A Sky Full of Kites

A Personal Account of Reintroducing Red Kites to the Borders

Tom Bowser's inspiring story of conservation and rewilding

About the Ebook

Shortlisted for the Saltire Society First Book of the Year Award Red kites were once Britain's most common bird of prey. By the early 1900s they'd been wiped out in Scotland and England following centuries of ruthless persecution. When some reintroduced kites began roosting on their 1,400-acre farm at Argaty in Perthshire, Tom Bowser's parents, Lynn and Niall, decided to turn their estate into a safe haven. They began feeding the birds and invited the world to come and see them, learn about them and fall in love with them. A Sky Full of Kites is the story of the Argaty Red Kite project, and the re-establishing of these magnificent raptors to Scotland, but it is also much more than that. Ill at ease with the traditional rural values of livestock farming, Lynn and Niall's son Tom, who returned to work on the farm after a career in journalism, reveals his passion for nature and his desire to dedicate his family's land to conservation.

Why You'll Love This Ebook

• Witness one of Scotland's most successful conservation stories first-hand
• Learn about the practical work of rewilding and species reintroduction
• Be inspired by what dedicated individuals can achieve for nature
• Read another celebrated title from Birlinn Ltd - Independent Scottish Publisher

Reviews

'An environmental story that gives hope — a story of a bird that was extinct doing really well on an estate that's trying to promote a different way of doing things' Dundee Courier

'Imbued with the author's passion for nature, and his desire to dedicate his family's land to conservation' The Bookseller

'A wonderful book' BBC TV's Landward

'An inspirational real-life story' Scots Magazine

'Shortlisted for the Saltire Society First Book of the Year Award'

About the Author

Tom Bowser grew up on his parents’ Perthshire farm. After university he worked as a teacher and then as a journalist before returning to Argaty in 2009. In 2017 he took over the running of the conservation project Argaty Red Kites, and in 2018 launched the Argaty Red Squirrels project.

Publication Details

Publisher: Birlinn Ltd

Publication Date: 03 June 2021

Print Length: 240 pages (Ebook edition)

ISBN (Ebook): 9781788852852

Format: Ebook

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