Restoring the Wild: Sixty Years of Rewilding Our Skies, Woods and Waterways

by Roy Dennis

Overview

The distinctive white-tailed sea eagle was driven to extinction in Britain more than 200 years ago, but this immense predator is making a return to our skies, thanks to Roy Dennis, an ornithologist, conservationist and arguably the driving force behind the UK’s reintroduction agenda.

Roy was instrumental in returning the Osprey, red kite and golden eagle to the British Isles, but the road to reintroduction isn’t an easy one. In what will surely be the seminal book on British reintroductions, Roy details the painstaking process of returning the Goldeneye to Scotland, one duckling at a time, the die-hard determination needed to make a dazzling success of the red kite reintroduction and the leap of faith we will all need to make to accept sharing our forests and skies with large carnivores again. He also illustrates all that we have to gain by restoring our ecosystems to balance.

Filled with a lifetime’s worth of stories from the front lines of conservation, Reintroduction offers an eye-opening insight into the complexities of reintroducing extinct animals to Britain. It’s also an intimate portrait of these apex predators and a reminder of why we need them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780008368814
Publisher:	HarperCollins UK
Publication date:	05/11/2021
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.45(h) x (d)

About the Author

Roy Dennis, MBE is a field ornithologist and wildlife consultant. He has worked in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland since 1959, most notably on the conservation of rare birds and the reintroduction of lost species, such as the white-tailed eagle and red kite. He is a specialist in raptor conservation and reintroductions in the UK and abroad, having been involved with osprey, red kite, golden eagle and sea eagle reintroduction projects, and his satellite tracking studies since 1999 have broken new ground and given great interest to the public via our map-based website. He has long been an advocate for restoring lost mammals to Scotland, particularly beaver and lynx. In 1992 he was awarded a MBE for services to nature conservation in Scotland and in 2004 was voted the RSPB Golden Eagle Award winner for the person who had done most for nature conservation in Scotland in the last 100 years. He is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Serendipity 9

The return of the majestic sea eagle

Successful Nature Conservancy reintroduction, 1975-85 32

Claiming back their ancient haunts 43

2 Groundwork 65

Learning my trade

Encouraging goldeneye ducks to breed in Scotland 67

Swedish goldeneye visit 93

Scottish peregrines for German recovery projects 98

3 Charisma 115

Red kites flying free

4 Bureaucracy 147

Obstacles along the road to reintroduction

Ospreys to Rutland Water 147

Ospreys in Wales 167

Red squirrel recovery 176

5 Rewilding 209

Bunging home the beaver

6 Risk-Taking 233

Large mammals and ecosystems

Wolf 240

Lynx 247

Brown bear 254

Aurochs and traditional cattle 256

Wild boar 262

Elk 265

7 Gaeldom 271

Returning eagles to Ireland

Golden eagles to Donegal 272

Sea eagles to Killarney 287

8 Global Vision 295

Restoring ospreys in Europe

Portugal 296

Andalusia, Spain 304

Catalonia, Spain 310

Tuscany, Italy 311

Basque Country, Spain 314

Switzerland 323

France 329

9 Endurance 333

Keeping hopes alive

Common crane 334

Golden eagles in England 344

Great bustard 346

The eagle owl dilemma 349

10 Optimism 359

Reintroducing Sea eagles to Suffolk and Europe

The first attempt in England, Suffolk 2005 360

The possibilities for Wales 369

A sideways look at the Isle of Man 372

South to southern Spain 374

The Rock of Gibraltar 376

Exploring opportunities in France 382

Trying to restore sea eagles to Mallorca 384

11 Legacy 391

New projects with the next generation

The south coast osprey project 393

White stork 408

Restoring sea eagles to the Isle of Wight 413

Appendix: The Foundation and other organisations 429

Acknowledgements 431

Index 437

Editorial Reviews

‘Dennis is the most significant conservationist you’ve probably never heard of, and possessed of a radicalism that would startle the most outspoken young environmentalist … Dennis’s vision of how to halt the extinction crisis and restore lost habitats and species in Britain deserves attention because it is rooted in 60 years of pioneering conservation action … Like Dennis, the book is modest, deeply informative and profoundly hopeful, in that it shows a new generation how to bring back lost species’ Patrick Barkham, Guardian

‘Now 81, Dennis is possibly the UK’s most senior and influential conservationist you may never have heard of … Restoring the Wild covers Dennis’s career, which he built on the profound knowledge of ecology and species interaction. It is a book based on his diaries of 60 years, which reveal the sheer number of reports, town hall lectures, licences, risk assessments, acronyms, obstacles and setbacks before the excitement comes …  exhilarating’ Kathleen Jamie, New Statesman 

‘If you want to find out how to help wildlife survive, thrive, and expand their own horizons, Roy Dennis is the very man: according to the RSPB, no-one else has done more for nature conservation in Scotland in the last 100 years. Informed by sixty years of fieldwork, his new book is a comprehensive guide to how well – or poorly – we are placed to rewild our skies, woods and waterways’ David Robinson, Books from Scotland

‘Roy’s passion and love of wildlife is visible in every crevice of the book … a tantalising and inspiring read’ The Scottish Field

‘A wonderful book, steeped in knowledge and experience of nature and of the more practical ends of nature conservation … No one else could write this book from personal experience – it’s a treat … A joy to read, and gives plenty of information but also food for thought.’ Mark Avery

‘A leading figure in UK reintroductions, Roy explains the process and necessity of bringing back our extinct apex predators’ Nature’s Home

From the Publisher