‘This is a book about how birds put places in our hearts …’
‘A rosetta stone for our ecological history.’ Jon Moses
Available in hardback, e-book, audio and as a limited special edition with sprayed edges and signed by the author, only from independent bookshops.
‘This is what birds can bring to a place. Their movement and momentum are a dynamism in the force of a place. The dwelling mind and heart are oriented to the solid sureties of hill and rock, river and tree, yes; but so too the arc and swoop of a bird’s flight that describes and shapes its own topography, casting out the dimensions and trajectories of place in all directions.’
‘Read in wonder and see Britain made anew with eyes that are both ancient and modern.’
Mary Colwell
Utterly beguiling, deeply poignant and revelatory, a cartographic overlay of language and land and our place in nature.’
Nicola Chester
‘A wonderful book ... the best statement of the importance of the medieval that I’ve ever read.’
David Crystal
‘A brilliant blend of birds, places, history and language ... a surprise on every page.’
Stephen Moss
‘Exquisitely crafted and breathtakingly, heart-achingly beautiful, The Cuckoo’s Lea weaves the human and natural history of England into a tapestry that will transform your relationship with place.’
Amy-Jane Beer
‘We must find meaning in place again, through birds and all wild lives, if we are to ensure our own physical and emotional survival. We need these spirits of place.’
Events
Join Michael at one of his book talks this year to spread the love for birds and place. Click on the event to book tickets (links will be updated/activated as tickets become available).
~ 2025 ~
Red Lion Books, Colchester, Essex
SATURDAY 7TH JUNE
Cuckmere Wildlife Festival, Cuckmere Haven, E. Sussex
SATURDAY 28TH JUNE
Global Bird Fair, Rutland
SATURDAY 12TH JULY
Maldon Books, Maldon, Essex (in conversation with Jeremy Mynott)
THURSDAY 17TH JULY
Toppings Bookshop, Ely
FRIDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER
The Langdyke Trust, Cambridgeshire
THURSDAY 2ND OCTOBER
Frampton Marshes RSPB, Lincolnshire
FRIDAY 3RD OCTOBER
Kemps Bookshop, Malton, Yorkshire (with Amy-Jane Beer)
WEDNESDAY 8TH OCTOBER
Cranbrook Literature Festival, Cranbrook, Kent
SATURDAY 11TH OCTOBER
The Bookery, Crediton, Devon (with Guy Shrubsole)
THURSDAY 13TH NOVEMBER
EWT Fingringhoe Wick, Essex
SUNDAY 23RD NOVEMBER
Institute of Name Studies Seminar (online)
TUESDAY 2ND DECEMBER
NWT Cley NR, Cley, Norfolk
FRIDAY 5TH DECEMBER
~ 2026 ~
LWT Whisby, Thorpe on the Hill, Lincolnshire
SATURDAY 6TH FEBRUARY
Shaftesbury Literary Festival: Reading the Land
SATURDAY 21ST MARCH
Marylebone Birdwatching Society
FRIDAY 17TH APRIL
Deepings Literary Festival
FRIDAY 1ST MAY
Chipping Camden Festival
THURSDAY 7TH MAY
Essex Wildlife Trust, Gosfield
THURSDAY 14TH MAY
The cover art for The Cuckoo’s Lea was designed by Matt Johnson. His work for the book also appears on this website and the Birds and Place Project logo.
See more of his work, and the early sketches he produced for The Cuckoo’s Lea cover at www.mattillustration.uk.
