This was just plain fun, and by talking about birds in plain language and relating his experiences in bird-watching, both as a child and as an adult, Lindo has made birding accessible. Primarily what there is here is a deep affection, a consuming interest, and the desire to keep learning more about the birds that he loves. As a science communicator, this is how you get people interested in nature.

A love of birds was evident from Lindo's childhood, growing up in a working class London family - not the typical birder, as he's quick to point out, and one particularly funny story involves a woman friend that he used to go birding with sometimes... other birders, generally older white men, would never know whether to address the woman or the black man as the expert of the pair! (Which is sadly depressing as well as funny, but Lindo and his mate took great delight in trolling them, so they could at least appreciate the humour involved in puncturing the prejudice.) But coming from this background has increased that sense of accessibility that Lindo is so determined to promote, I think. He's at pains to say, over and over again, that birding is something anyone can do, and that even the most unassuming urban environments can be wonderful places to watch birds if you only keep your eyes and your mind open to seeing them. It makes me think about how carefully I watch city birds myself - not very - and that I should make more of an effort, because there are no doubt lots of them and they're worth looking at.

It's just a friendly, unassuming, welcoming book about birds, and I think that's wonderful.