Our Woodland Birds: A Nature Lover's Guide

by Matt Sewell

Britain has some of the most beautiful woodland in the world, with some of the most beautiful inhabitants. All year round, the trees in forests, copses and wastelands offer our feathered friends food, shelter and a place to congregate and show-off.

Now, in this beautiful follow-up to Our Garden Birds and Our Songbirds, street artist Matt Sewell captures Britain's unique woodland life with his charming and distinctive illustrations. Featuring an array of enchanting scenes, from bramble picking Blue Tits, to a flight of Finches, to a parliament of young Tawny Owls, Matt's quirky, pop-art watercolours and whimsical descriptions express the individual characters of our woodland birds as never before. A delightful gift, this book will appeal to bird-watching enthusiasts, children, adults and art and design fans alike.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Art, Ornithology

128 pages, Hardcover

First published June 5, 2014

About the author

Artist and illustrator Matt Sewell has been described as the Banksy of the bird world. Matt works in a variety of media including T-shirts, posters, interiors, sculptures and walls. He has illustrated for the Guardian and Barbour, amongst many others; painted underpasses for the RSPB; and exhibited in London, Manchester, New York, Tokyo and Paris, as well as being an avid ornithologist and regular contributor to the Caught by The River website (he also designed their logo).

His bird books, Our Garden Birds, Our Woodland Birds, A Charm of Goldfinches and many more, have taken the world by storm. He has also illustrated numerous children’s books including The Big Bird Spot, Dinosaurs and Forgotten Beasts. His latest book for children is Atlas of Amazing Birds.

Matt lives in Shrewsbury with his partner and two children.

Reviews

[Mariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderfully painted pictures and informative but also entertaining descriptions about the woodland birds around.

My parents bought me this because we "get more woodland birds visiting our feeder" ... I don't quite agree with them, as we only get five out of the forty seven species mentioned. Think the songbirds one might've been a better purchase, but still. Will keep it for reference in case we do get an Owl or Buzzard visit us.

I shall look out for his other bird books ....

[Jessica Macdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really sweet easy read about British birds! The illustrations are very cute whilst also looking accurate and the prose and stories surrounding the birds are informative and adorable! Good way to pass an hour or so if you’re a nature fan!

[Kristīne · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely.

[Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Birds in watercolor.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet little tome that I bought from Blackwell's in Edinburgh, and it's part of a series of books that the author has compiled of his beautiful paintings of birds. Although stylized, each woodland bird is authentic and recognizable in detail, and each is accompanied by a description of the bird and, often, a bit about the tree the bird is perched or nesting in. Living in the United States, there are many birds that he describes that are unfamiliar to me; for example, I didn't know about the fieldfare and its fondness for yew berries, or the wryneck - an old world woodpecker that feeds almost exclusively on ants from the forest floor. All of the entries are fascinating, and the illustrations are lovely. I'll look forward to reading other entries in this series.

[Tom McGlynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re even the most tenuous fan of wildlife and have 20 minutes to spare, please, please pick up this book. It’s beautifully written, with poetic trances of entries bathing Britain’s woodland birds in a halcyon light, reminiscent of summer evenings in their native forest habitats as the last light pierces the tree tops.

Matt is a treasure of English nature writing - all of his books never fail to stun me.

[Astrog · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really love Matt's drawing style. It's so simple, cute yet completely accurate. His comments on the birds are also quite funny. The only thing I'd say is that the birds are in random orders – would be better if they are roughly grouped according to their habitats/lifestyles etc.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really lovely book. The illustrations are so good, exquisite really. Such a lovely book. My mom really loved it and shes so into her birds now. ♡

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming little watercolors accompany poems that aren't poems. Sweet and gives you a sense of who the birds really are, rather than strictly teaching you to identify them. A fun little find.

[Daniel Clemence · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book to read. The paintings are endearing and there is great variety in both descriptions and paintings. A beautiful book.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming little book about birds by Matt Sewell full of lovely water colour paintings of British birds. I enjoyed this book almost as much as Matt Sewell's 'Our Garden Birds' my only criticism is he included some birds he'd already mentioned in the other books. There are so many birds in Britain he had plenty of choice

[Amy W · Rating 5 out of 5]

So charming. Although I wouldn't use it as an actual guide to spotting the birds as the paintings aren't always 100% spot on, but you get the gist. I enjoyed the little fact or two that accompanied each.

[Boran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt'in bıcır bıcır kuşları, hepsi birbirinden güzel!