Coastal Birds
by Richard Allen
‘Coming originally from land-locked Berkshire, I never tire of walking my dog Buster along the Colne estuary and observing the ever changing scene of birds, tides and weather. There is always something interesting going on, pairs of Oystercatchers squabbling over territory, a Marsh Harrier drifting along the seawall, or a seal crunching on a Dab. The bird population of the estuary is also constantly changing, as I write this the Black-tailed Godwits are about to leave for their Icelandic nesting grounds, while the Lapwings and Golden Plover that crowded the mud in winter are already on the meadows and moors of eastern Europe.
‘Coastal Birds’ is a collection of linocuts inspired by the birds that regularly haunt and bring to life my local patch of shoreline. I am particularly attracted to birds with bold dynamic plumage such as Lapwings, Shelduck and Oystercatchers, and the patterns found in their habitat of water, mud and sky. The Avocet is a special favourite, one that I spend many hours sketching, a rare bird in my early birdwatching days it is now a frequent sight on this east coast estuary.’
(from Richard Allen’s introduction)
Wivenhoe April 2014
Published by Jardine Press
2014.
115 x 150mm, 46pp
Hardback: £9.50.
ISBN 978 0 9926877 1 7
Available from the publishers or at the Wivenhoe Bookshop (email wiven.book@zetnet.co.uk)