Orchard

Praise for Orchard

‘Enchanting’ Daily Mail

‘Vivid [and] full of unexpected revelations … Orchard has much to offer in its observations of wildlife’ John Carey, Sunday Times

‘A wonderful new book from Benedict Macdonald and Nicholas Gates, veterans of the BBC’s Springwatch series … moves lyrically and vividly through one calendar year in an old Herefordshire orchard … Particularly moving’ New Statesman

‘From spores to sparrowhawks, there is never a dull moment. Lyrically written, Orchard is a love-letter to its jumbled “magical chaos” and a shining example of the things that can be achieved when humans come to work in balance and in harmony with nature’ BBC Wildlife

‘From slug-hunting toads and snuffling hedgehogs to percussion-playing spiders, woodpecker architects and zombie hoverflies, this wonderful book weaves together fascinating stories of the wildlife that lives in an old organic orchard … Excellent … I would recommend Orchard wholeheartedly’ Kathy Bishop, The Seasonal Table, Countryfile magazine

‘This book looks at an ancient English orchard throughout the course of a year, focusing on the wide range of wildlife that it supports … writing with a lyrical richness that beautifully evokes this unique setting … The result is a book that can be enjoyed on a lot of different levels from professional conservationists, to the most casual of everyday birdwatchers. Passionate and moving, this is highly recommended’ Birdwatch magazine

‘A rich and textured account of a year in this neglected habitat’ Stephen Moss

‘Enjoy this precious habitat and all its glories via this coffee-table worthy book that offers food for thought’ RSPB magazine

‘This beautiful exploration of natural history is an elegy for a disappearing way of life … captivating’ The Garden magazine

Benedict Macdonald is a conservation writer, field director in wildlife television and a keen naturalist; passionate about restoring Britain’s wildlife. He is a long-time writer for Birdwatching magazine, as well as a contributor to the RSPB Nature’s Home and BBC Wildlife. He has been fortunate to work on TV series for the BBC and Netflix - most notably the grasslands and jungles programmes of Sir David Attenborough’s conservation series Our Planet: broadcast worldwide on Netflix in April 2019.