Chinery, M. 2004. Attracting Wildlife to Your Garden. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. London. ISBN 0 715456 9.
Hardback. 19.5x25.0cm. 128 pages.
This is a less technical manual than Chris Baines'
How to Make a Wildlife Garden, but is wider in scope, including a considerable amount of information to help you identify garden wildlife. The book is divided into chapters which first introduce the concept of the garden as a wildlife habitat and then look, in turn, at each of the major groups of animals to be found there, including mammals; birds; reptiles & amphibians; and insects & invertebrates.
These chapters each include a series of excellent colour photographs of the species most likely to be encountered together with information of general interest about the group
These chapters each include a series of excellent colour photographs of the species most likely to be encountered together with information of general interest about the group. Techniques for attracting wildlife to the garden are discussed in broad terms in the chapter on the garden habitat and in more detail in each of the chapters covering the main animal groups.
For me,
the big surprise about this book was the geographical range considered in the discussion and descriptions of garden animalsthe big surprise about this book was the geographical range considered in the discussion and descriptions of garden animals (as is the case with the
book of the same title published by New Holland). Although clearly aimed at the UK market, the book encompasses animals not generally found in the UK at all, although often common elsewhere in Europe. For example, the section on reptiles and amphibians included wall lizard, green lizard, tree frog and western whip shake - none of which are native in the UK; whilst of the 33 butterflies covered, six (a quarter of them) are rare or absent in the UK. As luck would have it, I was holidaying in Provence, in southern France when I first read the book and the inclusion of these exotics proved very useful to me! But I was left wondering if, generally speaking, the space devoted to these species might have been better employed by concentrating on animals likely to be found in UK gardens.
On the whole though,
I found this book to be well written, illustrated and informativeI found this book to be well written, illustrated and informative. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone interested in garden wildlife (and also to anyone holidaying in central or southern Europe!).
Part field guide and part manual; for anyone who has become interested in the wildlife in their garden, this book will provide a useful general introduction to the subject.