Wild Hares and Hummingbirds: The Natural History of an English Village

Stephen Moss lives in one of the longest villages in England -- Mark, on the Somerset Levels: a watery wonderland steeped in history. This ancient country parish has been reclaimed from the sea over many centuries and today the landscape bears witness to its eventful past, and is criss-crossed with watery ditches and broad droves, down which livestock was once taken to market. These are now home to a rich selection of wildlife: rooks and roe deer; sparrows and snowdrops; buzzards, badgers and butterflies; the iconic brown hare and the spectacular hummingbird hawk-moth. As the year unfolds, Moss witnesses the landscape as it passes from deep snow to spring blossom, through the heat haze of summer to the chill winds of autumn; from the first hazel catkins to the swallows returning from Africa; from the sounds of the dawn chorus to the nocturnal mysteries of moths. Wild Hares and Hummingbirds is both the story of a small corner of the West Country and a celebration of the natural world.