During his first degree he spent a year in southern France, on the bank of the Rhône, where greater flamingos, little bustards and pin-tailed sandgrouse became his friends. As he finished his MSc, he went to Bolivia to volunteer for three months on a study of migrant birds. He came home ten years later, having worked in conservation, sustainable development and ecotourism the length and breadth of Bolivia, across South America, and in Australia and India. Acheson grew up here, in a village called Little Snoring. As a boy, he was obsessed with wild animals and inspired to love geese by a teacher, Dave Horsley, who led his school’s bird club. The information that Acheson provides us with is focused and informative in some ways, but it also contains beautifully lyrical lines which are dispersed throughout. He recounts his days of exploration and observation as he journeys around Norfolk on his mother's trusty 40-year-old red bicycle. He details everything from the highs of finding rare geese to the lows of poor weather and bike repairs, but he also shares his love for these underrated birds with like-minded enthusiasts. These thought-provoking discussions detailing history, landscape, biology and conservation all show the beauty and complexity of these birds that are so often overlooked. It becomes immediately clear just how much joy these birds provide Acheson with as he recounts childhood and also more recent struggles with isolation. They truly are "The souls of winter". These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community. It’s not just about cycling around North Norfolk as the author brings in characters from the past and interviews some characters from the present too. There is a mix of history, landscape, biology, conservation along with the geese and the cycling. Through geese, we hear about farming practices and farmers, climate change and quite a lot about fellow wildlife enthusiasts of various types. I enjoyed it and I think so will many of the readers of this blog.

The Meaning of Geese by Nick Acheson (Hardback) - Coles Books The Meaning of Geese by Nick Acheson (Hardback) - Coles Books

The Meaning of Geese shows us it is possible and necessary to know ourselves and our wild world through a deep intimacy with just one place under the sky - and the simple reach of a mother's happy red-darter-coloured bicycle. In an awe-filled and absorbing portrait, wild geese bring the world and its mysteries to us and our shared landscape. He grew up immersed in the wildlife of north Norfolk and has worked in wildlife and conservation all his life, as a naturalist, tour guide, writer and broadcaster. He is president of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society and an ambassador for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. Save In Search Of Meaning, Inner Peace, and Strength - Living A Life You Love to your collection. Share In Search Of Meaning, Inner Peace, and Strength - Living A Life You Love with your friends. Reading The Meaning of Geese may inspire you [to descend on north Norfolk this winter yourself].’ Rated 4 stars by The TelegraphSave GEM Book Club: Growth, Empowerment and Meaningful Connections to your collection. Share GEM Book Club: Growth, Empowerment and Meaningful Connections with your friends. Through paying close attention to wild nature, Acheson, like so many of us, has found solace during difficult times. These geese make him feel small and he revels in it. “The smaller I can feel, the better it is. And that’s not a self-obliterating feeling, it’s a feeling of wanting to know my place, because genetically, the carbon, the genes, everything that makes me and you and us is part of this enormous flow, and these geese are a sacrament of that.” There is plenty of accurate observation from the naturalist but above all his deep love of nature in general and wild geese in particular comes through a gentle and accessible style. It is prose at its best, not florid and fancy but concise and poetic for all that. Save How to Set Up a School: Live Q&A with Maz Wilberforce & Tomlin Wilding to your collection. Share How to Set Up a School: Live Q&A with Maz Wilberforce & Tomlin Wilding with your friends.

The Meaning of Geese - Mostly Books The Meaning of Geese - Mostly Books

Honest, human and heart-grabbing. I loved this book so much.' Sophie Pavelle, author of Forget Me NotThe Meaning of Geese is an intimate study of the intriguing lives of these under-appreciated birds, as well as a window into the inner workings of a naturalist's obsession.' Lee Schofield, author of Wild Fell Instead he followed flights of geese, by bicycle across Norfolk and through sightings from fellow naturalists, around the world.

The Meaning of Geese | BTO - British Trust for Ornithology

Sometimes their numbers swell and there could be thousands swirling, clamouring and swooping down to seashore roosts or food-rich fields. Save Meaningful Relationships to your collection. Share Meaningful Relationships with your friends. The world is a jigsaw of understanding,” says Acheson. “You need the first pieces put there for you to start seeing a pattern, and he gave us those pieces. What lives in this landscape? What noise does it make? Where does it come from? He peopled the landscape with what belongs there in an osmotic way. It was so gentle.” A magisterial diary for bird lovers.’ Observer ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Telegraph As seen on BBC Winterwatch 2023‘Honest, human and heart-grabbing. I loved this book so much.’ Sophie Pavelle, author of... As our skies emptied of human traffic with flights grounded around the world, tens of thousands of geese still swirled and clamoured over Norfolk

The Meaning of Geese: following wild geese around Norfolk

He didn’t set out to write a book – “I thought, how am I going to get through this winter? I will write a story about the geese” – but his journal has become The Meaning of Geese, a gorgeously observed paean to the beauty and complexity of these birds, and the landscape of North Norfolk. Save James Hollis, PhD ~ A Life of Meaning to your collection. Share James Hollis, PhD ~ A Life of Meaning with your friends. From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada: Personally, I can’t get so worked up about some of the other geese wandering around in this area – the Egyptian Geese, Canada Geese and even all those Greylag Geese, and the more than just occasional Barnacle Geese these days. But for lovers of geese this is a book for them. Lots of us birders have talked about our move towards staying local or travelling by land or not twitching.” Twitching – rushing to photograph whatever rare bird flits into Britain – seems to be a dirty word. “No it isn’t,” says Acheson, “because I respect that for some people that’s a way of appreciating nature. For me, I’d rather have a relationship with a place and the things that live in it.”