Field Notes From a Hidden City: An Urban Nature Diary

Now can someone write something like this for the Midwest US? This book is a treasure.

Woolfson intermingles journal-type observations of nature in Aberdeen, Scotland with longer essays on species and musings about them. The book is all about cycles: I spent a lot of time, in my Kindle edition, noting other authors and publications that I want to read in the future. Since I focus on northern New England flora and fauna, I was hesitant to read this.

But her This book is a treasure. But her observations and information are as apropos to my life here as life in Scotland.

I will be referencing this book greatly in the future. It must have taken Woolfson a long time to research and reference all of the topics she covers. She is well read and wise. Her writing style took me a while to get used to, but I did and ended up not being able to put this book down. I highly recommend it. I was slightly worried when I picked this up that it would be a bit of a busman's holiday reading this, but I needn't have worried.

It's a delightful read and Aberdeen is different enough to London for the urban wildlife to be wildly different.

• Así ama un amigo a su amigo (Spanish Edition)?
• .
• .
• Field Notes From a Hidden City.
• Lacey - a romance of Regency England in which three couples discover that true love does conquer all.

Taking us through a year Field Notes provides musings on the seasons, life in its many forms, the coexistance of humans with nature, individual animals the author knows or comes across, historical facts and modern research, and other fascinating things. W I was slightly worried when I picked this up that it would be a bit of a busman's holiday reading this, but I needn't have worried. Woolfson is a sympathetic observer of creatures great and small, and there were plenty of asides that had me laughing out loud when reading this on the train.

It is a great reminder of the joy of observing "ordinary" wildlife and of all the wonder that lives alongside us humans. Sep 06, Patricia rated it it was amazing Shelves: Every afternoon towards dusk, the cold became visible; it fell in a fine mist of ice particles which stung in the throat. This is a beautifully written, wise, and thoughtful book that not only transported me to another co "It is almost four in the afternoon on one of the oddly quiet days of December.

This is a beautifully written, wise, and thoughtful book that not only transported me to another country, but out of some of my narrow assumptions about what's beautiful and worthy in nature. May 12, Alex Boon rated it really liked it. Never been to Aberdeen but feel like I know the place now. Only parts I didn't like was the schoolboy physics lesson about the Earth's tilt causing seasons and the description of SAD. For the latter, it was too obvious it was written by a non-sufferer. I guess because SAD is a fairly major annual issue for me, I should have liked a little more gravitas to that section.

Choosing to fixate on how everyone's sad these days seemed like too much of a brush-off. But it was a beautiful b Rather lovely. But it was a beautiful book and I particularly loved all the recommendations throughout of other books to read. I'll be taking advice on some of those. Dec 28, Geoff rated it it was amazing. Wonderful exploration of everyday life.

Aug 17, Pablo marked it as to-read. Last week I came across this poetic account of urban natural life in Aberdeen at my local library and couldn't help but borrowing it. It's written as a diary, with emphasis on the observation of urban birds. This promises to be an amusing read at a time where we seem to be locked in a wildlife documentary here in Edinburgh, with the squirrels coming every morning to tap on our kitchen window asking for their breakfast and the seagulls in their breeding season permanently circling the sky above o Last week I came across this poetic account of urban natural life in Aberdeen at my local library and couldn't help but borrowing it.

This promises to be an amusing read at a time where we seem to be locked in a wildlife documentary here in Edinburgh, with the squirrels coming every morning to tap on our kitchen window asking for their breakfast and the seagulls in their breeding season permanently circling the sky above our place looking after their helpless chicks, who are born with this ugly brown envelope which we expect to gradually turn to their parents' dazzling white. Really curious to find out whether someone else may have had the same feeling we're basically the same kind of creatures as these frequently overlooked neighbours.

I sometimes feel I could happily spend my life sitting in the kitchen and watching them come and go. Certain animals and birds that live closely among us inspire at best indifference, at worst loathing. Esther Woolfson writes beautifully and mulls over our unquestioning and prejudice attitudes. Why is it acceptable to hate the mightily intelligent magpie but love the aggressive robin?

What makes the grey squirrel the enemy and the red much loved when both species were introduced to the UK by us when we had no right to decide the geography of species anyway? Rats, foxes, crows, rabbit Certain animals and birds that live closely among us inspire at best indifference, at worst loathing. Rats, foxes, crows, rabbits, pigeons and even slugs are also the subject of this expertly, lyrically written book that will make any casual admirer of the natural world think differently. For instance, the poisoning of slugs with pellets has a hugely detrimental effect on the more welcome visitors to our gardens like songbirds.

A love letter to the less fashionable creatures that we share a planet with who, like us, are simply trying to live. Mar 23, Lexie Conyngham rated it really liked it.

Lillian Faderman

I enjoyed this though sometimes found it a little heavy on the technical detail. It certainly sells rats, slugs and magpies more sympathetically than most! The setting and observations are charming and the writing is very fine, taking one on a year's tour of urban wildlife. Living in a city where one can meet not only birds, foxes and squirrels both types but also deer on the streets, and can see seals from a city bus route, it was lovely to see it recorded.

Feb 20, Diana Hale rated it really liked it.

Interesting read in form of a year's diary of wildlife in her home town of Aberdeen. Variety of observations and good sense of place but wider interest too with discursions into corvids her speciality and other specific species. Scientific touches but not overwhelmingly so. Also much philosophising, some successful, some less so. Enjoyed her attempts to rehabilitate pigeons, grey squirrels and gulls, but she draws the line with rats.

Jun 13, Daryl rated it it was amazing. A human being who, seeing with the clear, unprejudiced eyes of a small child, and possessing a finely- tuned analytical mind, is able to communicate the necessity for living in harmony with this planet and all of its inhabitants, of which we are but one example. Her prose becomes poetry and her prose turns to poetry and one is left to absorb her message while experiencing a re-birth of child-like wonder in the richness of a world that most of us left behind when we 'grew up. Jun 06, Lesley rated it it was amazing Shelves: Another wonderful book from Esther Woolfson, detailing the natural world around the city near where I live.

Her writing is lyrical in style, her tone one of wonderment about our everyday surroundings. She injects humour, too, and little cameos about her non-human family, including the feisty, noisy and beloved Chicken. Jul 31, Alec Mcallister rated it really liked it. Far more than just a urban nature diary although fascinating in that regard alone , this is a book about humans and our sometimes confused and contradictory relationship with the natural world or indeed with ourselves.

It is clear from her prose that Woolfson is also a gifted short story writer - not a word is wasted and each is perfect. Sep 17, Tommy Carr rated it it was amazing. Esther Woolfson is certainly a woman that enjoys nature and caring for the birds, squirrels, mice, pigeons etc. You name it and she has probably taken it in and nursed it back to health.

See a Problem?

A truly enjoyable book to read if you love the outside of your property. I enjoyed this book very much. I learned a lot from her daily notes and observations. Jul 19, Allison rated it it was amazing Shelves: I fell in love with this book after reading the introduction.

Very well written and filled with the wisdom that comes from age, this book is beautiful and makes me pay more attention to the nature surrounding me. Jan 30, Amanda Witt added it. Set over a year from one Scottish winter to the next, this book has detailed descriptions of daily encounters with plants, animals and birds, some of which are her own 'pets' she has taken in to look after.

Mar 27, Lisa rated it really liked it. Lovely nature writing and a taste of Aberdeen, Scotland. Jan 12, Andrew Macfarlane rated it did not like it Shelves: Self indulgent self pitying. The self is much more prominent than the wildlife in this book. This book makes me want to go to Aberdeen, Scotland. Apr 20, Emma Richler rated it really liked it. Some beautiful writing and observations here.

1. By James Reston Jr.?
2. BREATHLESS: The King Books (King Series Book 2).
3. Field Notes From a Hidden City.
4. Field Notes from a Hidden City by Esther Woolfson – review | Books | The Guardian!
5. Wisdom for Living - Volume 1.

Jan 03, Flora Douglas rated it really liked it. A meditation and observation of life in Aberdeen like no other. A very enjoyable, calming-of-the-mind read! Susan rated it really liked it Jul 15, Mollie Douthit rated it liked it Sep 18, Karen Golden rated it it was amazing Jul 13, Her critically acclaimed short stories have appeared in many anthologies including 'New Writing Scotland' and several volumes of 'Scottish Short Stories'and have been read on Radio 4.

She has won prizes for them and for nature writing. Many of her musings start with an observation and wind through long trains of thought to real environmental or biological issues of the day. In a section on sparrows, Woolfson begins to think about extinction and the loss we experience when a species dies out: A thread through time will be gone, another reminder of our long lives on this earth together.

Throughout the journal, Woolfson draws on a deep nostalgia and affection for her city and its history, as well as for the creatures abundant and scarce. Contemplative readers will enjoy her firsthand accounts of raising birds and rats in her home and her narratives describing field trips around town — including bird-rescue missions. Carrie Madren is a freelance journalist based in Northern Virginia. Support the Independent by purchasing this title via our affliate links: Book Review in Non-Fiction More.

In this work of creative nonfiction about the life of a Latvian Jewish immigrant and her experiences in earlyth-century New York City, the author turns voluminous research into flowing action and imagery. Book Review in Non-Fiction , Science. A portrait of the reformer during a perilous time both for him and his movement. Non-Fiction , History , Religion.