A review by nicktomjoe
The Peregrine: The Hill of Summer & Diaries - The Complete Works of J. A. Baker by J.A. Baker

4.0

A curious monument to a very particular kind of bird watching. There are beautiful turns of phrase so often that quotation would seem to diminish them, mostly in similes for this or that bird behaviour. Baker focuses on the peregrines of the Essex marshes, admiring them, fearing them, identitying with them; this obsessive reporting over the seasons builds a wonderfully detailed pIcture of a deadly raptor in a place "beyond desolate:" yes, quoting is irresistible, as is the relentless episode after episode of watching a set of birds at their work.