In A Country Naturalist's Year, Colin McKelvie records his seasonal encounters with the wildlife and landscapes of the British Isles. From the depths of winter through the year to the end of another autumn, he takes the reader through a richly varied tapestry of habitats and wildlife experiences, from the winter courtship of foxes in the Scottish hills to the emergence of mayflies on a loch in spring, from the competitive sparring of upland ravens and peregrine falcons at nesting time to the diversity of autumn waterfowl and waders on a tidal estuary, from the moorland breeding haunts of golden plover to the arrival of winter migrant birds from northern Europe - all viewed through the eyes of a practical naturalist who also reflects on the wider challenges of the 1990s to the future of the British countryside and the myriad form of wildlife, insects and plants that are to be found there. Colin McKelvie's text is illustrated with over 80 specially commissioned watercolour paintings by Rodger McPhail, acclaimed as one of the finest British wildlife artist of recent times.