Highlands – Scotland's wild heart by Stephen Moss and Laurie Campbell

Published by Bloomsbury hard back price £25.00 Pages 274

This is a real ‘coffee table’ book with inspiring pictures by Laurie Campbell following the TV series first shown in Scotland and now around the UK. The species covered are amazing showing that the area is wild in heart but most of it managed by man especially with livestock and over populated by Red Deer as well as burnt to crate little natural woodland. Where wildlife groups have purchased areas the wild is coming back naturally and helping to bring back species like Golden Eagle and Hen Harrier where they had previously been removed by shooting interests. It is very hard to work to a boundary and so coastal areas are also covered with features like Killer Whale and Bottled nosed Dolphins. Sea cliffs are full of breeding auks and Kittiwakes while the high tops have Dotterel and Snow Bunting but no mention of Purple Sandpipers or visiting Snowy owls as seen recently on Ben Macdui. In fact there seems to be no owls at all in the Highlands! May be this is the problem of trying to follow a TV series and of course the blame stops there!