“A cracker of a book by the doyen of buzzard watchers. Robin’s words and sketches ooze from every page.”
Iolo Williams

“A beautiful insight to a great ornithologist’s personal view of his subject and a truly fitting tribute to his legacy.” David Lindo (The Urban Birder)

“This is a charming book of collected writings about buzzards by a charming man.”
Dr Mark Avery

Pages: 80 

Hardback

ISBN: 9781909446427

Size: 140mm x 215mm

Author Q&A with Lyndon Roberts

What was special about Robin Prytherch?

Robin Prytherch was a man with a passion for birds and one in particular – the common buzzard. He was an old-school field naturalist, arguably one of a dying breed. For more than 40 years rain or shine, armed with a cheese sandwich, a flask of coffee, a pair of binoculars and a telescope and a telescope, he headed out to watch them.

He possessed rare field skills in the way that he observed buzzards and studied them, requiring enormous resolve, accuracy and discipline, detecting and interpreting behaviors that would elude the casual observer.

He had a very engaging personality and showed a willingness to share his observations with other people, to let them in to his world of buzzards.  As evidenced in A Life With Buzzards, he was a fine illustrator and a good storyteller.

How did the book come about?

A group of his friends felt that there was something missing from Robin’s legacy. While his painstaking studies of buzzards was well known to ornithologists through the talks that he gave and articles he wrote In British Birds, the intimate connection he formed with his subject matter was less well known, except to those who were lucky enough to receive his buzzard-themed Christmas cards which combined his own illustrations with fascinating commentary about the birds he studied. 

His friends recognized the need to bring all the cards together in one place and make them available to a wider audience, rather than allowing them to become forgotten. So they clubbed together and joined forces with Bristol Books to get A Life With Buzzards published.

What was unique about his work with Buzzards?

He had an ability to distinguish individual birds in the field and to document their often-complex life histories including, in many cases, their demise. Most of the buzzards Robin studied were individually named by him; he was able to recognize them by observing their plumage variations and other characteristics.

He once commented that he wasn’t sure who was studying who; he wondered if in fact the buzzards were studying him as he was such a frequent visitor to their territories,

What was his work in bird ringing?

For most of his adult life, Robin was an active bird ringer/bander. He was a founder member and former Chairman of Chew Valley Ringing Station in Somerset where he was mostly involved in the ringing of songbirds.

He was a qualified trainer and passed his skills on to novice ringers, enabling them to gain the proficiency required to acquire a ringing licence of their own; because Robin was very knowledgeable and patient he was ideally suited to this task

In 1993, he started to ring nestling buzzards with the help of others which provided much useful data about the survival and dispersal of young buzzards among other things

How is the book illustrated?

The book is illustrated with the author’s own pen-and-ink drawings based on rough sketches he made in the field. The illustrations and related commentary are shown on facing pages in the book 

The drawings are mostly of individually known and named buzzards from his study area in North Somerset. The illustrations are by no mean the best examples of the author’s work as an illustrator; they were often quite hastily drawn against a looming deadline so they could form part of his personally designed Christman cards; getting them to the printer for a pre-Christmas mailout was always a race against time.

Robin’s finer work can be found in other books that he professionally illustrated, such as:  Birds of Man’s World (Derek Goodwin, 1978) Albatrosses (Lance Tickell, 2000) and Mangroves and Man-Eaters (Dan Freeman, 2010)

Nevertheless, the illustrations in A Life With Buzzards are a treasured collection and were, probably, the ones that meant most to him

What will be his legacy?

Robin will be remembered mostly for his work spanning many decades studying common buzzards in North Somerset; although others have studied buzzards, Robin’s contribution at both local and national level was very significant.

He will also be remembered as a very good field ornithologist who was willing to share his considerable knowledge with others. His field notebooks and other materials will be held by the Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre (BRERC) for researchers to access in the future.

In his memory and to recognize future ornithological endeavors, The Robin Prytherch Prize will be awarded by the Bristol Ornithological Club. And finally, his legacy will live on forever in A Life With Buzzards