From the giants of our skies to the sweetest singing garden robin, from London street to Indian jungle and taking in countries as far afield as Albania and Australia, this book is, in a way, also a story of the author’s life. Each chapter starts with the smallest bird and builds towards the biggest and includes colour photographs. How To See Birds takes us on a very personal birdwatching journey and, in the process, helps us to really see birds.
Matthew Stadlen is a TV and radio presenter. He presents a twice-weekly LBC show rated number one in London, and boasts a large national audience of 150,000+. Before that he presented, produced and co-devised the hugely successful Five Minutes With interview strand as well as twenty-nine half-hour On The Road With documentaries – both for the BBC, where he was also a programme editor on BBC One's This Week after starting out on Newsnight. Matthew made national and international headlines with his articles for the Telegraph and wrote The Matthew Stadlen Interview in the paper. He has written for the Spectator, The Sunday Times and Radio Times, appeared frequently on Sky News and is the co-author of The Politics Companion, published by Think. Cambridge educated, Matthew was born and raised in Notting Hill where he still lives but he gets out to the countryside whenever he can to pursue his twin passions of photography and bird-watching.
"An utterly enchanting view of the lives of birds – up close and personal."
– Alan Rusbridger
"Matt Stadlen's bird photography is exquisite. Each is caught by his lens for the briefest of moments – in flight, at rest, feeding or flirting – and held there in all their miraculous detail and beauty. A book that will bring fresh delight with every turn of the page [...] "
– Juliet Stevenson
"Very pretty pics of very pretty birds."
– David Baddiel
"Matt Stadlen turns out to be the Audubon of the digital camera – his photos are a lark at dawn, a nightingale in moonlight – in the best way he takes the bird."
– Simon Scharma
"Bright and beautiful – the photographs alone are stunning."
– Rory Bremner