<p><b>A lyrical celebration of birdsong, and the rekindling of a deep passion for nature.</b><br><br>''At this time of year, blackbirds never simply fly: instead, like reluctantly retired officers, they''re always "on manoeuvres", and it''s easy to see from their constant agitation that for them every flower bed is a bunker, every shed a redoubt and every hedge-bottom a potential place of ambush''<br><br>As the world went silent in lockdown, something else happened; for the first time, many of us started becoming more aware of the spring sounds of the birds around us. <i>Birdsong in a Time of Silence</i> is a lyrical, uplifting reflection on these sounds and what they mean to us.<br><br>From a portrait of the blackbird - most prominent and articulate of the early spring singers - to explorations of how birds sing, the science behind their choice of song and nest-sites, and the varied meanings that people have brought to and taken from birdsong, this book ultimately shows that natural h