British Isles : A Guide to the Wildlife of Coastal Waters

by Tony Soper; illustrations by Dan Powell

• ISBN13: 9781841620589
• ISBN10: 1841620580
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides

Summary

This book should find a place on every sailor's cabin shelf, in every cruise passenger's duffle bag, and with every cliffwalker's binoculars. It tells you most of what you'll ever want to know about the surface phenomena you'll meet on passage or looking out to sea, and it is enhanced by specially commissioned watercolour paintings that bring the sea to life.

Author Biography

Tony Soper was co-founder of the BBC’s famous Natural History Unit and became its first film producer. He is a tour leader and lecturer and is the author of several books on birds and natural history, including Bradt’s Antarctica: A Guide to the Wildlife and The Arctic: A Guide to Coastal Wildlife.
Dan Powell is a full-time wildlife artist whose work has appeared in numerous bird magazines. In 1996 he received the British Birds' award for Bird Illustrator of the Year.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 5
The Economy of the Sea	p. 7
Invertebrates	p. 11
Fish	p. 19
Turtles	p. 22
Birds	p. 24
Divers	p. 32
Tubenoses	p. 36
Storm-petrels	p. 42
Gannets & cormorants	p. 45
Ducks	p. 55
Raptors	p. 61
Waders	p. 66
Skuas	p. 69
Gulls	p. 78
Terns	p. 92
Auks	p. 98
Feral pigeon	p. 116
Seals	p. 119
Whales	p. 126
Appendices
Further reading	p. 154
Useful addresses	p. 155
Index	p. 157
Author, Illustrator, Acknowledgements	p. 160
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Many millions of creatures live there, yet on rare days of glassy calm the sea may look featureless, flat and lifeless, to a casual observer. On wild, wet and frightening days it may still seem superficially barren. But appearances are deceptive, and the winds which whip the surface into such varied responses also power the currents which provide the key to unlock a cornucopia of food to support unimaginable quantities of life.

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Excerpted from British Isles: A Guide to the Wildlife of Coastal Waters by Tony Soper
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.