The Edge of Silence

Acclaimed nature writer Neil Ansell has suffered from progressive hearing loss his whole life. As his world has become ever more silent, the extraordinary and unexpected experience of hearing the haunting call of the great northern diver makes him realise that there might still be remarkable sounds in nature that might be within his reach if he only he was in the right place at the right time.

This remarkable, moving book is the story of a journey to hear rare and elusive creatures that he had never previously encountered and takes him to the mountaintops and islands of the Scottish Highlands to the marshes of England and the hills of Wales. Many of the species are in grave danger of extinction, so the silence which is engulfing Neil is one that threatens to engulf us all as far as these animals are concerned.

LOCATIONS AND AND ANIMALS:

Great northern diver (Nether Lochaber, Scottish Highlands), Ptarmigan (Ardgour, Scottish Highlands), Little Grebe (Ardgour, Scottish Highlands), Bittern (Morecambe Bay, Lancashire), Natterjack toad (The Wirral), Red-throated diver (Ardgour, Scottish Highlands), Corncrake (Coll),Snipe (Coll), Black grouse (North Wales), Greenshank (Ardgour, Scottish Highlands), Puffin (Canna and Sanday), Storm petrel (Mousa, Shetland), Whimbrel (Shetland), Red kite (Perthshire), Otter (Sunart, Scottish Highlands), Manx shearwater (Rum)