Bowland Beth
The Life of an English Hen Harrier
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Bowland Beth
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Narrated by:
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Dugald Bruce-Lockhart
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By:
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David Cobham
About this listen
The story of the short life and tragic death of Bowland Beth – an English Hen Harrier – which dramatically highlights the major issues in UK conservation.
‘The sun was blood red as it broke the horizon and lit the communal roost where the female hen harrier had spent the night. She watched the other harriers as they left to go foraging for food out on the moor. She didn’t join them, for she had felt a quickening in her body, an urge to move to Mallowdale Pike, a rocky crag from where she had fledged nine months ago. After preening, she lifted off from the roost and soared up over the fell.’
David Cobham enters Beth’s world to show what being a hen harrier today is like. He immerses himself not only in the day-to-day regimen of her life, the hours of hunting, bathing, keeping her plumage in order and roosting, but also the fear of living in an environment run to provide packs of driven grouse for a few wealthy sportsmen to shoot.
The hen harrier is seen as a totemic species in the battle between the conservationists and ruralists, and as one of the key players in this emotive debate, David Cobham is uniquely placed to reflect on Beth’s story. In this powerful narrative, he provides us with a profound tale which helps to illuminate the larger implications of the species’ decline, highlighting the urgent need for conservation efforts to reverse this.
©2017 David Cobham (P)2017 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
‘It is a good read, terrific in places, informative, engrossing and moving, with a vital message about conservation […] Bowland Beth reminds us that nature deserves to be written about with passion, power and poetry. Writers and readers have a role in protecting this country. It is time we performed it better.’ Spectator
An ‘engaging, delightfully illustrated book’ BBC Wildlife
‘Beautifully illustrated … well-written and engaging, too … a book to inspire a love of these superb raptors’ Birdwatching
‘David Cobham is a skilful storyteller’ British Birds
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The Bald Eagle
- The Improbable Journey of America's Bird
- By: Jack E. Davis
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
The bald eagle is regal but fearless, a bird you’re not inclined to argue with. For centuries, Americans have celebrated it as “majestic” and “noble,” yet savaged the living bird behind their national symbol as a malicious predator of livestock and, falsely, a snatcher of babies.
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2 out of 5 stars
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I thought the book would be about the bald eagle
- By An Amazon Buyer on 10-25-22
By: Jack E. Davis
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Atlas of a Lost World
- By: Craig Childs
- Narrated by: Craig Childs
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,026
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 912
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 913
From the author of Apocalyptic Planet, an unsparing, vivid, revelatory travelogue through prehistory that traces the arrival of the First People in North America 20,000 years ago and the artifacts that enable us to imagine their lives and fates. This book upends our notions of where these people came from and who they were.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Blaaaa
- By Josh NJ on 07-26-18
By: Craig Childs
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Feathers
- The Evolution of a Natural Miracle
- By: Thor Hanson
- Narrated by: Andy Ingalls
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 164
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 149
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 150
Feathers are an evolutionary marvel: Aerodynamic, insulating, beguiling. They date back more than 100 million years. Yet their story has never been fully told. In Feathers, biologist Thor Hanson details a sweeping natural history, as feathers have been used to fly, protect, attract, and adorn through time and place. Applying the research of paleontologists, ornithologists, biologists, engineers, and even art historians, Hanson asks: What are feathers? How did they evolve? What do they mean to us?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic Science and Fun
- By Chris Reich on 12-28-14
By: Thor Hanson
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Down from the Mountain
- The Life and Death of a Grizzly Bear
- By: Bryce Andrews
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
The grizzly is one of North America's few remaining large predators. Their range is diminished, but they're spreading across the West again. Descending into valleys where once they were king, bears find the landscape they'd known for eons utterly changed by the new most dominant animal: humans. In searing detail, award-winning writer, Montana rancher, and conservationist Bryce Andrews tells us about one such grizzly. Millie is a typical mother: strong, cunning, fiercely protective of her cubs. But raising those cubs becomes ever harder as the climate warms and people crowd the valleys.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Slice of Montana
- By Traveler on 02-04-21
By: Bryce Andrews
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Ring of Bright Water
- By: Gavin Maxwell
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 71
'Ring of Bright Water' represents Gavin Maxwell's account of his life at Camusfearna, a remote cottage in the western Highlands, and in particular the two otters, Mijbil and Edal, who became his constant and much-loved companions.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Kindness to Creatures Great and Small
- By Sariah on 01-19-18
By: Gavin Maxwell
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The Wonder of Birds
- What They Tell Us About Ourselves, the World, and a Better Future
- By: Jim Robbins
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
Birds, Jim Robbins posits, are our most vital connection to nature. They compel us to look to the skies, both literally and metaphorically, draw us out into nature to seek their beauty, and let us experience vicariously what it is like to be weightless. Birds have helped us in so many of our human endeavors: learning to fly, providing clothing and food, and helping us better understand the human brain and body.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Stories about birds with something for everyone
- By D on 07-24-17
By: Jim Robbins
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My First Summer in the Sierra
- By: John Muir
- Narrated by: Brett Barry
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 470
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 410
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 409
It was June of 1869 when John Muir reluctantly accepted a job herding sheep from the central valley of California to the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers, high into the Sierra Nevadas and deep into the Yosemite region. He felt ill equipped for the work, and yet the opportunity thrilled his adventurous spirit. With a notebook tied to his belt, he set out for a summer he would never forget. My First Summer in the Sierra is Muir’s classic account of that extraordinary journey.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Almost every line is quotable
- By Kacy on 08-30-13
By: John Muir
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The Old Ways
- A Journey on Foot
- By: Robert Macfarlane
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 724
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 637
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 641
In this exquisitely written book, Robert Macfarlane sets off from his Cambridge, England, home to follow the ancient tracks, holloways, drove roads, and sea paths that crisscross both the British landscape and its waters and territories beyond. The result is an immersive, enthralling exploration of the ghosts and voices that haunt old paths, of the stories our tracks keep and tell, and of pilgrimage and ritual. Told in Macfarlane’s distinctive voice, The Old Ways folds together natural history, cartography, geology, archaeology, and literature.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A perfect pairing of prose and narrator
- By chris on 11-05-12
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Through the Brazilian Wilderness
- By: Theodore Roosevelt
- Narrated by: Andre Stojka
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 81
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Story4 out of 5 stars 75
A former American president nearly dies during an ill-planned exploration through the Brazilian Wilderness and down the River of Doubt. Theodore Roosevelt was a naturalist, explorer, author, hunter, governor, soldier and 26th President of the United States.
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1 out of 5 stars
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narration hindrance to story
- By EBH on 09-29-20
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The Galápagos
- A Natural History
- By: Henry Nicholls
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 93
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 82
The Galapagos were once known to the sailors and pirates who encountered them as Las Encantadas: the enchanted islands, home to exotic creatures and dramatic volcanic scenery. In The Galapagos, science writer Henry Nicholls offers a lively natural and human history of the archipelago, charting its evolution from deserted wilderness to scientific resource (made famous by Charles Darwin) and global ecotourism hot spot.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Thought-Provoking
- By Jean on 10-23-18
By: Henry Nicholls
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A Most Remarkable Creature
- The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey
- By: Jonathan Meiburg
- Narrated by: Jonathan Meiburg
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 658
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 563
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 560
An enthralling account of a modern voyage of discovery as we meet the clever, social birds of prey called caracaras, which puzzled Darwin, fascinate modern-day falconers, and carry secrets of our planet's deep past in their family history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I don't leave reviews often, but . . .
- By Steven L Peck on 06-24-21
By: Jonathan Meiburg
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A Traditional Bowhunter's Path
- Lessons and Adventures at Full Draw
- By: Ron Rohrbaugh Jr.
- Narrated by: Tyler Boss
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 80
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
This guide to traditional bowhunting with a longbow or recurve combines the best of both worlds for beginners and veteran bowhunters. How-to chapters share hard-earned wisdom that will help you perfect your skills and get close to game, while engaging stories tell of the authors experiences hunting white-tailed deer in the east, chasing big game in the American West, and trekking to South Africa in search of Greater Kudu and other plains game.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A great primer on Traditional Bow hunting
- By Tory A. Utt on 06-25-19
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The Hidden Life of Trees
- What They Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries from a Secret World
- By: Peter Wohlleben
- Narrated by: Mike Grady
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6,423
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5,514
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5,476
How do trees live? Do they feel pain or have awareness of their surroundings? Research is now suggesting trees are capable of much more than we have ever known. In The Hidden Life of Trees, forester Peter Wohlleben puts groundbreaking scientific discoveries into a language everyone can relate to.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Tree Hugger
- By Darwin8u on 04-18-19
By: Peter Wohlleben
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American Buffalo
- In Search of a Lost Icon
- By: Steven Rinella
- Narrated by: Steven Rinella
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 10,103
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 8,950
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Story5 out of 5 stars 8,905
Both a captivating narrative and a book of environmental and historical significance, American Buffalo tells us as much about ourselves as Americans as it does about the creature who perhaps best of all embodies the American ethos.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Phenomenal
- By Hunter Cole on 08-01-19
By: Steven Rinella