Blokes and Birds - Tapa dura

Blokes and Birds is a humorous, one-of-a-kind look at 40 British and Irish birders and their wild escapades in the pursuit of their 'art'. It's a quirky look at the personalities and the passions hidden behind the twitching beards, binoculars and birding paraphernalia. Readers will delight in madcap tales of trips taken over a 1,000 miles to see birds that have flown, a doctor's tale of a bird landing on his dining table along with the roast beef, and intrepid birders' brave battles with hail, mud, fences, lighthouses, foreign militia and more. The fascinating story told by each bloke of his most bizarre or strange birding experience is accompanied by candid photographs of each birder at his best.

Stephen Moss is the author of several books, including Birds and Weather: a Birdwatcher's Guide (Hamlyn, 1995) and, more recently, Attracting Birds to your Garden for New Holland (2000). A journalist and broadcaster, he writes The Guardian's monthly birdwatching column and produced the BBC Television series Birding with Bill Oddie, for which he also co-wrote the book. He lives in West London. Robin Chittenden is a wildlife photographer based in Norfolk. As well as working for English Nature and The Broads Authority, he is a judge for the British Birds Bird Photograph of the Year competition, Photographic Researcher for 'British Birds' and Photographic Consultant for 'Birding World'.