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A wonderfully refreshing and poetic book about one of the mightiest birds on the planet, the Owl. Atkin is a poet and that comes across in her writing, there is a flow to her words that not many other nature writers have, it draws you in and captures your imagination. She is able to transport the reader into her book, setting the scene, dark woods, lots of shadows being cast by the moon and that first call of the owl, within a few lines I was there right beside her. There is plenty to learn here for the reader, most fascinating was something the owlets do, branching, I think if I saw an owlet in the wild out of it’s nest I would be worried for it, having read this book I would confidently search for the nearby adult and know that they knew what they were doing and leave them to it.

I remember the first time I read J. A. Baker’s book on the Peregrine, he became obsessed with the bird and you could see him start to merge his identity with that of the falcon, I can see similarities between Atkin and her local owls. At one point she shares that due to a medical condition she can turn her head owl-like to look behind her. Much of the book is during the time of lockdowns and due to her medical conditions Atkin spent longer in isolation, this alone time was spent looking for owls, caring for them and worrying about their survival. Atkin spends a lot of time carrying out proper research and fun research, aka cute owl videos on social media. One of my favourite parts was the descriptions of one of the habitats she visits, knee deep moss, you could almost sense the owls watching in bewilderment as she battles across the land.

Atkin states at the beginning that she isn’t an expert on Owls but as the book progresses she researches and shares what she learns and that is what I love about this book, I also started with little knowledge and have been able to learn at the same pace with Atkin who is a fabulous teacher. Atkin shows that a book doesn’t have to be crammed with facts, you can have fun too whilst learning. A fantastic introduction into owls and why people love them so much.

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