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Goshawk Summer A New Forest Season Unlike Any Other is a new book by James Aldred, who is the author of The Man Who Climbed Trees. Petty, S.J. (1996). History of Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilisin Britain. InHolmes, J.S. and Simons, J.R. (Eds.). The Introduction and Naturalisation of Birds. The Stationery Office, London. Pp. 95-102. They were reintroduced from the 1960s onwards, not by any conservation organisation, but by falconers and hawk-keepers who brought birds into the country initially from Poland and Germany, then subsequently in the 1970s from Finland (Petty 1996). Some of these imported birds escaped from captivity and others were deliberately released, to establish wild populations for harvest. These released and escaped birds established scattered populations throughout the country (Marquiss & Newton 1982). Even though goshawks have an unsettling ability to silently come and go, the alarm calls of these other birds would warn him when they were on their way. “By listening to what the birds in the forest were saying, I could work out which direction the goshawk would be coming from and be ready with the camera.” In Goshawk Summer, Emmy Award winning filmmaker, James Aldred writes very eloquently about his once in a lifetime privilege of observing, at close quarters, a female goshawk, and her mate, as they attempt to rear their offspring, in a place where even the hunters face their own immediate danger.
Goshawk Summer - Wainwright Prize
The cover? I’m not keen on the greenish hue and the design doesn’t do much for me – I’d give it 5/10. Goshawks are unpredictable birds; it can be incredibly difficult to locate them, as they do not like to be seen. Aldred comments: 'Some are skittish; others brazen. Some like low and stay put; others slope off the nest and melt away the moment anyone steps foot in their wood.' They more often than not nest in the same place, returning year after year; they can use the same physical nest for up to a decade.
Their reputation for taking gamebirds has led them to be the victim of widespread persecution (Petty 2002, Marquiss et al. 2003). This killing prevents the establishment of breeding birds in areas managed for gamebirds, but also such persistent removal of potential recruits restricts population spread into suitable habitats elsewhere in Scotland (Francis & Cook 2011). Although this book is not designed to be a monograph on the Goshawk it does include many interesting observations, such as the female returning to the nest and sprinkling fresh pine needles onto the male while he is incubating. I've not read about that before and conceivably nobody has been close enough to a nest for long enough to witness it. Could it have been an attempt to get him to move, or did she simply want to add fresh greenery and he happened to be in the way?
JAMES ALDRED — Goshawk Summer
Amidst the fragility and the fear, there was silver moonlight, tumbling fox cubs, a calling curlew, and of course, the soaring Goshawks – shining like fire through one of our darkest times. A Goshawk summer unlike any other. The images he evokes in his diary entries are highly descriptive and transport you to the heart of the natural environment. Other creatures are also described - Dartford warblers, curlews, dragonflies, foxes among them - and James's love for, and understanding of, these creatures shines through every paragraph.
The New Forest is a place which Aldred knows intimately. He speaks, very early on, of his deep affection for the region: 'To this day, part of my heart remains in the forest, dwelling in the quiet rides and woods of my childhood. Even the smell of the place stirs deep currents of longing within me.' Later, he discusses that although he knows stretches of the woods as well as he can, and has such good memories of cooking stews with his friends, and sleeping outside as a teenager, there are other parts of the New Forest which he knows not at all. I didn’t enjoy Aldred’s writing style though I do respect that his work and painstaking collection of data. I hadn’t planned to read it. I wasn’t enticed by the ‘pandemic’ tag from the publisher, but it won the Wainwright Nature Prize, and it became harder not to. This detail reveals an intimacy, formed between the photographer and his subject, which comes across in the text and transports the reader to the hide and the unfolding drama of this Goshawk breeding attempt. This intimacy is perhaps most evident in a passage describing how the author exits the hide at the end of a filming session. Aided by a colleague who walks in below, he has to judge the sitting bird’s response and you can feel the tension growing as he plans his exit under the bird’s fierce glare. It is a wonderful moment, and one of many throughout this engaging book.
Goshawk Summer: The Diary of an Extraordinary Season in the
The book moves softly, and silently, through the months of summer from April, until the end of June 2020, and does so in diary entries which record just what James observed in the woods, his relationship with nature, and more importantly what he learned about, and from the goshawks, as they live out their challenging, but majestic lives. Sharply observed, every nuance of the woodland area is investigated and brought to life, and the narrative is so finely placed it feels cinematic in quality just as though you are cocooned high above the canopy of the New Forest watching as the ancient woodland unfolds deep below you to share its innermost secrets.I really enjoyed Aldred's last book, 'The Man Who Climbs Trees', so I jumped at the chance to read his second. Interestingly, Aldred's prose didn't stand out to me all that much the last time around, whereas I found it astounding and assured in 'Goshawk Summer'. Francis, I. and Cook, M. (2011). (Eds.). The Breeding Birds of Northeast Scotland. Scottish Ornithologists� Club, Aberdeen. Alongside his documentary filming, Aldred decided to keep a written record - a field diary - about his experiences. He spent an extended stretch of time in a place so devoid of people, but filled to the brim with different species, some of them rare. He writes, early on, 'Amidst the fragility and the fear, there was silver moonlight, tumbling fox cubs, calling curlew and, of course, the searing goshawks.' This record became Goshawk Summer. Goshawks are, of course, the focus - both of the book and of his documentary - but he also writes about other species which he comes across: foxes, curlews, pipits, and pine martens, to name but four. Supposedly their population is increasing, the one thing that suggests their situation isn’t as dire as the hen harrier’s, but I really wonder about that. A pole trap set in dense woodland is probably even harder to spot than one on a moor and would be devastating for goshawks. I can imagine them gravitating towards the same places they shoot pheasants at anyway, all those poults would be an additional attraction – some lost to goshawk grudged whereas beak to tail roadkill is acceptable. Goshawk do need more attention.
Goshawk Summer: A New Forest Season Unlike Any Other
There is a sublime chaos about ancient woodland that speaks of perfect natural balance, and for me, such places nourish the soul like no other environment. DNA research into goshawks is currently taking place and this will allow us to build up a better picture of the species’ population genetic structure, its dispersal from nesting areas and also the relationship between different birds within the population. Magical and transporting. James Aldred’s account of a season spent filming Britain’s most powerful and mesmerising avian predator shines with the shifting complexities of weather, season, mood and place. In these dark times, it’s a beautiful and deeply evocative hymn to love, hope and connection.’ HELEN MACDONALD, author of H is for Hawk During the many highs and lows that flowed through the narrative, you could feel the tension, anxiety and joy of his experiences with this beautiful creature. (And plenty of other natural wildlife into the bargain). The timeline gives the reader a marvellous insight into the habits of this beautiful bird, and the authors' diary is an excellent read. I really enjoyed this book. James's style is relaxed, informative and often humorous. As a weekly visitor to the New Forest I have seen many Goshawk nests, but I have never gained the insights to their behaviour that James was privileged to see. Through this book he allows us to share his experiences and to understand what it is like to be a wildlife camera operator on a mission. But the stars are the Goshawks, dominating the dense woods in which they live, in a National Park that receives 15 million visitors each year."Goshawk Summer: a New Forest Season Unlike Any Otherby James Aldred (Elliott & Thompson, London, 2021). Goshawk Summer: a New Forest season unlike any other by James aldred is published by Elliot and Thompson.
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