have lost from our countryside. Recalling the massive decline in our insect population and of birds which were a common sight in my youth, such as Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Tree Sparrow, Macdonald gives a compelling account of Britain's uniquely destructive uses of our landscape. Far from being a 'crowded island', we have room to accommodate all the habitat necessary to enable all those threatened species to thrive and recover sustainable populations. Despite being a blow-by-blow account of all the mistakes and mismanagement that have given us the most denuded and species-poor landscape in Europe, this is, in the end, a book full of hope and inspiration. It provides a vision for how we can enable our countryside to recover, in a way that benefits not just the threatened species but also creates jobs where there are none and allows local communities to thrive. I want every policy-maker and big landowner to read this book and catch a glimpse of how much better life could be for us and all the creatures that share this wonderful island. Definitely my book of the decade.

I have only just started reading this book. Benedict is very good at painting a picture of what the British Isles must have looked like when we first arrived and through a lot of research has laid out what has happened since. The book is very accessible to those who are not experts in the field and Benedict has a wonderful way is telling stories alongside the hard facts, this makes the book thoroughly engaging throughout. This book offers hope and a solution to the plight birds and other animals are facing - this book should be read by all!

A fantastic and insightful book into the current state of our bird and wildlife on an ecosystem scale. A great manual to show how we can restore bird species and populations. Written in a beautiful manner, complete with accurate and full references. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of nature in the uk.

I am not a birdwatcher or even particularly knowledgeable about birds, I came to this book after reading Isabella Tree's 'Wilding'. While this latter book is inspiring as a record of a practical experiment, 'Rebirding' sets itself broader objectives: aiming to explain how we got to current degraded state of nature, what could be different and, all importantly, how change could financed and sustained. And it achieves in meeting all three of these objectives. One of the biggest revelations for me is how it carefully illustrates how our very language has changed to circumscribe our thinking; it had never occurred to me that what we now think of as 'farmyard' birds survived very well before humans started farming or that 'house martins' had only recently adapted to living among houses. Where 'Wilding' sometimes reads like patrician rant in favour of landowners being given public money without strings attached, 'Rebirding' excels in carefully demonstrating the economic illiteracy of some aspects of current agricultural funding and in setting out how ecotourism and flood protection services could be economically viable. A fabulous read and a blueprint for a better, wilder future.

Absolutely loved the concept and also how he takes you along the journey with him. This is hugely readable and accessible to people like with me with a relatively limited understanding of wildlife and nature (beyond being a fan). The author uses some truly startling facts and illustrations to paint a picture of what could be - the real question is will there be enough people out there prepared to help Britain achieve its true potential as he proposes. I do hope so, as the future he describes is infinitely more interesting and exciting than the prospect of our current direction. Fascinating and alarming in equal proportions, this must be wider read and endorsed if we are to leave any kind of legacy for the next generation.

Rewilding is something of a growing concept, seemingly on a landscape scale. In this book Benedict Macdonald discusses rewilding with an emphasis on birds and shows how it can be applied almost everywhere, from road verges to National Parks. He argues that restoring natural processes through rewilding over large area will allow our birds to recover. Macdonald believes that the “wildwood” do ancient Britain and Western Europe was a savanna like mosaic kept open by large herbivores, rather than high canopy forest. He sets out his view that the extensive mixed farming that was universal in Europe up to the last century mimicked that mosaic. The intensification of agriculture and the associated cleansing of the countryside of food has caused declines in once common species of birds. This, he argues, could be reversed by allowing, or managing, the more marginal areas back into a wild state. He states that bringing back iconic wildlife such as wild cattle, elk, lynx and Dalmatian pelican could provide sustainable rural jobs in eco-tourism and in hunting. He calls for boldness in asking for NGOs and the government to bring large, landscape-scale tracts of land back to nature, as well as for us all to be a wee bit less tidy so that we leave more space for nature. I may not agree with everything he says, just most of it, but this is a thought provoking and original book. It’s a manifesto for a wilder, more sustainable and exciting future.

The word "rewilding" only entered the language within the last 20 years. The concept of rewilding is to restore the landscape to its natural state. This has often involved the introduction of grazing animals to facilitate habitat restoration. The best known rewilding projects, at Knepp in Sussex and Alladale in Sutherland have had startling success in increasing numbers of struggling species, particularly cuckoos and turtle doves at Knepp. Rebirding applies the same principles to demonstrate how rewilding in Britain can bring about a reversal in bird species declines and give these species a bright future. Equally importantly it shows how such measures will provide a vibrant living landscape and can also bring economic benefit, particularly to economically struggling parts of the country. The early part of the book makes depressing reading as MacDonald describes the manifold ways in which we have decimated our bird populations, especially since the industrial revolution. Simple persecution, population fragmentation, over grazing , (especially by sheep), devastation of insect populations, agricultural monoculture, herbicides, etc, etc. One begins to wonder how any birds have survived at all! MacDonald disputes the received wisdom that dense oak woodland covered our landscape in prehistoric times. He posits that large herbivores initially, and subsequently domestic livestock created a mosaic landscape in which different habitats developed suiting a wide variety of species. Conservation aims should be to recreate such a mosaic; wet grasslands beloved of snipe and lapwing, scrub for nightingale and whitethroat, wetland areas for ducks and waders, open woodlands for pied flycatchers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and so forth. He points to such habitats in eastern Europe where agricultural practices have not yet devastated the landscape. While the creation of good habitat will ensure that good numbers of birds will return, some species which became extinct won't. Corncrakes on migration for example will fly over perfectly adequate created habitat as they are hard wired to return to their natal territories. To maximize the potential of new habitat, it will be necessary to reintroduce absent species and of course there has been great success with cranes, great bustards, cirl buntings, and of course corncrakes in the Nene washes. Successes, but there should be more of them. So much of our landscape is managed in a way which is devastating for nature; prairie arable monoculture, grouse moors, sitka spruce plantation forestry, upland sheep farming. MacDonald examines all these habitats and demonstrates with examples from other countries how these areas can become rich in wildlife again. His case studies suggest a future for grouse moors, the Somerset levels, and other managed landscapes. Let nature return and the benefits to the local economy will be startling. Look at how Mull now earns over ten million pounds per annum from eagle tourism. And remember too how vigorously white tailed eagle reintroduction was initially opposed by so many islanders. This is not the first book on rewilding; the concept is in fact at the forefront of current conservation thinking; ecological improvement on a landscape scale. What makes Rebirding so compelling is how it offers convincing solutions which will not only restore avian populations but which will benefit both the people who live there and those who visit. It should be compulsory reading for environmental policy makers. And we the public and the conservation organizations which represent us must mobilise to fight for such a future for our countryside. Read the book and you'll find out why the front cover picture of a pelican is not so outlandish for a book about British birds.

Fantastic book, anyone with even the slightest interest in British birds and nature conservation should read it. It explains what we've lost and how we lost it, but also how we could regain our bird life. Agriculture, woodland, rivers and even pelicans are all looked at in detail but with an easy to read approach, you won't need a degree in ecology to understand. Fascinating detail on birds like cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, wrynecks, nightingales, willow tits and red-backed shrikes and why they're disappearing from our landscapes. Even touches on wildlife gardening and how to really benefit your local birds and wildlife... plant those native shrubs - hawthorn, rowan, goat willow, buckthorn and guelder rose. I love this book.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light. --Martin Luther King Jr I number myself among those who were complacently smug about their approach to the environment, particularly with gardening, but then I read Benedict MacDonald's book and realized that I must radically rethink my approach. Among other things, I suffer from that all too familiar syndrome of Ecological Tidiness Disorder. MacDonald made me see how rather than simply gardening with wildlife as an afterthought, I really ought to be doing ecosystem gardening. Caring for birds in one's garden is about more than putting out a bird table, not using pesticides or ensuring paradise isn't paved over, but also about ensuring an adequate food supply through the use of various native fauna in the garden including simply not tidying up hedges or the ivy or pulling nettles. It is also about choosing the correct flora to go in one's garden to encourage the island effect and create larger natural havens for our birds. My defense is that I had not truly appreciated how dire the situation was until I read his book. I had suffered from accepting the new normal without realising how devoid of life that normal had become. I was all too willing to believe that most of the decline in the bird population was down to things beyond my control and to not even consider post-fledgling starvation and how that might effect migration. This book changed that view. If we know a certain percentage of birds will not make it back from Africa every year, then we had best do all in our power to ensure the absolute numbers leaving these shores after the breeding season are as strong as possible and that includes increasing food sources around the country through a more wild or ecosystem based approach if you will. His book is a compelling read filled with hard facts and figures but also a great deal of optimism. Pelicans flying again in the Somerset Levels, or even people in towns and villages starting once again to hear the cuckoo calling on the spring breeze -- these are things that MacDonald makes you believe could happen. His thought-provoking arguments for controlled deer culling and re-purposing grouse moors are excellent and well-argued but it was the chapters on gardening which really engaged me. A clarion call to arms and a game changer for me in every sense of the word. A book everyone with even a passing interest in British nature should read.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough, it has scratched the itch left behind after reading many disappointing texts on the key issue of rewilding in Britain. For birders and non-birders alike, the vehicle of birds used to delve into the heart of the issues surrounding our countryside and rewilding in the UK is brilliant. Thoroughly considered arguments and perspectives makes for a fascinating read, I didn’t feel lectured at any point and it avoided an obviously preachy tone that some rewilding books can take. Read it in a week, I hope there’s more to come in the future...

As a lifelong countryman, having spent my 57 years living in villages in The Fens and Berkshire, I was moved by Ben Macdonald's thoroughly researched account of all the species biodiversity we have lost from our countryside. Recalling the massive decline in our insect population and of birds which were a common sight in my youth, such as Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Tree Sparrow, Macdonald gives a compelling account of Britain's uniquely destructive uses of our landscape. Far from being a 'crowded island', we have room to accommodate all the habitat necessary to enable all those threatened species to thrive and recover sustainable populations. Despite being a blow-by-blow account of all the mistakes and mismanagement that have given us the most denuded and species-poor landscape in Europe, this is, in the end, a book full of hope and inspiration. It provides a vision for how we can enable our countryside to recover, in a way that benefits not just the threatened species but also creates jobs where there are none and allows local communities to thrive. I want every policy-maker and big landowner to read this book and catch a glimpse of how much better life could be for us and all the creatures that share this wonderful island. Definitely my book of the decade.

I have only just started reading this book. Benedict is very good at painting a picture of what the British Isles must have looked like when we first arrived and through a lot of research has laid out what has happened since. The book is very accessible to those who are not experts in the field and Benedict has a wonderful way is telling stories alongside the hard facts, this makes the book thoroughly engaging throughout. This book offers hope and a solution to the plight birds and other animals are facing - this book should be read by all!

A fantastic and insightful book into the current state of our bird and wildlife on an ecosystem scale. A great manual to show how we can restore bird species and populations. Written in a beautiful manner, complete with accurate and full references. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of nature in the uk.

I am not a birdwatcher or even particularly knowledgeable about birds, I came to this book after reading Isabella Tree's 'Wilding'. While this latter book is inspiring as a record of a practical experiment, 'Rebirding' sets itself broader objectives: aiming to explain how we got to current degraded state of nature, what could be different and, all importantly, how change could financed and sustained. And it achieves in meeting all three of these objectives. One of the biggest revelations for me is how it carefully illustrates how our very language has changed to circumscribe our thinking; it had never occurred to me that what we now think of as 'farmyard' birds survived very well before humans started farming or that 'house martins' had only recently adapted to living among houses. Where 'Wilding' sometimes reads like patrician rant in favour of landowners being given public money without strings attached, 'Rebirding' excels in carefully demonstrating the economic illiteracy of some aspects of current agricultural funding and in setting out how ecotourism and flood protection services could be economically viable. A fabulous read and a blueprint for a better, wilder future.

Absolutely loved the concept and also how he takes you along the journey with him. This is hugely readable and accessible to people like with me with a relatively limited understanding of wildlife and nature (beyond being a fan). The author uses some truly startling facts and illustrations to paint a picture of what could be - the real question is will there be enough people out there prepared to help Britain achieve its true potential as he proposes. I do hope so, as the future he describes is infinitely more interesting and exciting than the prospect of our current direction. Fascinating and alarming in equal proportions, this must be wider read and endorsed if we are to leave any kind of legacy for the next generation.

Rewilding is something of a growing concept, seemingly on a landscape scale. In this book Benedict Macdonald discusses rewilding with an emphasis on birds and shows how it can be applied almost everywhere, from road verges to National Parks. He argues that restoring natural processes through rewilding over large area will allow our birds to recover. Macdonald believes that the “wildwood” do ancient Britain and Western Europe was a savanna like mosaic kept open by large herbivores, rather than high canopy forest. He sets out his view that the extensive mixed farming that was universal in Europe up to the last century mimicked that mosaic. The intensification of agriculture and the associated cleansing of the countryside of food has caused declines in once common species of birds. This, he argues, could be reversed by allowing, or managing, the more marginal areas back into a wild state. He states that bringing back iconic wildlife such as wild cattle, elk, lynx and Dalmatian pelican could provide sustainable rural jobs in eco-tourism and in hunting. He calls for boldness in asking for NGOs and the government to bring large, landscape-scale tracts of land back to nature, as well as for us all to be a wee bit less tidy so that we leave more space for nature. I may not agree with everything he says, just most of it, but this is a thought provoking and original book. It’s a manifesto for a wilder, more sustainable and exciting future.

The word "rewilding" only entered the language within the last 20 years. The concept of rewilding is to restore the landscape to its natural state. This has often involved the introduction of grazing animals to facilitate habitat restoration. The best known rewilding projects, at Knepp in Sussex and Alladale in Sutherland have had startling success in increasing numbers of struggling species, particularly cuckoos and turtle doves at Knepp. Rebirding applies the same principles to demonstrate how rewilding in Britain can bring about a reversal in bird species declines and give these species a bright future. Equally importantly it shows how such measures will provide a vibrant living landscape and can also bring economic benefit, particularly to economically struggling parts of the country. The early part of the book makes depressing reading as MacDonald describes the manifold ways in which we have decimated our bird populations, especially since the industrial revolution. Simple persecution, population fragmentation, over grazing , (especially by sheep), devastation of insect populations, agricultural monoculture, herbicides, etc, etc. One begins to wonder how any birds have survived at all! MacDonald disputes the received wisdom that dense oak woodland covered our landscape in prehistoric times. He posits that large herbivores initially, and subsequently domestic livestock created a mosaic landscape in which different habitats developed suiting a wide variety of species. Conservation aims should be to recreate such a mosaic; wet grasslands beloved of snipe and lapwing, scrub for nightingale and whitethroat, wetland areas for ducks and waders, open woodlands for pied flycatchers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and so forth. He points to such habitats in eastern Europe where agricultural practices have not yet devastated the landscape. While the creation of good habitat will ensure that good numbers of birds will return, some species which became extinct won't. Corncrakes on migration for example will fly over perfectly adequate created habitat as they are hard wired to return to their natal territories. To maximize the potential of new habitat, it will be necessary to reintroduce absent species and of course there has been great success with cranes, great bustards, cirl buntings, and of course corncrakes in the Nene washes. Successes, but there should be more of them. So much of our landscape is managed in a way which is devastating for nature; prairie arable monoculture, grouse moors, sitka spruce plantation forestry, upland sheep farming. MacDonald examines all these habitats and demonstrates with examples from other countries how these areas can become rich in wildlife again. His case studies suggest a future for grouse moors, the Somerset levels, and other managed landscapes. Let nature return and the benefits to the local economy will be startling. Look at how Mull now earns over ten million pounds per annum from eagle tourism. And remember too how vigorously white tailed eagle reintroduction was initially opposed by so many islanders. This is not the first book on rewilding; the concept is in fact at the forefront of current conservation thinking; ecological improvement on a landscape scale. What makes Rebirding so compelling is how it offers convincing solutions which will not only restore avian populations but which will benefit both the people who live there and those who visit. It should be compulsory reading for environmental policy makers. And we the public and the conservation organizations which represent us must mobilise to fight for such a future for our countryside. Read the book and you'll find out why the front cover picture of a pelican is not so outlandish for a book about British birds.

Fantastic book, anyone with even the slightest interest in British birds and nature conservation should read it. It explains what we've lost and how we lost it, but also how we could regain our bird life. Agriculture, woodland, rivers and even pelicans are all looked at in detail but with an easy to read approach, you won't need a degree in ecology to understand. Fascinating detail on birds like cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, wrynecks, nightingales, willow tits and red-backed shrikes and why they're disappearing from our landscapes. Even touches on wildlife gardening and how to really benefit your local birds and wildlife... plant those native shrubs - hawthorn, rowan, goat willow, buckthorn and guelder rose. I love this book.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light. --Martin Luther King Jr I number myself among those who were complacently smug about their approach to the environment, particularly with gardening, but then I read Benedict MacDonald's book and realized that I must radically rethink my approach. Among other things, I suffer from that all too familiar syndrome of Ecological Tidiness Disorder. MacDonald made me see how rather than simply gardening with wildlife as an afterthought, I really ought to be doing ecosystem gardening. Caring for birds in one's garden is about more than putting out a bird table, not using pesticides or ensuring paradise isn't paved over, but also about ensuring an adequate food supply through the use of various native fauna in the garden including simply not tidying up hedges or the ivy or pulling nettles. It is also about choosing the correct flora to go in one's garden to encourage the island effect and create larger natural havens for our birds. My defense is that I had not truly appreciated how dire the situation was until I read his book. I had suffered from accepting the new normal without realising how devoid of life that normal had become. I was all too willing to believe that most of the decline in the bird population was down to things beyond my control and to not even consider post-fledgling starvation and how that might effect migration. This book changed that view. If we know a certain percentage of birds will not make it back from Africa every year, then we had best do all in our power to ensure the absolute numbers leaving these shores after the breeding season are as strong as possible and that includes increasing food sources around the country through a more wild or ecosystem based approach if you will. His book is a compelling read filled with hard facts and figures but also a great deal of optimism. Pelicans flying again in the Somerset Levels, or even people in towns and villages starting once again to hear the cuckoo calling on the spring breeze -- these are things that MacDonald makes you believe could happen. His thought-provoking arguments for controlled deer culling and re-purposing grouse moors are excellent and well-argued but it was the chapters on gardening which really engaged me. A clarion call to arms and a game changer for me in every sense of the word. A book everyone with even a passing interest in British nature should read.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough, it has scratched the itch left behind after reading many disappointing texts on the key issue of rewilding in Britain. For birders and non-birders alike, the vehicle of birds used to delve into the heart of the issues surrounding our countryside and rewilding in the UK is brilliant. Thoroughly considered arguments and perspectives makes for a fascinating read, I didn’t feel lectured at any point and it avoided an obviously preachy tone that some rewilding books can take. Read it in a week, I hope there’s more to come in the future...

As a lifelong countryman, having spent my 57 years living in villages in The Fens and Berkshire, I was moved by Ben Macdonald's thoroughly researched account of all the species biodiversity we have lost from our countryside. Recalling the massive decline in our insect population and of birds which were a common sight in my youth, such as Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Tree Sparrow, Macdonald gives a compelling account of Britain's uniquely destructive uses of our landscape. Far from being a 'crowded island', we have room to accommodate all the habitat necessary to enable all those threatened species to thrive and recover sustainable populations. Despite being a blow-by-blow account of all the mistakes and mismanagement that have given us the most denuded and species-poor landscape in Europe, this is, in the end, a book full of hope and inspiration. It provides a vision for how we can enable our countryside to recover, in a way that benefits not just the threatened species but also creates jobs where there are none and allows local communities to thrive. I want every policy-maker and big landowner to read this book and catch a glimpse of how much better life could be for us and all the creatures that share this wonderful island. Definitely my book of the decade.

I have only just started reading this book. Benedict is very good at painting a picture of what the British Isles must have looked like when we first arrived and through a lot of research has laid out what has happened since. The book is very accessible to those who are not experts in the field and Benedict has a wonderful way is telling stories alongside the hard facts, this makes the book thoroughly engaging throughout. This book offers hope and a solution to the plight birds and other animals are facing - this book should be read by all!

A fantastic and insightful book into the current state of our bird and wildlife on an ecosystem scale. A great manual to show how we can restore bird species and populations. Written in a beautiful manner, complete with accurate and full references. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of nature in the uk.

I am not a birdwatcher or even particularly knowledgeable about birds, I came to this book after reading Isabella Tree's 'Wilding'. While this latter book is inspiring as a record of a practical experiment, 'Rebirding' sets itself broader objectives: aiming to explain how we got to current degraded state of nature, what could be different and, all importantly, how change could financed and sustained. And it achieves in meeting all three of these objectives. One of the biggest revelations for me is how it carefully illustrates how our very language has changed to circumscribe our thinking; it had never occurred to me that what we now think of as 'farmyard' birds survived very well before humans started farming or that 'house martins' had only recently adapted to living among houses. Where 'Wilding' sometimes reads like patrician rant in favour of landowners being given public money without strings attached, 'Rebirding' excels in carefully demonstrating the economic illiteracy of some aspects of current agricultural funding and in setting out how ecotourism and flood protection services could be economically viable. A fabulous read and a blueprint for a better, wilder future.

Absolutely loved the concept and also how he takes you along the journey with him. This is hugely readable and accessible to people like with me with a relatively limited understanding of wildlife and nature (beyond being a fan). The author uses some truly startling facts and illustrations to paint a picture of what could be - the real question is will there be enough people out there prepared to help Britain achieve its true potential as he proposes. I do hope so, as the future he describes is infinitely more interesting and exciting than the prospect of our current direction. Fascinating and alarming in equal proportions, this must be wider read and endorsed if we are to leave any kind of legacy for the next generation.

This book should be read by everyone who cares about the future of wildlife and its habitats in Britain and Ireland. While sometimes weighted towards birdlife as its title suggests, the scope goes way beyond to a deep and reflective consideration of how our landscapes and ecosystems got to their present disastrous state, and how that can be turned around in a way that - and this is an essential point - also benefits dying rural communities. While I didn't agree with every last word in the book (I would be more critical of Oostvaardersplassen in Holland, and ecologist Frans Vera's ideas in general, for example), I rarely, if ever, do agree with everything in any book, so that shouldn't be taken as a criticism! I found this book thought-provoking and inspirational, as well as a very enjoyable read. I would consider it essential reading for anyone who sees the fantastic potential in rewilding our countryside, and our own lives. Highly recommended!

Excellent book - lucid, extremely thorough and beautifully argued indictment of the state of nature in the UK. It puts all the financial and other resources from the conservation sector and Government into a terrible context. I now see all the RSPB and Wildlife Trusts statements about 90% drop in population of this bird, insect or mammal within a context of expensive, well meaning but generally counter productive failure. More importantly this book, following on the work of Frans Vera and Isobel Tree, provides simple (albeit difficult from perspective of bureacratic and political inertia) and very constructive proposals to radically improve our neutered countryside and it's wildlife.

Having read Isabella Tree's excellent book "Wilding" my enthusiasm for the benefits of rewilding was ignited leading me to this excellent book. As a wildlife lover you have to endure a challenging read through the first few chapters as you relive what we, yes all of us, have done to contribute to the destruction of UK wildlife and the environment. Having eco travelled extensively looking at the negative impact the human race has had in Africa, South East Asia and South America, I was hugely surprised how far ahead we were/are of this locations in the UK destroying are landscape. The conclusion in this book is not the uneconomic fantasy many people would wish for, without considering that it would not be viable, but a practical, economically viable solution that could be implemented with increased knowledge and support from local people and authorities, and the UK government. Its not too late! An eye opening read with a real solution that can be achieved.

As a professional ecologist, I've read two books recently that really turned my understanding of the natural world on its head, this book and 'Wilding' by Isabella Tree. Wilding explains what happened at the Knepp estate when they let natural processes run wild and managed the land through grazing animals alone. If that is the micro view of rewilding, with a practical case study, then 'Rebirding' is a macro scale view of the UK and how, over thousands of years, we have systematically destroyed our natural heritage to the point that no-one alive really has any idea what a natural UK eco-system should look like or function. The book introduces some very illuminating facts about land use in the UK, particularly that we have far more space than most realise and that, for broad swathes of the landscape, we are degrading our wildlife for activities which benefit almost no-one - for example the 8 % of the UK that is used for driven grouse hunting, the 8 % that is used for red deer farming/hunting, and the 88 % of Wales that is used for sheep farming. The book argues that the almost negligible economic benefits of these activities should be replaced with other, more profitable, activities like sustainable hunting and eco-tourism that allow wildlife to flourish and allow our impoverished landscape to recover to the benefit of all. It offers some solutions that may seem radical to our inherited misconceptions, but really aren't that radical at all. They are just common sense. This is a really excellent book, well-researched and compelling and driven by a clear-sighted passion for the natural world. Please read it - you may learn something very valuable.

With meticulous detail, "Rebirding" describes how our bird populations can recover, mentioning the requiremnets of each species in difficulties, not separately, but as part of a discussion of a particular habitat. The messages that come across from this book that to restore bird populations, you need HABITAT, HABITAT, HABITAT in sizable chunks, not lots of tiny pieces, because the second requirement is to provide FOOD, FOOD, FOOD in sufficient amounts. The book goes over in detail the astonishing number of hairy caterpillars it takes to sustain cuckoos or if we re-introduce them, the number of beetles to sustain red-backed shrikes. It completely destroys the arguments of the shooting industry banging on about the importance of predator control. If you only have one pair of swallows, predator control is not going to save them and a healthy population doesn't need predator control. This is a must read for anybody who claims to be interested in conservation or claims to manage land to contribute to it.

I fully admit that rewilding is a subject I'm passionate about so finding this book through a recommendation on Twitter was fantastic. Superbly written, Ben's descriptions of what we've lost is saddening but what could be given a will and a way is uplifting. I can't recommend this book highly enough, Ben's vision of what could be given a rethink of the industrial farming practices and a return to the restoration of landscapes would have massive benefits across the board. Ben gets his points across without any sense of them being forced upon you, his clear and concise reasoning as to why and how we should be doing this leaves the reader asking why aren't we doing this already.

A well argued treatise that combines a well articulated vision for landscape-scale approach to habitat restoration with a fact-based approach to articulating the problems that have caused massive declines of Britain's once-common birds, and the passion of a birder to reverse the losses of iconic species which are all too well documented. The clear-eyed view of what the conservation organisations have accomplished, and the gaps that need to be filled as pocket conservation of target species has for all its success with wetland birds been shown not to help our farmland woodland and urban birds building on the growing case for wilding, regenerative agriculture and land management. The economic case against grouse moors and high volume deer stalking, and loss-making dairy and sheep farming is compelling. This book does more than decry the loss birds and its causes. It articulates a credible way forward based not only on the intrinsic value of nature , but also the economic value of ecological restoration. It's hard to argue that the return of charismatic habitat-managing species such as lynx, moose, old breeds of cattle and horses to a culture that greatly appreciates nature as the British do would not create an attractive spectacle that people would pay to enjoy. The message of hope which he derives from the successful pilots such as Knebb provide evidence that his wider vision could indeed work, and is not simply a fanciful pipe dream. In a world going sideways, if not backwards, this book offers a refreshing and unexpected reason to be cheerful.

I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who cares about British wildlife. While I have read numerous books on the subject of rewilding (Wilding, Feral, Our Place - all highly recommended) this book not only summarises a lot of that information, but also sets out a credible, exciting vision for how we can transform our countryside for the better. If you read enough about the state of British nature, you’ll end up suicidal! This book is the refreshing and exciting antidote. It leaves you wondering what you can do to get involved. Personally I think the title is a bit of a misnomer as it’s not just about the birds - it’s about an entire ecosystem. I just hope that this book can result in even a fraction of the positive change it lays out. ...and becomes a major BBC series so that everyone can start to get their heads around this topic, and build a head of steam! Yeah - you should definitely read it.

This is an inspiring book on how the green desert of the British countryside can be restored back to one full of wildlife. It is brilliantly incisive on what is currently wrong with our landscapes, for example on the poor state of our National Parks. The losses of our wildlife heritage makes for sobering reading. However, why the book is so important is due to the solutions provided. Although there is passion there is also pragmatism on how our countryside can be rewilded. We now need to act and push for more projects like the Knepp Estate. Perhaps our NGOs could be doing more in this respect?

In Britain we love our wildlife, but how many of us realise the amount which we have lost? This book takes us through the history of British wildlife since humans first arrived and how we have shaped and changed the countryside since. Benedict takes us through the methods and change of thinking that could help bring back some of our lost wild ecosystems and species. Thoroughly researched and written with passion and enthusiasm, Rebirding is a must read for anyone with even a passing interest in wildlife and conservation. You don’t need to be an expert to understand the topics discussed and this book will give you a vision for an exciting possible, wilder future for Britain. James

Rewilding is something of a growing concept, seemingly on a landscape scale. In this book Benedict Macdonald discusses rewilding with an emphasis on birds and shows how it can be applied almost everywhere, from road verges to National Parks. He argues that restoring natural processes through rewilding over large area will allow our birds to recover. Macdonald believes that the “wildwood” do ancient Britain and Western Europe was a savanna like mosaic kept open by large herbivores, rather than high canopy forest. He sets out his view that the extensive mixed farming that was universal in Europe up to the last century mimicked that mosaic. The intensification of agriculture and the associated cleansing of the countryside of food has caused declines in once common species of birds. This, he argues, could be reversed by allowing, or managing, the more marginal areas back into a wild state. He states that bringing back iconic wildlife such as wild cattle, elk, lynx and Dalmatian pelican could provide sustainable rural jobs in eco-tourism and in hunting. He calls for boldness in asking for NGOs and the government to bring large, landscape-scale tracts of land back to nature, as well as for us all to be a wee bit less tidy so that we leave more space for nature. I may not agree with everything he says, just most of it, but this is a thought provoking and original book. It’s a manifesto for a wilder, more sustainable and exciting future.

The word "rewilding" only entered the language within the last 20 years. The concept of rewilding is to restore the landscape to its natural state. This has often involved the introduction of grazing animals to facilitate habitat restoration. The best known rewilding projects, at Knepp in Sussex and Alladale in Sutherland have had startling success in increasing numbers of struggling species, particularly cuckoos and turtle doves at Knepp. Rebirding applies the same principles to demonstrate how rewilding in Britain can bring about a reversal in bird species declines and give these species a bright future. Equally importantly it shows how such measures will provide a vibrant living landscape and can also bring economic benefit, particularly to economically struggling parts of the country. The early part of the book makes depressing reading as MacDonald describes the manifold ways in which we have decimated our bird populations, especially since the industrial revolution. Simple persecution, population fragmentation, over grazing , (especially by sheep), devastation of insect populations, agricultural monoculture, herbicides, etc, etc. One begins to wonder how any birds have survived at all! MacDonald disputes the received wisdom that dense oak woodland covered our landscape in prehistoric times. He posits that large herbivores initially, and subsequently domestic livestock created a mosaic landscape in which different habitats developed suiting a wide variety of species. Conservation aims should be to recreate such a mosaic; wet grasslands beloved of snipe and lapwing, scrub for nightingale and whitethroat, wetland areas for ducks and waders, open woodlands for pied flycatchers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and so forth. He points to such habitats in eastern Europe where agricultural practices have not yet devastated the landscape. While the creation of good habitat will ensure that good numbers of birds will return, some species which became extinct won't. Corncrakes on migration for example will fly over perfectly adequate created habitat as they are hard wired to return to their natal territories. To maximize the potential of new habitat, it will be necessary to reintroduce absent species and of course there has been great success with cranes, great bustards, cirl buntings, and of course corncrakes in the Nene washes. Successes, but there should be more of them. So much of our landscape is managed in a way which is devastating for nature; prairie arable monoculture, grouse moors, sitka spruce plantation forestry, upland sheep farming. MacDonald examines all these habitats and demonstrates with examples from other countries how these areas can become rich in wildlife again. His case studies suggest a future for grouse moors, the Somerset levels, and other managed landscapes. Let nature return and the benefits to the local economy will be startling. Look at how Mull now earns over ten million pounds per annum from eagle tourism. And remember too how vigorously white tailed eagle reintroduction was initially opposed by so many islanders. This is not the first book on rewilding; the concept is in fact at the forefront of current conservation thinking; ecological improvement on a landscape scale. What makes Rebirding so compelling is how it offers convincing solutions which will not only restore avian populations but which will benefit both the people who live there and those who visit. It should be compulsory reading for environmental policy makers. And we the public and the conservation organizations which represent us must mobilise to fight for such a future for our countryside. Read the book and you'll find out why the front cover picture of a pelican is not so outlandish for a book about British birds.

Fantastic book, anyone with even the slightest interest in British birds and nature conservation should read it. It explains what we've lost and how we lost it, but also how we could regain our bird life. Agriculture, woodland, rivers and even pelicans are all looked at in detail but with an easy to read approach, you won't need a degree in ecology to understand. Fascinating detail on birds like cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, wrynecks, nightingales, willow tits and red-backed shrikes and why they're disappearing from our landscapes. Even touches on wildlife gardening and how to really benefit your local birds and wildlife... plant those native shrubs - hawthorn, rowan, goat willow, buckthorn and guelder rose. I love this book.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light. --Martin Luther King Jr I number myself among those who were complacently smug about their approach to the environment, particularly with gardening, but then I read Benedict MacDonald's book and realized that I must radically rethink my approach. Among other things, I suffer from that all too familiar syndrome of Ecological Tidiness Disorder. MacDonald made me see how rather than simply gardening with wildlife as an afterthought, I really ought to be doing ecosystem gardening. Caring for birds in one's garden is about more than putting out a bird table, not using pesticides or ensuring paradise isn't paved over, but also about ensuring an adequate food supply through the use of various native fauna in the garden including simply not tidying up hedges or the ivy or pulling nettles. It is also about choosing the correct flora to go in one's garden to encourage the island effect and create larger natural havens for our birds. My defense is that I had not truly appreciated how dire the situation was until I read his book. I had suffered from accepting the new normal without realising how devoid of life that normal had become. I was all too willing to believe that most of the decline in the bird population was down to things beyond my control and to not even consider post-fledgling starvation and how that might effect migration. This book changed that view. If we know a certain percentage of birds will not make it back from Africa every year, then we had best do all in our power to ensure the absolute numbers leaving these shores after the breeding season are as strong as possible and that includes increasing food sources around the country through a more wild or ecosystem based approach if you will. His book is a compelling read filled with hard facts and figures but also a great deal of optimism. Pelicans flying again in the Somerset Levels, or even people in towns and villages starting once again to hear the cuckoo calling on the spring breeze -- these are things that MacDonald makes you believe could happen. His thought-provoking arguments for controlled deer culling and re-purposing grouse moors are excellent and well-argued but it was the chapters on gardening which really engaged me. A clarion call to arms and a game changer for me in every sense of the word. A book everyone with even a passing interest in British nature should read.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough, it has scratched the itch left behind after reading many disappointing texts on the key issue of rewilding in Britain. For birders and non-birders alike, the vehicle of birds used to delve into the heart of the issues surrounding our countryside and rewilding in the UK is brilliant. Thoroughly considered arguments and perspectives makes for a fascinating read, I didn’t feel lectured at any point and it avoided an obviously preachy tone that some rewilding books can take. Read it in a week, I hope there’s more to come in the future...

As a lifelong countryman, having spent my 57 years living in villages in The Fens and Berkshire, I was moved by Ben Macdonald's thoroughly researched account of all the species biodiversity we have lost from our countryside. Recalling the massive decline in our insect population and of birds which were a common sight in my youth, such as Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Tree Sparrow, Macdonald gives a compelling account of Britain's uniquely destructive uses of our landscape. Far from being a 'crowded island', we have room to accommodate all the habitat necessary to enable all those threatened species to thrive and recover sustainable populations. Despite being a blow-by-blow account of all the mistakes and mismanagement that have given us the most denuded and species-poor landscape in Europe, this is, in the end, a book full of hope and inspiration. It provides a vision for how we can enable our countryside to recover, in a way that benefits not just the threatened species but also creates jobs where there are none and allows local communities to thrive. I want every policy-maker and big landowner to read this book and catch a glimpse of how much better life could be for us and all the creatures that share this wonderful island. Definitely my book of the decade.

I have only just started reading this book. Benedict is very good at painting a picture of what the British Isles must have looked like when we first arrived and through a lot of research has laid out what has happened since. The book is very accessible to those who are not experts in the field and Benedict has a wonderful way is telling stories alongside the hard facts, this makes the book thoroughly engaging throughout. This book offers hope and a solution to the plight birds and other animals are facing - this book should be read by all!

A fantastic and insightful book into the current state of our bird and wildlife on an ecosystem scale. A great manual to show how we can restore bird species and populations. Written in a beautiful manner, complete with accurate and full references. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of nature in the uk.

I am not a birdwatcher or even particularly knowledgeable about birds, I came to this book after reading Isabella Tree's 'Wilding'. While this latter book is inspiring as a record of a practical experiment, 'Rebirding' sets itself broader objectives: aiming to explain how we got to current degraded state of nature, what could be different and, all importantly, how change could financed and sustained. And it achieves in meeting all three of these objectives. One of the biggest revelations for me is how it carefully illustrates how our very language has changed to circumscribe our thinking; it had never occurred to me that what we now think of as 'farmyard' birds survived very well before humans started farming or that 'house martins' had only recently adapted to living among houses. Where 'Wilding' sometimes reads like patrician rant in favour of landowners being given public money without strings attached, 'Rebirding' excels in carefully demonstrating the economic illiteracy of some aspects of current agricultural funding and in setting out how ecotourism and flood protection services could be economically viable. A fabulous read and a blueprint for a better, wilder future.

Absolutely loved the concept and also how he takes you along the journey with him. This is hugely readable and accessible to people like with me with a relatively limited understanding of wildlife and nature (beyond being a fan). The author uses some truly startling facts and illustrations to paint a picture of what could be - the real question is will there be enough people out there prepared to help Britain achieve its true potential as he proposes. I do hope so, as the future he describes is infinitely more interesting and exciting than the prospect of our current direction. Fascinating and alarming in equal proportions, this must be wider read and endorsed if we are to leave any kind of legacy for the next generation.

A very well written account of the latest ideas about rewilding the countryside. I was surprised to find some of the excepted history of our landscape is probably wrong, in particular the idea of the all covering wildwood. There are also some very good ideas about practical steps which could be taken to revive our wildlife which wouldn't cost huge sums of money or result in loss of food production. I would recommend this to anybody interested in the future of our wildlife.

If you've ever wondered why the British countryside is the way it is, what we have lost, and how we might get it back - and much more besides - this is crucial reading. Much more than a fine work of ecological history, this is also a challenge to government and conservation bodies to shake off tired old assumptions about how we use our land and act more effectively for nature and people. Macdonald should have his own desk at DEFRA.

This book was my first foray into rewilding, and it was incredibly insightful, well-researched, balanced, and imaginative. What I particularly liked about the book, is that the author has backed up his vision with practical and pragmatic actions that are very much feasible and desirable. The first two chapters were quite heartbreaking but tell the truth without compromise. This sets the reader to understand the urgency of the situation which makes the following chapters a reinvigorating read that offer hope and a shared imaginary that instantly feels like the clear way forward. At the very least, you'll be motivated to get a bird feeder and look out for your avian neighbours.

I thoroughly recommend this book, writing as someone with 40 years professional experience in conservation science. Benedict Macdonald has made excellent use of a wide range of recent evidence, presented in an engaging and readable style. This makes important new insights into the lives of Britain's wild birds accessible to a much wider audience - a significant achievement, providing a rewarding read.

As a lay person interested in wildlife and conservation, I have nothing but praise for this book. Informative, written in an engaging style and with a positive blueprint on how we can all still change things for the better - this book completely changed my perspective - everyone should read this book! (Emma)

I am by no means a nature or bird expert, and this book has filled me with enthusiasm and new found interest for discovering and enhancing both my local and wider environment and the potential for enrichment. After this book I read Wilding by Isabella Tree which forms a good companion as it tells a detailed story of how the principles of this book work in practice. I found the wide ranging insights into all the varied challenges in terms of current land use - sheep grazed hills, grouse moors, deer estates - fascinating. A key book if you are interested in rediscovering the potential for recovering our lost or diminished natural wealth in this country.

What a fabulous book. For anyone interested in nature conservation, you must read this. Rewilding (in this case renamed rebirding as it references bird conservation) is sweeping through European nature conservation as a cost-effective and transformative way to massively restore our wildlife. With the intertwined climate and biodiversity crises becoming daily more frightening, we need such a transformation. What the author has done here, is to bring the subject to life, richly illustrating its potential and thrown down the gauntlet for a richer, more prosperous and wilder future. It is immensely readable, not at all techy and utterly visionary. Really loved this book.

This book is an extremely thought provoking and eye opening read. Looking at rewilding from a bird perspective, it really challenged my way of thinking towards rewilding in the UK. You can tell the book has been thoroughly researched and the points put across are backed up by evidence from other projects across Europe. I have already recommended this to a few people who are looking into rewilding projects and I would definitely recommend to anyone working in conservation, whether with birds or not.

This is my subject and I have read almost all books about nature / ecology and conservation published in the past 10-15 years and this book stands out. It brings together themes and topics which are looked at in Tree's Wilding, Cocker's Our Place, Monbiot's Feral, Jepson's Rewilding...the list goes on. This book should be part of every A level course - it explains why nature in the UK is in crisis, how we got here and what can be done. A must read

This one is up there with George Monbiot's 'Feral' and Isabella Tree's 'Wilding' - a well-researched and well-written investigation into the decline of nature in Britain, with special focus on its bird life, and with well-argumented suggestions for restoring nature in the country. The first few chapters offer an exhaustive - and depressing - account of the ongoing collapse of the diversity as well as the abundance of nature in Britain. But Macdonald also offers a way out - a vision of hope based on concrete policy proposals to restore the natural beauty of Britain, and build a more resilient rural economy around it. There is hope amidst all the despair. A note for bibliophiles like me: this book is from a specialist publisher i hadn't heard of before, but is very well produced - one of the now very few properly bound hardcover editions in Britain, well-designed and produced, and with an attractive cover image. Get this while you can - if there's ever a paperback edition it won't be nearly as good-looking.

Rewilding is something of a growing concept, seemingly on a landscape scale. In this book Benedict Macdonald discusses rewilding with an emphasis on birds and shows how it can be applied almost everywhere, from road verges to National Parks. He argues that restoring natural processes through rewilding over large area will allow our birds to recover. Macdonald believes that the “wildwood” do ancient Britain and Western Europe was a savanna like mosaic kept open by large herbivores, rather than high canopy forest. He sets out his view that the extensive mixed farming that was universal in Europe up to the last century mimicked that mosaic. The intensification of agriculture and the associated cleansing of the countryside of food has caused declines in once common species of birds. This, he argues, could be reversed by allowing, or managing, the more marginal areas back into a wild state. He states that bringing back iconic wildlife such as wild cattle, elk, lynx and Dalmatian pelican could provide sustainable rural jobs in eco-tourism and in hunting. He calls for boldness in asking for NGOs and the government to bring large, landscape-scale tracts of land back to nature, as well as for us all to be a wee bit less tidy so that we leave more space for nature. I may not agree with everything he says, just most of it, but this is a thought provoking and original book. It’s a manifesto for a wilder, more sustainable and exciting future.

The word "rewilding" only entered the language within the last 20 years. The concept of rewilding is to restore the landscape to its natural state. This has often involved the introduction of grazing animals to facilitate habitat restoration. The best known rewilding projects, at Knepp in Sussex and Alladale in Sutherland have had startling success in increasing numbers of struggling species, particularly cuckoos and turtle doves at Knepp. Rebirding applies the same principles to demonstrate how rewilding in Britain can bring about a reversal in bird species declines and give these species a bright future. Equally importantly it shows how such measures will provide a vibrant living landscape and can also bring economic benefit, particularly to economically struggling parts of the country. The early part of the book makes depressing reading as MacDonald describes the manifold ways in which we have decimated our bird populations, especially since the industrial revolution. Simple persecution, population fragmentation, over grazing , (especially by sheep), devastation of insect populations, agricultural monoculture, herbicides, etc, etc. One begins to wonder how any birds have survived at all! MacDonald disputes the received wisdom that dense oak woodland covered our landscape in prehistoric times. He posits that large herbivores initially, and subsequently domestic livestock created a mosaic landscape in which different habitats developed suiting a wide variety of species. Conservation aims should be to recreate such a mosaic; wet grasslands beloved of snipe and lapwing, scrub for nightingale and whitethroat, wetland areas for ducks and waders, open woodlands for pied flycatchers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and so forth. He points to such habitats in eastern Europe where agricultural practices have not yet devastated the landscape. While the creation of good habitat will ensure that good numbers of birds will return, some species which became extinct won't. Corncrakes on migration for example will fly over perfectly adequate created habitat as they are hard wired to return to their natal territories. To maximize the potential of new habitat, it will be necessary to reintroduce absent species and of course there has been great success with cranes, great bustards, cirl buntings, and of course corncrakes in the Nene washes. Successes, but there should be more of them. So much of our landscape is managed in a way which is devastating for nature; prairie arable monoculture, grouse moors, sitka spruce plantation forestry, upland sheep farming. MacDonald examines all these habitats and demonstrates with examples from other countries how these areas can become rich in wildlife again. His case studies suggest a future for grouse moors, the Somerset levels, and other managed landscapes. Let nature return and the benefits to the local economy will be startling. Look at how Mull now earns over ten million pounds per annum from eagle tourism. And remember too how vigorously white tailed eagle reintroduction was initially opposed by so many islanders. This is not the first book on rewilding; the concept is in fact at the forefront of current conservation thinking; ecological improvement on a landscape scale. What makes Rebirding so compelling is how it offers convincing solutions which will not only restore avian populations but which will benefit both the people who live there and those who visit. It should be compulsory reading for environmental policy makers. And we the public and the conservation organizations which represent us must mobilise to fight for such a future for our countryside. Read the book and you'll find out why the front cover picture of a pelican is not so outlandish for a book about British birds.

Fantastic book, anyone with even the slightest interest in British birds and nature conservation should read it. It explains what we've lost and how we lost it, but also how we could regain our bird life. Agriculture, woodland, rivers and even pelicans are all looked at in detail but with an easy to read approach, you won't need a degree in ecology to understand. Fascinating detail on birds like cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, wrynecks, nightingales, willow tits and red-backed shrikes and why they're disappearing from our landscapes. Even touches on wildlife gardening and how to really benefit your local birds and wildlife... plant those native shrubs - hawthorn, rowan, goat willow, buckthorn and guelder rose. I love this book.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light. --Martin Luther King Jr I number myself among those who were complacently smug about their approach to the environment, particularly with gardening, but then I read Benedict MacDonald's book and realized that I must radically rethink my approach. Among other things, I suffer from that all too familiar syndrome of Ecological Tidiness Disorder. MacDonald made me see how rather than simply gardening with wildlife as an afterthought, I really ought to be doing ecosystem gardening. Caring for birds in one's garden is about more than putting out a bird table, not using pesticides or ensuring paradise isn't paved over, but also about ensuring an adequate food supply through the use of various native fauna in the garden including simply not tidying up hedges or the ivy or pulling nettles. It is also about choosing the correct flora to go in one's garden to encourage the island effect and create larger natural havens for our birds. My defense is that I had not truly appreciated how dire the situation was until I read his book. I had suffered from accepting the new normal without realising how devoid of life that normal had become. I was all too willing to believe that most of the decline in the bird population was down to things beyond my control and to not even consider post-fledgling starvation and how that might effect migration. This book changed that view. If we know a certain percentage of birds will not make it back from Africa every year, then we had best do all in our power to ensure the absolute numbers leaving these shores after the breeding season are as strong as possible and that includes increasing food sources around the country through a more wild or ecosystem based approach if you will. His book is a compelling read filled with hard facts and figures but also a great deal of optimism. Pelicans flying again in the Somerset Levels, or even people in towns and villages starting once again to hear the cuckoo calling on the spring breeze -- these are things that MacDonald makes you believe could happen. His thought-provoking arguments for controlled deer culling and re-purposing grouse moors are excellent and well-argued but it was the chapters on gardening which really engaged me. A clarion call to arms and a game changer for me in every sense of the word. A book everyone with even a passing interest in British nature should read.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough, it has scratched the itch left behind after reading many disappointing texts on the key issue of rewilding in Britain. For birders and non-birders alike, the vehicle of birds used to delve into the heart of the issues surrounding our countryside and rewilding in the UK is brilliant. Thoroughly considered arguments and perspectives makes for a fascinating read, I didn’t feel lectured at any point and it avoided an obviously preachy tone that some rewilding books can take. Read it in a week, I hope there’s more to come in the future...

As a lifelong countryman, having spent my 57 years living in villages in The Fens and Berkshire, I was moved by Ben Macdonald's thoroughly researched account of all the species biodiversity we have lost from our countryside. Recalling the massive decline in our insect population and of birds which were a common sight in my youth, such as Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Tree Sparrow, Macdonald gives a compelling account of Britain's uniquely destructive uses of our landscape. Far from being a 'crowded island', we have room to accommodate all the habitat necessary to enable all those threatened species to thrive and recover sustainable populations. Despite being a blow-by-blow account of all the mistakes and mismanagement that have given us the most denuded and species-poor landscape in Europe, this is, in the end, a book full of hope and inspiration. It provides a vision for how we can enable our countryside to recover, in a way that benefits not just the threatened species but also creates jobs where there are none and allows local communities to thrive. I want every policy-maker and big landowner to read this book and catch a glimpse of how much better life could be for us and all the creatures that share this wonderful island. Definitely my book of the decade.

I have only just started reading this book. Benedict is very good at painting a picture of what the British Isles must have looked like when we first arrived and through a lot of research has laid out what has happened since. The book is very accessible to those who are not experts in the field and Benedict has a wonderful way is telling stories alongside the hard facts, this makes the book thoroughly engaging throughout. This book offers hope and a solution to the plight birds and other animals are facing - this book should be read by all!

A fantastic and insightful book into the current state of our bird and wildlife on an ecosystem scale. A great manual to show how we can restore bird species and populations. Written in a beautiful manner, complete with accurate and full references. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of nature in the uk.

I am not a birdwatcher or even particularly knowledgeable about birds, I came to this book after reading Isabella Tree's 'Wilding'. While this latter book is inspiring as a record of a practical experiment, 'Rebirding' sets itself broader objectives: aiming to explain how we got to current degraded state of nature, what could be different and, all importantly, how change could financed and sustained. And it achieves in meeting all three of these objectives. One of the biggest revelations for me is how it carefully illustrates how our very language has changed to circumscribe our thinking; it had never occurred to me that what we now think of as 'farmyard' birds survived very well before humans started farming or that 'house martins' had only recently adapted to living among houses. Where 'Wilding' sometimes reads like patrician rant in favour of landowners being given public money without strings attached, 'Rebirding' excels in carefully demonstrating the economic illiteracy of some aspects of current agricultural funding and in setting out how ecotourism and flood protection services could be economically viable. A fabulous read and a blueprint for a better, wilder future.

Absolutely loved the concept and also how he takes you along the journey with him. This is hugely readable and accessible to people like with me with a relatively limited understanding of wildlife and nature (beyond being a fan). The author uses some truly startling facts and illustrations to paint a picture of what could be - the real question is will there be enough people out there prepared to help Britain achieve its true potential as he proposes. I do hope so, as the future he describes is infinitely more interesting and exciting than the prospect of our current direction. Fascinating and alarming in equal proportions, this must be wider read and endorsed if we are to leave any kind of legacy for the next generation.

I really enjoyed this book - packed full of ideas, facts, arguments, passion and provocation. A really damning indictment of the way we've treated our nature and countryside, but a hopeful articulation of the things we can still do to stop that decline and turn things around. And a really interesting and compelling explanation of why we need to protect and create viable habitats at landscape scale, not just in isolated islands. V much recommend this for anyone who, like me, is learning about nature and the countryside and what we can do to help them thrive.

This is one of the most interesting, informative and thought provoking books I’ve ever read. The author paints a rich, evocative and heart rending picture of the natural world we have lost but this book is not simply a lament for a wilder past. Rather, Ben Macdonald sets out a way forward, backed up by hard facts and figures, by which our landscapes could be restored to wildlife rich ecosystems which not only uplift our souls but also stimulate the development of newly thriving rural communities.

A brilliant read. We can only hope senior management of UK conservation groups read this and take up the author's ideas. Got to be with a try when it patently obvious if they keep on doing what has always been done, we will get more of the same ....wildlife populations crashing. It's not about more money. It is about change.

This is such a thought-provoking book. It makes you want to buy a copy for everyone in power in Westminster and in charge of our national parks. Some of the statistics are very sobering in the beginning but the main ideas of the book are that there are alternative economic models which would allow us to have a larger variety of wildlife without perpetuating the declines we've seen. Benedict Macdonald explains the economic angles of this knowing that we can't all be ridiculously rich landowners with a whimsical desire of rewilding land. Overall then there is a combination of the sad decline of what we are missing that other European countries still have and several ideas of how we could fix it. It's an uplifting read of what still could be with the right political will.

This is a compelling read with a succinct and damning assessment on how we got to our current state of nature, but with real hope for a different future. I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in nature conservation and British birds. His vision for what our countryside could be like, drawing on examples from Europe, is inspiring. He doesnt pull any punches and will doubtless draw invective from those he criticises but the time has come to stand up for nature or see it vanish.

What a fabulous book. Anyone interested in the idea of restoring ecological function to our land should read it. This is the best book I have come to yet on this broader subject. In the UK probably more than any developed country in the world we have quietly gone about the business of expunging our countryside of wildlife. But we can have our wildlife back, and this story tells us how, and how urgent the requirement is to do so.

This is a fascinating read. It looks at rewilding from the perspective of our birds. It sets out why our historic environment was as it was and uses that to promote a new way of rewilding/rebirding plus it has lots of examples to build its proposals upon. I thoroughly recommend it for anyone interested in nature, the environment, or birds.

A visionary book, which is not just about birds but about nature more generally, that maps out an optimistic future for our failing national parks, farms and grouse moors. Everyone who cares about the damage humans have done to eco systems should read this important, timely and well informed book. Highly recommended.

a must read for anyone working in/ looking to work in UK conservation. Painting an optimistic vision for the future of British wildlife, as long as we act now and embrace ecological dynamism and pioneering reintroduction techniques! Beautifully describes the ecosystems and species that were once present in the UK and provides great examples of leading conservation projects and how the learning from these can be applied further.

The deep-rooted logic in this book takes you through past failings of practice but stick with them and digest the principles and it sets you up well to understand the positive opportunity to change matters which the writer lays down so clearly An invaluable, readable work which is for the lay person and for the rural professional.

Rewilding is something of a growing concept, seemingly on a landscape scale. In this book Benedict Macdonald discusses rewilding with an emphasis on birds and shows how it can be applied almost everywhere, from road verges to National Parks. He argues that restoring natural processes through rewilding over large area will allow our birds to recover. Macdonald believes that the “wildwood” do ancient Britain and Western Europe was a savanna like mosaic kept open by large herbivores, rather than high canopy forest. He sets out his view that the extensive mixed farming that was universal in Europe up to the last century mimicked that mosaic. The intensification of agriculture and the associated cleansing of the countryside of food has caused declines in once common species of birds. This, he argues, could be reversed by allowing, or managing, the more marginal areas back into a wild state. He states that bringing back iconic wildlife such as wild cattle, elk, lynx and Dalmatian pelican could provide sustainable rural jobs in eco-tourism and in hunting. He calls for boldness in asking for NGOs and the government to bring large, landscape-scale tracts of land back to nature, as well as for us all to be a wee bit less tidy so that we leave more space for nature. I may not agree with everything he says, just most of it, but this is a thought provoking and original book. It’s a manifesto for a wilder, more sustainable and exciting future.

The word "rewilding" only entered the language within the last 20 years. The concept of rewilding is to restore the landscape to its natural state. This has often involved the introduction of grazing animals to facilitate habitat restoration. The best known rewilding projects, at Knepp in Sussex and Alladale in Sutherland have had startling success in increasing numbers of struggling species, particularly cuckoos and turtle doves at Knepp. Rebirding applies the same principles to demonstrate how rewilding in Britain can bring about a reversal in bird species declines and give these species a bright future. Equally importantly it shows how such measures will provide a vibrant living landscape and can also bring economic benefit, particularly to economically struggling parts of the country. The early part of the book makes depressing reading as MacDonald describes the manifold ways in which we have decimated our bird populations, especially since the industrial revolution. Simple persecution, population fragmentation, over grazing , (especially by sheep), devastation of insect populations, agricultural monoculture, herbicides, etc, etc. One begins to wonder how any birds have survived at all! MacDonald disputes the received wisdom that dense oak woodland covered our landscape in prehistoric times. He posits that large herbivores initially, and subsequently domestic livestock created a mosaic landscape in which different habitats developed suiting a wide variety of species. Conservation aims should be to recreate such a mosaic; wet grasslands beloved of snipe and lapwing, scrub for nightingale and whitethroat, wetland areas for ducks and waders, open woodlands for pied flycatchers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and so forth. He points to such habitats in eastern Europe where agricultural practices have not yet devastated the landscape. While the creation of good habitat will ensure that good numbers of birds will return, some species which became extinct won't. Corncrakes on migration for example will fly over perfectly adequate created habitat as they are hard wired to return to their natal territories. To maximize the potential of new habitat, it will be necessary to reintroduce absent species and of course there has been great success with cranes, great bustards, cirl buntings, and of course corncrakes in the Nene washes. Successes, but there should be more of them. So much of our landscape is managed in a way which is devastating for nature; prairie arable monoculture, grouse moors, sitka spruce plantation forestry, upland sheep farming. MacDonald examines all these habitats and demonstrates with examples from other countries how these areas can become rich in wildlife again. His case studies suggest a future for grouse moors, the Somerset levels, and other managed landscapes. Let nature return and the benefits to the local economy will be startling. Look at how Mull now earns over ten million pounds per annum from eagle tourism. And remember too how vigorously white tailed eagle reintroduction was initially opposed by so many islanders. This is not the first book on rewilding; the concept is in fact at the forefront of current conservation thinking; ecological improvement on a landscape scale. What makes Rebirding so compelling is how it offers convincing solutions which will not only restore avian populations but which will benefit both the people who live there and those who visit. It should be compulsory reading for environmental policy makers. And we the public and the conservation organizations which represent us must mobilise to fight for such a future for our countryside. Read the book and you'll find out why the front cover picture of a pelican is not so outlandish for a book about British birds.

Fantastic book, anyone with even the slightest interest in British birds and nature conservation should read it. It explains what we've lost and how we lost it, but also how we could regain our bird life. Agriculture, woodland, rivers and even pelicans are all looked at in detail but with an easy to read approach, you won't need a degree in ecology to understand. Fascinating detail on birds like cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, wrynecks, nightingales, willow tits and red-backed shrikes and why they're disappearing from our landscapes. Even touches on wildlife gardening and how to really benefit your local birds and wildlife... plant those native shrubs - hawthorn, rowan, goat willow, buckthorn and guelder rose. I love this book.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light. --Martin Luther King Jr I number myself among those who were complacently smug about their approach to the environment, particularly with gardening, but then I read Benedict MacDonald's book and realized that I must radically rethink my approach. Among other things, I suffer from that all too familiar syndrome of Ecological Tidiness Disorder. MacDonald made me see how rather than simply gardening with wildlife as an afterthought, I really ought to be doing ecosystem gardening. Caring for birds in one's garden is about more than putting out a bird table, not using pesticides or ensuring paradise isn't paved over, but also about ensuring an adequate food supply through the use of various native fauna in the garden including simply not tidying up hedges or the ivy or pulling nettles. It is also about choosing the correct flora to go in one's garden to encourage the island effect and create larger natural havens for our birds. My defense is that I had not truly appreciated how dire the situation was until I read his book. I had suffered from accepting the new normal without realising how devoid of life that normal had become. I was all too willing to believe that most of the decline in the bird population was down to things beyond my control and to not even consider post-fledgling starvation and how that might effect migration. This book changed that view. If we know a certain percentage of birds will not make it back from Africa every year, then we had best do all in our power to ensure the absolute numbers leaving these shores after the breeding season are as strong as possible and that includes increasing food sources around the country through a more wild or ecosystem based approach if you will. His book is a compelling read filled with hard facts and figures but also a great deal of optimism. Pelicans flying again in the Somerset Levels, or even people in towns and villages starting once again to hear the cuckoo calling on the spring breeze -- these are things that MacDonald makes you believe could happen. His thought-provoking arguments for controlled deer culling and re-purposing grouse moors are excellent and well-argued but it was the chapters on gardening which really engaged me. A clarion call to arms and a game changer for me in every sense of the word. A book everyone with even a passing interest in British nature should read.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough, it has scratched the itch left behind after reading many disappointing texts on the key issue of rewilding in Britain. For birders and non-birders alike, the vehicle of birds used to delve into the heart of the issues surrounding our countryside and rewilding in the UK is brilliant. Thoroughly considered arguments and perspectives makes for a fascinating read, I didn’t feel lectured at any point and it avoided an obviously preachy tone that some rewilding books can take. Read it in a week, I hope there’s more to come in the future...

As a lifelong countryman, having spent my 57 years living in villages in The Fens and Berkshire, I was moved by Ben Macdonald's thoroughly researched account of all the species biodiversity we have lost from our countryside. Recalling the massive decline in our insect population and of birds which were a common sight in my youth, such as Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Tree Sparrow, Macdonald gives a compelling account of Britain's uniquely destructive uses of our landscape. Far from being a 'crowded island', we have room to accommodate all the habitat necessary to enable all those threatened species to thrive and recover sustainable populations. Despite being a blow-by-blow account of all the mistakes and mismanagement that have given us the most denuded and species-poor landscape in Europe, this is, in the end, a book full of hope and inspiration. It provides a vision for how we can enable our countryside to recover, in a way that benefits not just the threatened species but also creates jobs where there are none and allows local communities to thrive. I want every policy-maker and big landowner to read this book and catch a glimpse of how much better life could be for us and all the creatures that share this wonderful island. Definitely my book of the decade.

I have only just started reading this book. Benedict is very good at painting a picture of what the British Isles must have looked like when we first arrived and through a lot of research has laid out what has happened since. The book is very accessible to those who are not experts in the field and Benedict has a wonderful way is telling stories alongside the hard facts, this makes the book thoroughly engaging throughout. This book offers hope and a solution to the plight birds and other animals are facing - this book should be read by all!

A fantastic and insightful book into the current state of our bird and wildlife on an ecosystem scale. A great manual to show how we can restore bird species and populations. Written in a beautiful manner, complete with accurate and full references. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of nature in the uk.

I am not a birdwatcher or even particularly knowledgeable about birds, I came to this book after reading Isabella Tree's 'Wilding'. While this latter book is inspiring as a record of a practical experiment, 'Rebirding' sets itself broader objectives: aiming to explain how we got to current degraded state of nature, what could be different and, all importantly, how change could financed and sustained. And it achieves in meeting all three of these objectives. One of the biggest revelations for me is how it carefully illustrates how our very language has changed to circumscribe our thinking; it had never occurred to me that what we now think of as 'farmyard' birds survived very well before humans started farming or that 'house martins' had only recently adapted to living among houses. Where 'Wilding' sometimes reads like patrician rant in favour of landowners being given public money without strings attached, 'Rebirding' excels in carefully demonstrating the economic illiteracy of some aspects of current agricultural funding and in setting out how ecotourism and flood protection services could be economically viable. A fabulous read and a blueprint for a better, wilder future.

Absolutely loved the concept and also how he takes you along the journey with him. This is hugely readable and accessible to people like with me with a relatively limited understanding of wildlife and nature (beyond being a fan). The author uses some truly startling facts and illustrations to paint a picture of what could be - the real question is will there be enough people out there prepared to help Britain achieve its true potential as he proposes. I do hope so, as the future he describes is infinitely more interesting and exciting than the prospect of our current direction. Fascinating and alarming in equal proportions, this must be wider read and endorsed if we are to leave any kind of legacy for the next generation.

This is a great book. I take my hat off to Benedict Macdonald. Daring (but easily do-able) ideas to get Britain's wildlife (not just birds) back from the brink. A really engaging read. I've read about Restoration Agriculture ...…… this is how to restore Landscapes & the wildlife that would come back with them I look forward to his next book - coming early next year.

This is an informative as well as inspiring book and easy to read. I’m not a “birder” but was fascinated by Benedict’s analysis of what we need to do to restore our balance with nature. I’m now a keen follower of his Twitter account!

A superb book and an absolute must for anyone with an interest in birds, British wildlife or the potential to significantly increase the biodiversity, sustainability and economic potential of huge areas of Britain. Arguments clearly put, making the case both in terms of ecological benefits, but also crucially in economic terms too.

Such a rich and captivating book. I listened to the audiobook while I was out walking and then brought the paperback version as I like to dip back into it to remind myself. I just wish everyone from every walk of life could read this book, better understand the natural world we are part of and feel inspired about the way it could be.

I am very interested in the subject matter covered by this well researched book. I enjoyed the direct way that he discussed the problems of bird extinctions in Britain, and his treatment of land management /mismanagement in Britain & it's implications for bird conservation.

A very important book that explains the sorry state the nature of Britain has become explaining the causes of the declines, and shows how we could turn it around again with a little effort and let nature back into our lives. Very readable with the facts all laid out clearly and easy to understand. The plans to rewild that Benedict takes us through will give you a sense of hope for the future of British nature. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in British wildlife and rewilding.

I really enjoyed what I read of this book. The first day I couldn’t put it down. I did then put it down. It was then ‘stolen’ or should I say borrowed by the Mrs. She said she’d heard good things about it and was keen to read it. I’ve not seen it since! No doubt when she gets around to finishing it, I’ll get my book back‽ I will then add to this review once I’ve completed the book. Unless of course she comes here and does that for me as well. 🙄

A stunningly good book that just flows well from section to section, backing every asserion and anecdote up with other referenced publications. I experienced everything from despondence to hope whilst reading this. Written in such an engrossing style, I have my fingers crossed that it helps catalyse great things, soon...

This turns everything you thought about preserving our natural habitat and nature on its head. It’s ‘inside out’ which is what our own true nature has always been but through our mistaken thinking have often not caught sight of. Well researched without taking political sides, for me, this has changed my own outlook on how to proceed through my own life. Go and buy it and re-connect with your own true ‘wild’ nature.

Going to keep this review open as I like a book I cant put down, but at the moment im two chapters in and I dont want to pick it up and read, as its too dam depressing.

Rewilding is something of a growing concept, seemingly on a landscape scale. In this book Benedict Macdonald discusses rewilding with an emphasis on birds and shows how it can be applied almost everywhere, from road verges to National Parks. He argues that restoring natural processes through rewilding over large area will allow our birds to recover. Macdonald believes that the “wildwood” do ancient Britain and Western Europe was a savanna like mosaic kept open by large herbivores, rather than high canopy forest. He sets out his view that the extensive mixed farming that was universal in Europe up to the last century mimicked that mosaic. The intensification of agriculture and the associated cleansing of the countryside of food has caused declines in once common species of birds. This, he argues, could be reversed by allowing, or managing, the more marginal areas back into a wild state. He states that bringing back iconic wildlife such as wild cattle, elk, lynx and Dalmatian pelican could provide sustainable rural jobs in eco-tourism and in hunting. He calls for boldness in asking for NGOs and the government to bring large, landscape-scale tracts of land back to nature, as well as for us all to be a wee bit less tidy so that we leave more space for nature. I may not agree with everything he says, just most of it, but this is a thought provoking and original book. It’s a manifesto for a wilder, more sustainable and exciting future.

The word "rewilding" only entered the language within the last 20 years. The concept of rewilding is to restore the landscape to its natural state. This has often involved the introduction of grazing animals to facilitate habitat restoration. The best known rewilding projects, at Knepp in Sussex and Alladale in Sutherland have had startling success in increasing numbers of struggling species, particularly cuckoos and turtle doves at Knepp. Rebirding applies the same principles to demonstrate how rewilding in Britain can bring about a reversal in bird species declines and give these species a bright future. Equally importantly it shows how such measures will provide a vibrant living landscape and can also bring economic benefit, particularly to economically struggling parts of the country. The early part of the book makes depressing reading as MacDonald describes the manifold ways in which we have decimated our bird populations, especially since the industrial revolution. Simple persecution, population fragmentation, over grazing , (especially by sheep), devastation of insect populations, agricultural monoculture, herbicides, etc, etc. One begins to wonder how any birds have survived at all! MacDonald disputes the received wisdom that dense oak woodland covered our landscape in prehistoric times. He posits that large herbivores initially, and subsequently domestic livestock created a mosaic landscape in which different habitats developed suiting a wide variety of species. Conservation aims should be to recreate such a mosaic; wet grasslands beloved of snipe and lapwing, scrub for nightingale and whitethroat, wetland areas for ducks and waders, open woodlands for pied flycatchers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and so forth. He points to such habitats in eastern Europe where agricultural practices have not yet devastated the landscape. While the creation of good habitat will ensure that good numbers of birds will return, some species which became extinct won't. Corncrakes on migration for example will fly over perfectly adequate created habitat as they are hard wired to return to their natal territories. To maximize the potential of new habitat, it will be necessary to reintroduce absent species and of course there has been great success with cranes, great bustards, cirl buntings, and of course corncrakes in the Nene washes. Successes, but there should be more of them. So much of our landscape is managed in a way which is devastating for nature; prairie arable monoculture, grouse moors, sitka spruce plantation forestry, upland sheep farming. MacDonald examines all these habitats and demonstrates with examples from other countries how these areas can become rich in wildlife again. His case studies suggest a future for grouse moors, the Somerset levels, and other managed landscapes. Let nature return and the benefits to the local economy will be startling. Look at how Mull now earns over ten million pounds per annum from eagle tourism. And remember too how vigorously white tailed eagle reintroduction was initially opposed by so many islanders. This is not the first book on rewilding; the concept is in fact at the forefront of current conservation thinking; ecological improvement on a landscape scale. What makes Rebirding so compelling is how it offers convincing solutions which will not only restore avian populations but which will benefit both the people who live there and those who visit. It should be compulsory reading for environmental policy makers. And we the public and the conservation organizations which represent us must mobilise to fight for such a future for our countryside. Read the book and you'll find out why the front cover picture of a pelican is not so outlandish for a book about British birds.

Fantastic book, anyone with even the slightest interest in British birds and nature conservation should read it. It explains what we've lost and how we lost it, but also how we could regain our bird life. Agriculture, woodland, rivers and even pelicans are all looked at in detail but with an easy to read approach, you won't need a degree in ecology to understand. Fascinating detail on birds like cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, wrynecks, nightingales, willow tits and red-backed shrikes and why they're disappearing from our landscapes. Even touches on wildlife gardening and how to really benefit your local birds and wildlife... plant those native shrubs - hawthorn, rowan, goat willow, buckthorn and guelder rose. I love this book.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light. --Martin Luther King Jr I number myself among those who were complacently smug about their approach to the environment, particularly with gardening, but then I read Benedict MacDonald's book and realized that I must radically rethink my approach. Among other things, I suffer from that all too familiar syndrome of Ecological Tidiness Disorder. MacDonald made me see how rather than simply gardening with wildlife as an afterthought, I really ought to be doing ecosystem gardening. Caring for birds in one's garden is about more than putting out a bird table, not using pesticides or ensuring paradise isn't paved over, but also about ensuring an adequate food supply through the use of various native fauna in the garden including simply not tidying up hedges or the ivy or pulling nettles. It is also about choosing the correct flora to go in one's garden to encourage the island effect and create larger natural havens for our birds. My defense is that I had not truly appreciated how dire the situation was until I read his book. I had suffered from accepting the new normal without realising how devoid of life that normal had become. I was all too willing to believe that most of the decline in the bird population was down to things beyond my control and to not even consider post-fledgling starvation and how that might effect migration. This book changed that view. If we know a certain percentage of birds will not make it back from Africa every year, then we had best do all in our power to ensure the absolute numbers leaving these shores after the breeding season are as strong as possible and that includes increasing food sources around the country through a more wild or ecosystem based approach if you will. His book is a compelling read filled with hard facts and figures but also a great deal of optimism. Pelicans flying again in the Somerset Levels, or even people in towns and villages starting once again to hear the cuckoo calling on the spring breeze -- these are things that MacDonald makes you believe could happen. His thought-provoking arguments for controlled deer culling and re-purposing grouse moors are excellent and well-argued but it was the chapters on gardening which really engaged me. A clarion call to arms and a game changer for me in every sense of the word. A book everyone with even a passing interest in British nature should read.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough, it has scratched the itch left behind after reading many disappointing texts on the key issue of rewilding in Britain. For birders and non-birders alike, the vehicle of birds used to delve into the heart of the issues surrounding our countryside and rewilding in the UK is brilliant. Thoroughly considered arguments and perspectives makes for a fascinating read, I didn’t feel lectured at any point and it avoided an obviously preachy tone that some rewilding books can take. Read it in a week, I hope there’s more to come in the future...

As a lifelong countryman, having spent my 57 years living in villages in The Fens and Berkshire, I was moved by Ben Macdonald's thoroughly researched account of all the species biodiversity we have lost from our countryside. Recalling the massive decline in our insect population and of birds which were a common sight in my youth, such as Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Tree Sparrow, Macdonald gives a compelling account of Britain's uniquely destructive uses of our landscape. Far from being a 'crowded island', we have room to accommodate all the habitat necessary to enable all those threatened species to thrive and recover sustainable populations. Despite being a blow-by-blow account of all the mistakes and mismanagement that have given us the most denuded and species-poor landscape in Europe, this is, in the end, a book full of hope and inspiration. It provides a vision for how we can enable our countryside to recover, in a way that benefits not just the threatened species but also creates jobs where there are none and allows local communities to thrive. I want every policy-maker and big landowner to read this book and catch a glimpse of how much better life could be for us and all the creatures that share this wonderful island. Definitely my book of the decade.

I have only just started reading this book. Benedict is very good at painting a picture of what the British Isles must have looked like when we first arrived and through a lot of research has laid out what has happened since. The book is very accessible to those who are not experts in the field and Benedict has a wonderful way is telling stories alongside the hard facts, this makes the book thoroughly engaging throughout. This book offers hope and a solution to the plight birds and other animals are facing - this book should be read by all!

A fantastic and insightful book into the current state of our bird and wildlife on an ecosystem scale. A great manual to show how we can restore bird species and populations. Written in a beautiful manner, complete with accurate and full references. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of nature in the uk.

I am not a birdwatcher or even particularly knowledgeable about birds, I came to this book after reading Isabella Tree's 'Wilding'. While this latter book is inspiring as a record of a practical experiment, 'Rebirding' sets itself broader objectives: aiming to explain how we got to current degraded state of nature, what could be different and, all importantly, how change could financed and sustained. And it achieves in meeting all three of these objectives. One of the biggest revelations for me is how it carefully illustrates how our very language has changed to circumscribe our thinking; it had never occurred to me that what we now think of as 'farmyard' birds survived very well before humans started farming or that 'house martins' had only recently adapted to living among houses. Where 'Wilding' sometimes reads like patrician rant in favour of landowners being given public money without strings attached, 'Rebirding' excels in carefully demonstrating the economic illiteracy of some aspects of current agricultural funding and in setting out how ecotourism and flood protection services could be economically viable. A fabulous read and a blueprint for a better, wilder future.

Absolutely loved the concept and also how he takes you along the journey with him. This is hugely readable and accessible to people like with me with a relatively limited understanding of wildlife and nature (beyond being a fan). The author uses some truly startling facts and illustrations to paint a picture of what could be - the real question is will there be enough people out there prepared to help Britain achieve its true potential as he proposes. I do hope so, as the future he describes is infinitely more interesting and exciting than the prospect of our current direction. Fascinating and alarming in equal proportions, this must be wider read and endorsed if we are to leave any kind of legacy for the next generation.

The author clearly has a passion for birds but what shines through is his conviction that a wilder Britain could be just around the corner. This is a clear-headed, step by step account of how we can get there. Join the march... bring back the Pelican!

Benedict MacDonald is a superb author. He eloquently explains, backed up by science, the complex interrelationships nature needs to thrive. He outlines the problems we impose on nature regeneration and how we can overcome and change our ways. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I'm eager to learn even more.

Amazing book. After you read it you realise how obvious it is that our birds are suffering. It's a bit like The Origin Of Species by Charles Darwin, brilliant but makes so much sense when you think about it. We need to get all these ideas up and running as soon as possible. Thanks Ben Macdonald.

Blown away by this book. Unusually for a book by a conservationist it’s exceptionally well written. Compelling and essential for anyone with the slightest interest in the British countryside

I loved this book and learnt a lot from it. You have to stick with the depressing first half - it’s so important for us to understand what we’ve lost but I found it hard to sit with. There’s hope and huge inspiration in the second half though. We have the natural history of our country to save, this book made me want to leap up and do exactly that

I really enjoyed this. Passionate, informative, and ultimately hopeful.

Great read. Well researched and thought out. I would love to see more wild places.

Filled with thought-provoking information and ideas, this book is essential reading for the informed citizen, the policy-maker, the land-owner and the nature lover. For everyone, really. Buy it and give it to your friends.

For once a book that combines arguments for saving British wildlife with real economic solutions that will work for our landowners and farmers too. Highly recommended.

An eye-opener for anyone interested in Nature. Superbly written. Passionate and rational at the same time.

Rewilding is something of a growing concept, seemingly on a landscape scale. In this book Benedict Macdonald discusses rewilding with an emphasis on birds and shows how it can be applied almost everywhere, from road verges to National Parks. He argues that restoring natural processes through rewilding over large area will allow our birds to recover. Macdonald believes that the “wildwood” do ancient Britain and Western Europe was a savanna like mosaic kept open by large herbivores, rather than high canopy forest. He sets out his view that the extensive mixed farming that was universal in Europe up to the last century mimicked that mosaic. The intensification of agriculture and the associated cleansing of the countryside of food has caused declines in once common species of birds. This, he argues, could be reversed by allowing, or managing, the more marginal areas back into a wild state. He states that bringing back iconic wildlife such as wild cattle, elk, lynx and Dalmatian pelican could provide sustainable rural jobs in eco-tourism and in hunting. He calls for boldness in asking for NGOs and the government to bring large, landscape-scale tracts of land back to nature, as well as for us all to be a wee bit less tidy so that we leave more space for nature. I may not agree with everything he says, just most of it, but this is a thought provoking and original book. It’s a manifesto for a wilder, more sustainable and exciting future.

The word "rewilding" only entered the language within the last 20 years. The concept of rewilding is to restore the landscape to its natural state. This has often involved the introduction of grazing animals to facilitate habitat restoration. The best known rewilding projects, at Knepp in Sussex and Alladale in Sutherland have had startling success in increasing numbers of struggling species, particularly cuckoos and turtle doves at Knepp. Rebirding applies the same principles to demonstrate how rewilding in Britain can bring about a reversal in bird species declines and give these species a bright future. Equally importantly it shows how such measures will provide a vibrant living landscape and can also bring economic benefit, particularly to economically struggling parts of the country. The early part of the book makes depressing reading as MacDonald describes the manifold ways in which we have decimated our bird populations, especially since the industrial revolution. Simple persecution, population fragmentation, over grazing , (especially by sheep), devastation of insect populations, agricultural monoculture, herbicides, etc, etc. One begins to wonder how any birds have survived at all! MacDonald disputes the received wisdom that dense oak woodland covered our landscape in prehistoric times. He posits that large herbivores initially, and subsequently domestic livestock created a mosaic landscape in which different habitats developed suiting a wide variety of species. Conservation aims should be to recreate such a mosaic; wet grasslands beloved of snipe and lapwing, scrub for nightingale and whitethroat, wetland areas for ducks and waders, open woodlands for pied flycatchers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and so forth. He points to such habitats in eastern Europe where agricultural practices have not yet devastated the landscape. While the creation of good habitat will ensure that good numbers of birds will return, some species which became extinct won't. Corncrakes on migration for example will fly over perfectly adequate created habitat as they are hard wired to return to their natal territories. To maximize the potential of new habitat, it will be necessary to reintroduce absent species and of course there has been great success with cranes, great bustards, cirl buntings, and of course corncrakes in the Nene washes. Successes, but there should be more of them. So much of our landscape is managed in a way which is devastating for nature; prairie arable monoculture, grouse moors, sitka spruce plantation forestry, upland sheep farming. MacDonald examines all these habitats and demonstrates with examples from other countries how these areas can become rich in wildlife again. His case studies suggest a future for grouse moors, the Somerset levels, and other managed landscapes. Let nature return and the benefits to the local economy will be startling. Look at how Mull now earns over ten million pounds per annum from eagle tourism. And remember too how vigorously white tailed eagle reintroduction was initially opposed by so many islanders. This is not the first book on rewilding; the concept is in fact at the forefront of current conservation thinking; ecological improvement on a landscape scale. What makes Rebirding so compelling is how it offers convincing solutions which will not only restore avian populations but which will benefit both the people who live there and those who visit. It should be compulsory reading for environmental policy makers. And we the public and the conservation organizations which represent us must mobilise to fight for such a future for our countryside. Read the book and you'll find out why the front cover picture of a pelican is not so outlandish for a book about British birds.

Fantastic book, anyone with even the slightest interest in British birds and nature conservation should read it. It explains what we've lost and how we lost it, but also how we could regain our bird life. Agriculture, woodland, rivers and even pelicans are all looked at in detail but with an easy to read approach, you won't need a degree in ecology to understand. Fascinating detail on birds like cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, wrynecks, nightingales, willow tits and red-backed shrikes and why they're disappearing from our landscapes. Even touches on wildlife gardening and how to really benefit your local birds and wildlife... plant those native shrubs - hawthorn, rowan, goat willow, buckthorn and guelder rose. I love this book.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light. --Martin Luther King Jr I number myself among those who were complacently smug about their approach to the environment, particularly with gardening, but then I read Benedict MacDonald's book and realized that I must radically rethink my approach. Among other things, I suffer from that all too familiar syndrome of Ecological Tidiness Disorder. MacDonald made me see how rather than simply gardening with wildlife as an afterthought, I really ought to be doing ecosystem gardening. Caring for birds in one's garden is about more than putting out a bird table, not using pesticides or ensuring paradise isn't paved over, but also about ensuring an adequate food supply through the use of various native fauna in the garden including simply not tidying up hedges or the ivy or pulling nettles. It is also about choosing the correct flora to go in one's garden to encourage the island effect and create larger natural havens for our birds. My defense is that I had not truly appreciated how dire the situation was until I read his book. I had suffered from accepting the new normal without realising how devoid of life that normal had become. I was all too willing to believe that most of the decline in the bird population was down to things beyond my control and to not even consider post-fledgling starvation and how that might effect migration. This book changed that view. If we know a certain percentage of birds will not make it back from Africa every year, then we had best do all in our power to ensure the absolute numbers leaving these shores after the breeding season are as strong as possible and that includes increasing food sources around the country through a more wild or ecosystem based approach if you will. His book is a compelling read filled with hard facts and figures but also a great deal of optimism. Pelicans flying again in the Somerset Levels, or even people in towns and villages starting once again to hear the cuckoo calling on the spring breeze -- these are things that MacDonald makes you believe could happen. His thought-provoking arguments for controlled deer culling and re-purposing grouse moors are excellent and well-argued but it was the chapters on gardening which really engaged me. A clarion call to arms and a game changer for me in every sense of the word. A book everyone with even a passing interest in British nature should read.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough, it has scratched the itch left behind after reading many disappointing texts on the key issue of rewilding in Britain. For birders and non-birders alike, the vehicle of birds used to delve into the heart of the issues surrounding our countryside and rewilding in the UK is brilliant. Thoroughly considered arguments and perspectives makes for a fascinating read, I didn’t feel lectured at any point and it avoided an obviously preachy tone that some rewilding books can take. Read it in a week, I hope there’s more to come in the future...

As a lifelong countryman, having spent my 57 years living in villages in The Fens and Berkshire, I was moved by Ben Macdonald's thoroughly researched account of all the species biodiversity we have lost from our countryside. Recalling the massive decline in our insect population and of birds which were a common sight in my youth, such as Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Tree Sparrow, Macdonald gives a compelling account of Britain's uniquely destructive uses of our landscape. Far from being a 'crowded island', we have room to accommodate all the habitat necessary to enable all those threatened species to thrive and recover sustainable populations. Despite being a blow-by-blow account of all the mistakes and mismanagement that have given us the most denuded and species-poor landscape in Europe, this is, in the end, a book full of hope and inspiration. It provides a vision for how we can enable our countryside to recover, in a way that benefits not just the threatened species but also creates jobs where there are none and allows local communities to thrive. I want every policy-maker and big landowner to read this book and catch a glimpse of how much better life could be for us and all the creatures that share this wonderful island. Definitely my book of the decade.

I have only just started reading this book. Benedict is very good at painting a picture of what the British Isles must have looked like when we first arrived and through a lot of research has laid out what has happened since. The book is very accessible to those who are not experts in the field and Benedict has a wonderful way is telling stories alongside the hard facts, this makes the book thoroughly engaging throughout. This book offers hope and a solution to the plight birds and other animals are facing - this book should be read by all!

A fantastic and insightful book into the current state of our bird and wildlife on an ecosystem scale. A great manual to show how we can restore bird species and populations. Written in a beautiful manner, complete with accurate and full references. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of nature in the uk.

I am not a birdwatcher or even particularly knowledgeable about birds, I came to this book after reading Isabella Tree's 'Wilding'. While this latter book is inspiring as a record of a practical experiment, 'Rebirding' sets itself broader objectives: aiming to explain how we got to current degraded state of nature, what could be different and, all importantly, how change could financed and sustained. And it achieves in meeting all three of these objectives. One of the biggest revelations for me is how it carefully illustrates how our very language has changed to circumscribe our thinking; it had never occurred to me that what we now think of as 'farmyard' birds survived very well before humans started farming or that 'house martins' had only recently adapted to living among houses. Where 'Wilding' sometimes reads like patrician rant in favour of landowners being given public money without strings attached, 'Rebirding' excels in carefully demonstrating the economic illiteracy of some aspects of current agricultural funding and in setting out how ecotourism and flood protection services could be economically viable. A fabulous read and a blueprint for a better, wilder future.

Absolutely loved the concept and also how he takes you along the journey with him. This is hugely readable and accessible to people like with me with a relatively limited understanding of wildlife and nature (beyond being a fan). The author uses some truly startling facts and illustrations to paint a picture of what could be - the real question is will there be enough people out there prepared to help Britain achieve its true potential as he proposes. I do hope so, as the future he describes is infinitely more interesting and exciting than the prospect of our current direction. Fascinating and alarming in equal proportions, this must be wider read and endorsed if we are to leave any kind of legacy for the next generation.

Excellent product, fascinating read, prompt delivery.

An excellent book, highlighting the problems with UK wildlife and offering realistic solutions. As a farmer, the book does not always make easy reading, however the tone with which it’s written makes the medicine easier to take!

An outstanding summary of the degradation of the British environment but with imaginative ideas as to how we may restore natural habitats if as a nation we are prepared to radically re-think how we use our countryside.

I read this book in one sitting , it is a very clever read that makes it suitable for all levels from total beginner to reserve manager .. I’d like to send it my MP and local council ...there is a lot in here without being dry or data heavy .. highly recommended

This was a present so I have no personal review to make but the gift receiver was very pleased with it.

Consummate in the final analysis. If you care about UK nature and you want to be informed, this is the book. If only our Masters were taking note - how much more fulfilling life could be.

If you ever wondered what our now-rare farmland birds were doing before humans turned up and eventually discovered/invented farming - this explains all.

Points the way to a vibrant future for wildlife and people,really hope the ideas in this book are taken forward

An audacious vision & manifesto for revitalising Britain's nature & rural economies. Essential reading & inspiration for a course correction in UK conservation.

Most definitely met my expectations, they'll have me buying the Guardian next.

Rewilding is something of a growing concept, seemingly on a landscape scale. In this book Benedict Macdonald discusses rewilding with an emphasis on birds and shows how it can be applied almost everywhere, from road verges to National Parks. He argues that restoring natural processes through rewilding over large area will allow our birds to recover. Macdonald believes that the “wildwood” do ancient Britain and Western Europe was a savanna like mosaic kept open by large herbivores, rather than high canopy forest. He sets out his view that the extensive mixed farming that was universal in Europe up to the last century mimicked that mosaic. The intensification of agriculture and the associated cleansing of the countryside of food has caused declines in once common species of birds. This, he argues, could be reversed by allowing, or managing, the more marginal areas back into a wild state. He states that bringing back iconic wildlife such as wild cattle, elk, lynx and Dalmatian pelican could provide sustainable rural jobs in eco-tourism and in hunting. He calls for boldness in asking for NGOs and the government to bring large, landscape-scale tracts of land back to nature, as well as for us all to be a wee bit less tidy so that we leave more space for nature. I may not agree with everything he says, just most of it, but this is a thought provoking and original book. It’s a manifesto for a wilder, more sustainable and exciting future.

The word "rewilding" only entered the language within the last 20 years. The concept of rewilding is to restore the landscape to its natural state. This has often involved the introduction of grazing animals to facilitate habitat restoration. The best known rewilding projects, at Knepp in Sussex and Alladale in Sutherland have had startling success in increasing numbers of struggling species, particularly cuckoos and turtle doves at Knepp. Rebirding applies the same principles to demonstrate how rewilding in Britain can bring about a reversal in bird species declines and give these species a bright future. Equally importantly it shows how such measures will provide a vibrant living landscape and can also bring economic benefit, particularly to economically struggling parts of the country. The early part of the book makes depressing reading as MacDonald describes the manifold ways in which we have decimated our bird populations, especially since the industrial revolution. Simple persecution, population fragmentation, over grazing , (especially by sheep), devastation of insect populations, agricultural monoculture, herbicides, etc, etc. One begins to wonder how any birds have survived at all! MacDonald disputes the received wisdom that dense oak woodland covered our landscape in prehistoric times. He posits that large herbivores initially, and subsequently domestic livestock created a mosaic landscape in which different habitats developed suiting a wide variety of species. Conservation aims should be to recreate such a mosaic; wet grasslands beloved of snipe and lapwing, scrub for nightingale and whitethroat, wetland areas for ducks and waders, open woodlands for pied flycatchers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and so forth. He points to such habitats in eastern Europe where agricultural practices have not yet devastated the landscape. While the creation of good habitat will ensure that good numbers of birds will return, some species which became extinct won't. Corncrakes on migration for example will fly over perfectly adequate created habitat as they are hard wired to return to their natal territories. To maximize the potential of new habitat, it will be necessary to reintroduce absent species and of course there has been great success with cranes, great bustards, cirl buntings, and of course corncrakes in the Nene washes. Successes, but there should be more of them. So much of our landscape is managed in a way which is devastating for nature; prairie arable monoculture, grouse moors, sitka spruce plantation forestry, upland sheep farming. MacDonald examines all these habitats and demonstrates with examples from other countries how these areas can become rich in wildlife again. His case studies suggest a future for grouse moors, the Somerset levels, and other managed landscapes. Let nature return and the benefits to the local economy will be startling. Look at how Mull now earns over ten million pounds per annum from eagle tourism. And remember too how vigorously white tailed eagle reintroduction was initially opposed by so many islanders. This is not the first book on rewilding; the concept is in fact at the forefront of current conservation thinking; ecological improvement on a landscape scale. What makes Rebirding so compelling is how it offers convincing solutions which will not only restore avian populations but which will benefit both the people who live there and those who visit. It should be compulsory reading for environmental policy makers. And we the public and the conservation organizations which represent us must mobilise to fight for such a future for our countryside. Read the book and you'll find out why the front cover picture of a pelican is not so outlandish for a book about British birds.

Fantastic book, anyone with even the slightest interest in British birds and nature conservation should read it. It explains what we've lost and how we lost it, but also how we could regain our bird life. Agriculture, woodland, rivers and even pelicans are all looked at in detail but with an easy to read approach, you won't need a degree in ecology to understand. Fascinating detail on birds like cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, wrynecks, nightingales, willow tits and red-backed shrikes and why they're disappearing from our landscapes. Even touches on wildlife gardening and how to really benefit your local birds and wildlife... plant those native shrubs - hawthorn, rowan, goat willow, buckthorn and guelder rose. I love this book.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light. --Martin Luther King Jr I number myself among those who were complacently smug about their approach to the environment, particularly with gardening, but then I read Benedict MacDonald's book and realized that I must radically rethink my approach. Among other things, I suffer from that all too familiar syndrome of Ecological Tidiness Disorder. MacDonald made me see how rather than simply gardening with wildlife as an afterthought, I really ought to be doing ecosystem gardening. Caring for birds in one's garden is about more than putting out a bird table, not using pesticides or ensuring paradise isn't paved over, but also about ensuring an adequate food supply through the use of various native fauna in the garden including simply not tidying up hedges or the ivy or pulling nettles. It is also about choosing the correct flora to go in one's garden to encourage the island effect and create larger natural havens for our birds. My defense is that I had not truly appreciated how dire the situation was until I read his book. I had suffered from accepting the new normal without realising how devoid of life that normal had become. I was all too willing to believe that most of the decline in the bird population was down to things beyond my control and to not even consider post-fledgling starvation and how that might effect migration. This book changed that view. If we know a certain percentage of birds will not make it back from Africa every year, then we had best do all in our power to ensure the absolute numbers leaving these shores after the breeding season are as strong as possible and that includes increasing food sources around the country through a more wild or ecosystem based approach if you will. His book is a compelling read filled with hard facts and figures but also a great deal of optimism. Pelicans flying again in the Somerset Levels, or even people in towns and villages starting once again to hear the cuckoo calling on the spring breeze -- these are things that MacDonald makes you believe could happen. His thought-provoking arguments for controlled deer culling and re-purposing grouse moors are excellent and well-argued but it was the chapters on gardening which really engaged me. A clarion call to arms and a game changer for me in every sense of the word. A book everyone with even a passing interest in British nature should read.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough, it has scratched the itch left behind after reading many disappointing texts on the key issue of rewilding in Britain. For birders and non-birders alike, the vehicle of birds used to delve into the heart of the issues surrounding our countryside and rewilding in the UK is brilliant. Thoroughly considered arguments and perspectives makes for a fascinating read, I didn’t feel lectured at any point and it avoided an obviously preachy tone that some rewilding books can take. Read it in a week, I hope there’s more to come in the future...

As a lifelong countryman, having spent my 57 years living in villages in The Fens and Berkshire, I was moved by Ben Macdonald's thoroughly researched account of all the species biodiversity we have lost from our countryside. Recalling the massive decline in our insect population and of birds which were a common sight in my youth, such as Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Tree Sparrow, Macdonald gives a compelling account of Britain's uniquely destructive uses of our landscape. Far from being a 'crowded island', we have room to accommodate all the habitat necessary to enable all those threatened species to thrive and recover sustainable populations. Despite being a blow-by-blow account of all the mistakes and mismanagement that have given us the most denuded and species-poor landscape in Europe, this is, in the end, a book full of hope and inspiration. It provides a vision for how we can enable our countryside to recover, in a way that benefits not just the threatened species but also creates jobs where there are none and allows local communities to thrive. I want every policy-maker and big landowner to read this book and catch a glimpse of how much better life could be for us and all the creatures that share this wonderful island. Definitely my book of the decade.

I have only just started reading this book. Benedict is very good at painting a picture of what the British Isles must have looked like when we first arrived and through a lot of research has laid out what has happened since. The book is very accessible to those who are not experts in the field and Benedict has a wonderful way is telling stories alongside the hard facts, this makes the book thoroughly engaging throughout. This book offers hope and a solution to the plight birds and other animals are facing - this book should be read by all!

A fantastic and insightful book into the current state of our bird and wildlife on an ecosystem scale. A great manual to show how we can restore bird species and populations. Written in a beautiful manner, complete with accurate and full references. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of nature in the uk.

I am not a birdwatcher or even particularly knowledgeable about birds, I came to this book after reading Isabella Tree's 'Wilding'. While this latter book is inspiring as a record of a practical experiment, 'Rebirding' sets itself broader objectives: aiming to explain how we got to current degraded state of nature, what could be different and, all importantly, how change could financed and sustained. And it achieves in meeting all three of these objectives. One of the biggest revelations for me is how it carefully illustrates how our very language has changed to circumscribe our thinking; it had never occurred to me that what we now think of as 'farmyard' birds survived very well before humans started farming or that 'house martins' had only recently adapted to living among houses. Where 'Wilding' sometimes reads like patrician rant in favour of landowners being given public money without strings attached, 'Rebirding' excels in carefully demonstrating the economic illiteracy of some aspects of current agricultural funding and in setting out how ecotourism and flood protection services could be economically viable. A fabulous read and a blueprint for a better, wilder future.

Absolutely loved the concept and also how he takes you along the journey with him. This is hugely readable and accessible to people like with me with a relatively limited understanding of wildlife and nature (beyond being a fan). The author uses some truly startling facts and illustrations to paint a picture of what could be - the real question is will there be enough people out there prepared to help Britain achieve its true potential as he proposes. I do hope so, as the future he describes is infinitely more interesting and exciting than the prospect of our current direction. Fascinating and alarming in equal proportions, this must be wider read and endorsed if we are to leave any kind of legacy for the next generation.

Eye-opening book. Especially chapters like that on the Welsh sheep farming. Now to acquire 5000 acres somehow...

Absolutely loved this book. Really engaging and accessible and brimming with enthusiasm for a better future. Outstanding.

A fascinating insight of what we have lost and what we could regain in this excellently researched,readable and informative book.

A book full of hope for those dismayed by the general state of wildlife across the British Isles.

A sad account of our historical destruction of nature with an optimistic view of we can repair it.

What a refreshing and engaging take on such an important subject. Move over Monbiot!

Well written everyone should read it

This was a gift for a colleague and he loved it

Well researched and thought provoking

Rewilding is something of a growing concept, seemingly on a landscape scale. In this book Benedict Macdonald discusses rewilding with an emphasis on birds and shows how it can be applied almost everywhere, from road verges to National Parks. He argues that restoring natural processes through rewilding over large area will allow our birds to recover. Macdonald believes that the “wildwood” do ancient Britain and Western Europe was a savanna like mosaic kept open by large herbivores, rather than high canopy forest. He sets out his view that the extensive mixed farming that was universal in Europe up to the last century mimicked that mosaic. The intensification of agriculture and the associated cleansing of the countryside of food has caused declines in once common species of birds. This, he argues, could be reversed by allowing, or managing, the more marginal areas back into a wild state. He states that bringing back iconic wildlife such as wild cattle, elk, lynx and Dalmatian pelican could provide sustainable rural jobs in eco-tourism and in hunting. He calls for boldness in asking for NGOs and the government to bring large, landscape-scale tracts of land back to nature, as well as for us all to be a wee bit less tidy so that we leave more space for nature. I may not agree with everything he says, just most of it, but this is a thought provoking and original book. It’s a manifesto for a wilder, more sustainable and exciting future.

The word "rewilding" only entered the language within the last 20 years. The concept of rewilding is to restore the landscape to its natural state. This has often involved the introduction of grazing animals to facilitate habitat restoration. The best known rewilding projects, at Knepp in Sussex and Alladale in Sutherland have had startling success in increasing numbers of struggling species, particularly cuckoos and turtle doves at Knepp. Rebirding applies the same principles to demonstrate how rewilding in Britain can bring about a reversal in bird species declines and give these species a bright future. Equally importantly it shows how such measures will provide a vibrant living landscape and can also bring economic benefit, particularly to economically struggling parts of the country. The early part of the book makes depressing reading as MacDonald describes the manifold ways in which we have decimated our bird populations, especially since the industrial revolution. Simple persecution, population fragmentation, over grazing , (especially by sheep), devastation of insect populations, agricultural monoculture, herbicides, etc, etc. One begins to wonder how any birds have survived at all! MacDonald disputes the received wisdom that dense oak woodland covered our landscape in prehistoric times. He posits that large herbivores initially, and subsequently domestic livestock created a mosaic landscape in which different habitats developed suiting a wide variety of species. Conservation aims should be to recreate such a mosaic; wet grasslands beloved of snipe and lapwing, scrub for nightingale and whitethroat, wetland areas for ducks and waders, open woodlands for pied flycatchers and lesser spotted woodpeckers, and so forth. He points to such habitats in eastern Europe where agricultural practices have not yet devastated the landscape. While the creation of good habitat will ensure that good numbers of birds will return, some species which became extinct won't. Corncrakes on migration for example will fly over perfectly adequate created habitat as they are hard wired to return to their natal territories. To maximize the potential of new habitat, it will be necessary to reintroduce absent species and of course there has been great success with cranes, great bustards, cirl buntings, and of course corncrakes in the Nene washes. Successes, but there should be more of them. So much of our landscape is managed in a way which is devastating for nature; prairie arable monoculture, grouse moors, sitka spruce plantation forestry, upland sheep farming. MacDonald examines all these habitats and demonstrates with examples from other countries how these areas can become rich in wildlife again. His case studies suggest a future for grouse moors, the Somerset levels, and other managed landscapes. Let nature return and the benefits to the local economy will be startling. Look at how Mull now earns over ten million pounds per annum from eagle tourism. And remember too how vigorously white tailed eagle reintroduction was initially opposed by so many islanders. This is not the first book on rewilding; the concept is in fact at the forefront of current conservation thinking; ecological improvement on a landscape scale. What makes Rebirding so compelling is how it offers convincing solutions which will not only restore avian populations but which will benefit both the people who live there and those who visit. It should be compulsory reading for environmental policy makers. And we the public and the conservation organizations which represent us must mobilise to fight for such a future for our countryside. Read the book and you'll find out why the front cover picture of a pelican is not so outlandish for a book about British birds.

Fantastic book, anyone with even the slightest interest in British birds and nature conservation should read it. It explains what we've lost and how we lost it, but also how we could regain our bird life. Agriculture, woodland, rivers and even pelicans are all looked at in detail but with an easy to read approach, you won't need a degree in ecology to understand. Fascinating detail on birds like cuckoos, lesser spotted woodpeckers, wrynecks, nightingales, willow tits and red-backed shrikes and why they're disappearing from our landscapes. Even touches on wildlife gardening and how to really benefit your local birds and wildlife... plant those native shrubs - hawthorn, rowan, goat willow, buckthorn and guelder rose. I love this book.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good. Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and actions of the children of darkness but also for the fears and apathy of the children of light. --Martin Luther King Jr I number myself among those who were complacently smug about their approach to the environment, particularly with gardening, but then I read Benedict MacDonald's book and realized that I must radically rethink my approach. Among other things, I suffer from that all too familiar syndrome of Ecological Tidiness Disorder. MacDonald made me see how rather than simply gardening with wildlife as an afterthought, I really ought to be doing ecosystem gardening. Caring for birds in one's garden is about more than putting out a bird table, not using pesticides or ensuring paradise isn't paved over, but also about ensuring an adequate food supply through the use of various native fauna in the garden including simply not tidying up hedges or the ivy or pulling nettles. It is also about choosing the correct flora to go in one's garden to encourage the island effect and create larger natural havens for our birds. My defense is that I had not truly appreciated how dire the situation was until I read his book. I had suffered from accepting the new normal without realising how devoid of life that normal had become. I was all too willing to believe that most of the decline in the bird population was down to things beyond my control and to not even consider post-fledgling starvation and how that might effect migration. This book changed that view. If we know a certain percentage of birds will not make it back from Africa every year, then we had best do all in our power to ensure the absolute numbers leaving these shores after the breeding season are as strong as possible and that includes increasing food sources around the country through a more wild or ecosystem based approach if you will. His book is a compelling read filled with hard facts and figures but also a great deal of optimism. Pelicans flying again in the Somerset Levels, or even people in towns and villages starting once again to hear the cuckoo calling on the spring breeze -- these are things that MacDonald makes you believe could happen. His thought-provoking arguments for controlled deer culling and re-purposing grouse moors are excellent and well-argued but it was the chapters on gardening which really engaged me. A clarion call to arms and a game changer for me in every sense of the word. A book everyone with even a passing interest in British nature should read.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough, it has scratched the itch left behind after reading many disappointing texts on the key issue of rewilding in Britain. For birders and non-birders alike, the vehicle of birds used to delve into the heart of the issues surrounding our countryside and rewilding in the UK is brilliant. Thoroughly considered arguments and perspectives makes for a fascinating read, I didn’t feel lectured at any point and it avoided an obviously preachy tone that some rewilding books can take. Read it in a week, I hope there’s more to come in the future...

As a lifelong countryman, having spent my 57 years living in villages in The Fens and Berkshire, I was moved by Ben Macdonald's thoroughly researched account of all the species biodiversity we have lost from our countryside. Recalling the massive decline in our insect population and of birds which were a common sight in my youth, such as Spotted Flycatcher, Turtle Dove and Tree Sparrow, Macdonald gives a compelling account of Britain's uniquely destructive uses of our landscape. Far from being a 'crowded island', we have room to accommodate all the habitat necessary to enable all those threatened species to thrive and recover sustainable populations. Despite being a blow-by-blow account of all the mistakes and mismanagement that have given us the most denuded and species-poor landscape in Europe, this is, in the end, a book full of hope and inspiration. It provides a vision for how we can enable our countryside to recover, in a way that benefits not just the threatened species but also creates jobs where there are none and allows local communities to thrive. I want every policy-maker and big landowner to read this book and catch a glimpse of how much better life could be for us and all the creatures that share this wonderful island. Definitely my book of the decade.

I have only just started reading this book. Benedict is very good at painting a picture of what the British Isles must have looked like when we first arrived and through a lot of research has laid out what has happened since. The book is very accessible to those who are not experts in the field and Benedict has a wonderful way is telling stories alongside the hard facts, this makes the book thoroughly engaging throughout. This book offers hope and a solution to the plight birds and other animals are facing - this book should be read by all!

A fantastic and insightful book into the current state of our bird and wildlife on an ecosystem scale. A great manual to show how we can restore bird species and populations. Written in a beautiful manner, complete with accurate and full references. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of nature in the uk.

I am not a birdwatcher or even particularly knowledgeable about birds, I came to this book after reading Isabella Tree's 'Wilding'. While this latter book is inspiring as a record of a practical experiment, 'Rebirding' sets itself broader objectives: aiming to explain how we got to current degraded state of nature, what could be different and, all importantly, how change could financed and sustained. And it achieves in meeting all three of these objectives. One of the biggest revelations for me is how it carefully illustrates how our very language has changed to circumscribe our thinking; it had never occurred to me that what we now think of as 'farmyard' birds survived very well before humans started farming or that 'house martins' had only recently adapted to living among houses. Where 'Wilding' sometimes reads like patrician rant in favour of landowners being given public money without strings attached, 'Rebirding' excels in carefully demonstrating the economic illiteracy of some aspects of current agricultural funding and in setting out how ecotourism and flood protection services could be economically viable. A fabulous read and a blueprint for a better, wilder future.

Absolutely loved the concept and also how he takes you along the journey with him. This is hugely readable and accessible to people like with me with a relatively limited understanding of wildlife and nature (beyond being a fan). The author uses some truly startling facts and illustrations to paint a picture of what could be - the real question is will there be enough people out there prepared to help Britain achieve its true potential as he proposes. I do hope so, as the future he describes is infinitely more interesting and exciting than the prospect of our current direction. Fascinating and alarming in equal proportions, this must be wider read and endorsed if we are to leave any kind of legacy for the next generation.