This was an intriguing and interesting book that I enjoyed a lot. Would recommend. It’s very atmospheric and drew me in completely.

A love note to the authors favourite seabirds, which makes a refreshing change to the usual inland bird watching books. Evocative writing that never strays into cheese. If you like nature writing, you'll enjoy this even if you're not particularly into bird watching.

I don’t read many non-fiction books, but the attractive cover art of The Seafarers drew me in. In order to escape the frantic pace of life in London, Stephen Rutt heads off to North Ronaldsay in the Orkney Islands to study the seabirds, and find some welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the city.
The Seafarers is a wonderfully evocative celebration of the seabirds that visit our shores, and the beauty of the remote islands and coastline where they can be observed. Some of these places (and birds) are familiar to me, others not, but the atmospheric prose brings it all vividly to life, and I felt as if I was there.
The birds are described in fascinating detail, with lots of anecdotes from those who have studied them both recently and in the past. This unique book is a mixture of memoir, travel, science and natural history and, while not strictly necessary, some illustrations would have made it even better. I have not read anything by Stephen Rutt before, but I will definitely look and see what else he has written.
Thanks to Elliott & Thompson and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

Stephen Rutt has written a devotional tribute to two liminal tribes, seabirds and the ornithologists who have sought to unearth some of their secrets. In this illuminating book, you will discover fascinating details about the life of the birds that live on the edge of our horizon and some of the researchers who have become seafarers themselves by pursuing them to their temporary island homes. We hear how Ronald Lockley, who as a sickly child discovered the fictional islands of Daniel Defoe and R M Ballantine and the actual travel tales of earlier scientists were drawn to the island of Skokholm, and how James Fisher, the hugely influential writer of the Shell Bird Book, was captivated by the birds of Orkney. Towards the end of the Seafarers the author reflects on the motivation of Fisher in particular and quotes from his 500-page long study of fulmars, wherein reserved manner he writes ‘I have myself written this book not because I have thought it ‘useful’ to do so but because I like fulmars and everything to do with them.’ Rutt, in his own words, argues that Fisher is driven by ‘absolute love’.
That seems to me to best describe the impulse behind Stephen Rutt’s book, and it is the seabirds that fascinate him most of all... Reading it you will not only learn about the character of each bird, but you will also share the author’s reaction to his own unfolding encounter with them. If like me, you have been on more modest journeys seeking seabirds you will find your own delight and awe re-ignited at the same time as profiting from his own sharp personal vision and greater knowledge.
I came across some familiar but no less resonant details, such as the call of the Stormy Petrel sounding like ‘a fairy being sick’ and the astounding southwards sweep of the fulmar. Only arriving in the Orkney island of Copinsay in 1911 it is now fairly abundant on the South Coast of England.
Whenever I am in Dorset, I rush to the Durlston Park Nature Reserve to watch out for the bird’s repetitive circling off the Purbeck Cliffs!
But for me, the greatest thing about the book is being able to witness Steven Rutt’s ‘absolute love’ for the birds he describes. Each meeting is introduced with just the right amount of scene-setting, combining information about the bird with a deftly drawn sense of place. Sometimes writers on nature are criticised for too much concentration on the visual and neglect of smell and sound, or of over romanticising their role in the narrative.
That is not the case with Steven Rutt’s writing, where the love is transparent but never overwrought. I will finish with a short passage about gannets.

‘From the main mass of the colony, a guttural cackling wafts upwards. They have a distinctive voice but not a pleasant one. One for being heard over the breaking waves. Another gannet, pointing at the sky, brings its head down, unfolds its origami wings and takes off into the blue sea air.’

After the first page I thought "I'm really going to like this book"; after page five, I thought "I should know more about birds", and after ten pages I wanted to give everything up and move to the coast to observe skuas and gulls. It is exquisitely written, poetic and lyrical, and the author's love of nature shines through the pages. I loved every page. If, like you, you know nothing about birds, I would advise reading it with a search engine open to check out the birds he is writing about.

Watching birds has been a passion of mine since childhood but there is something rather special about sitting on a windswept headland looking out to sea and watching seabirds. Whether it is on the South West coastline or along the Scottish coast or taking a boat trip across the Minch to the Outer Hebrides watching seabirds has given me some of my best birdwatching days I can remember. I was so grateful to have received a copy of The Seafarers: A Journey Among Birds (Elliott & Thompson) by Stephen Rutt that has just recently been published in paperback. It has won the Saltire First Book of the Year for 2019.

It was 2015 and Stephen Rutt was packing up and moving to the remote Scottish island of Ronaldsay, one of the furthest of the Orkney Islands, Stephen was struggling and he needed to get away from the fast pace of London. He had decided to volunteer at the bird observatory for seven months. During this time, he would monitor the movements of seabirds. A pivotal moment as this seemed to just what he needed. Nature is calming on the soul.
There is something really soothing about Stephen’s writing, it is calm and relaxed and yet there is something more here, facts. He talks of oil spills and the disastrous effect this had on wildlife, and would the seabird numbers recover in the years to come. I recall seeing pictures of scores of dead seabirds covered in oil. These pictures still haunt.

From here Stephen takes us on a journey around the jagged coastline of Britain to watch seabirds. From Puffins to Skuas, Storm Petrels and Gannets galore and Manx Shearwaters and we cannot leave out the Terns on the Farne Islands.

We are an island in fact the UK is an archipelago with over 1000 islands, and around 790 of them off the Scottish coastline which makes this one of the most incredible and diverse places to study seabirds. Stephen Rutt really has written a love letter to seabirds, and their incredible lives. When Stephen is not watching these wanderers of the seas he is at home reading books from some of the great writers on birds. A beautifully written memoir and that I am delighted to add to my natural history library.

288 Pages.

I was attracted to Stephen's book by the cover and the title. Even though I live somewhere remote and watch these birds all the time, I haven't read about them. I enjoyed Stephen's book - a mix of memoir, history and science. I did find it strange reading about places I know very well through someone else's eyes. I lovely little gaunt through some British seabirds and birding history.

With so much nature writing around this book stands out as giving a wonderful balance of travel, memoir & natural history.
I only saw many of the species Rutt talks about for the first time last year and this book makes me want to explore the locations and see the birds again.

4 stars

I have a huge love for birds in general and especially sea and coastal birds. Sadly due to my chronic illness, I am unable to visit the beautiful areas where these remarkable birds live and breed.
Because of this, I often turn to wildlife and nature writers to wisk me away and take me to the places that my body cannot.
Stephen Rutt did a fantastic job with this book at doing just that. His writing really moved me and I often felt that I was there feeling the wind in the hair and watching these remarkable birds. This book is more autobiographical than about ornithology. He speaks more about his journey and the feats of past naturalists and nature writers that he loves rather than the intricate details of the birds themselves. This is why my review is a 4 star and not a 5, but I still thoroughly enjoyed reading about his escape from London and loving the Scottish isles. That being said, there was still enough detail about the birds for me to learn a few things! The writing was also beautiful, so atmospheric and transformative.

I obviously enjoyed this book! I am so interested in birds such as fulmars, shearwaters and guillemots so for me, it was a great read. I hope other bird lovers pick up this book and enjoy the journey it takes you on.

Please note that I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book provides a look at the birds, people and islands of Britain. This book mixes human history with natural history alongside a travelogue to provide an insight into some of the islands around the country. As with Stephen Rutt's previous books this book makes you feel as though you are there with him, the breeze in your hair, the cry of the birds around you, the land underfoot and that inner sense of awe and wonder in nature.

A truly wonderful book allowing you to escape around our coast without setting a foot outside.

#TheSeafarers #NetGalley

Great book. He really has a passion for these birds.

Some of the formatting was lost on the iPad kindle app

You wouldn't expect a book about seabirds and the coast to be so interesting, but this is well written fascinating and somehow soothing...