Restoring the Wild: Sixty Years of Rewilding Our Skies, Woods and Waterways

by Roy Dennis

The distinctive white-tailed sea eagle was driven to extinction in Britain more than 200 years ago, but this immense predator is making a return to our skies, thanks to Roy Dennis, an ornithologist, conservationist and arguably the driving force behind the UK’s reintroduction agenda. Roy was instrumental in returning the Osprey, red kite and golden eagle to the British Isles, but the road to reintroduction isn’t an easy one. In what will surely be the seminal book on British reintroductions, Roy details the painstaking process of returning the Goldeneye to Scotland, one duckling at a time, the die-hard determination needed to make a dazzling success of the red kite reintroduction and the leap of faith we will all need to make to accept sharing our forests and skies with large carnivores again. He also illustrates all that we have to gain by restoring our ecosystems to balance. Filled with a lifetime’s worth of stories from the front lines of conservation, Reintroduction offers an eye-opening insight into the complexities of reintroducing extinct animals to Britain. It’s also an intimate portrait of these apex predators and a reminder of why we need them.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Natural History, Birds, Conservation, Ecology

452 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Roy Dennis (b. 1940) is an English field naturalist. He has worked in conservation, rare species recording and species reintroductions, as well as directing projects fro the RSPB and other organisations. As a broadcaster and educator, he has made documentaries and been a regular presenter on the BBC's Autumnwatch and Springwatch, as well as other programmes.

After school he spent time at bird observatories on the islands of Lundy and Fair Isle where he met and worked with ornithologist George Waterston, who attempted to reintroduce the white-tailed eagle to Britain in the 1960s.

Dennis has worked in the Highlands and islands of Scotland since 1959, and has been involved in reintroducing white-tailed eagles, red kites and beavers there. He ran projects re-establishing the goldeneye as a breeding species and restoring the osprey population in Strathspey, where he worked as the RSPB's Highland officer, and oversaw the management of nature reserves including Loch Garten. He also undertook research on grey seals on North Rona with John Morton Boyd. In the 1960s, he organised the collection of peregrine falcon chicks from nests in the Highlands as a contribution to the re-establishment of the species in eastern Germany.

In 1990, Dennis left the RSPB to start his own wildlife consultancy and pursue his interest in species reintroductions. Between 2000 and 2017 he was involved in projects to extend the range of the red squirrel in the Highlands. The Highland Foundation for Wildlife was renamed the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation in 2017.

Dennis received an MBE in 1992 for services to nature conservation and an OBE in 2024 for services to wildlife.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rewilding is a big buzz word in current nature and environmental writing. Few could be said to have played as major a role in the UK’s successful species reintroduction projects as Roy Dennis, who has been involved with the RSPB and other key organizations since the late 1950s. He trained as a warden at two of the country’s most famous bird observatories, Lundy Island and Fair Isle. Most of his later work was to focus on birds: white-tailed eagles, red kites, and ospreys. Some of these projects extended into continental Europe. He also writes about the special challenges posed by mammal reintroductions; beavers get a chapter of their own. Every initiative is described in exhaustive detail, full of names and dates, whereas I would have been okay with an overview. This feels like more of an insider’s history rather than a layman’s introduction.

Favourite lines:

“Tenacity and a long view to the future are important in wildlife conservation.”

“for every successful project that gets the go-ahead, there are others into which people put great effort but which then run up against problems.”

Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.

[Joseph Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having seen sea eagles on skye, mull and rum, Roy Dennis has always been something of a conservation hero to me, and this didn't disappoint. I never realised how many other species he had helped, including red squirrels. The only downside is that it feels a touch overlong, contains an awful lot of names, and reading about reintroduction after reintroduction, many about the same species in different locations, does get a tad repetitive after a while.

[Mr O'Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roy Dennis is a legend and this is the story of his exploits in saving nature by reintroducing a variety of species across Scotland and Europe.

The weakness of the book though is that it reads like a transcription of diary extracts and as such is often repetitive.

[Jonathan Windsor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author’s achievements are incredible, and it’s nice to read about special creatures and locations. Not great writing though, and far too long for what it is.

[Keith Messenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the blurb on this magnificent 400-page natural history book refers to (now in his 80s) Roy Dennis as the most significant conservationist you’ve probably never heard of and (if this applies) this is a travesty of monumental proportions. Active in the field for over 60 years, from a start as a 20-year old warden on Fair Isle (midway between the Orkney and Shetland Islands off the North coast of Scotland) in the 1960s through to the establishment of his own charitable foundation to pursue ‘rewilding’ (the reintroduction of now extinct or endangered native species) across the UK and Europe, Restoring The Wild charts (in great detail!) Dennis’ persistent efforts – both successful and unsuccessful – to rebalance nature and eco-systems to better reflect where they were centuries ago.

For me, at a personal level, Dennis’ most memorable achievements include the reintroduction of Sea (or White-Tailed) Eagles to the UK (first Scotland in the 1970s, and later, in the 2010s, the Isle of Wight) and Red Kites (effectively expanding their small Welsh population to cover many regions of the UK). As a regular visitor to the Isle of Mull (now home to 15-20 breeding pairs of Sea Eagle) and a resident living in the Chiltern Hills in Southern England (now home to hundreds of pairs of Red Kite) I can bear witness to the life-affirming results of Dennis’ determination to restore truly beautiful and spectacular wildlife experiences. Dennis is equally famous for his work re-establishing Ospreys to the UK (first Scotland, then other parts of the UK, including Rutland Water in the English midlands), as well as mooting possible reintroductions of mammals (beaver, red squirrel, lynx, wolf, boar, elk, bear) and other bird species (Goldeneye, Common Crane, Golden Eagle, Great Bustard and White Stork). Dennis’ efforts detailed here show just how co-operation across continents and people with shared concerns for the natural world can lead to positive and inspiring outcomes, something that is all too rare in this precarious world!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am left with a much better idea of the task conservationists do. The determination, persistence and perseverance is remarkable. I am humbled by it, in awe and hugely grateful. I would say Roy is not an emotive writer, so it took me a while to connect to his writing style, and one reviewer described the book as repetitive. But the work is repetitive - it takes trial and error and dogged determination. I also suspect this book is written, not merely to entertain, but to educate and inspire the next generation, so that younger folk rise to the challenge and continue the work. Roy's love and passion is evident in his actions over a lifetime. A.new hero for me.

[Joe Downie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amazing man whose achievements in species restoration are second to none. Makes you feel kind of "what have I done with my life..?" But, a writer he is not... Reads more like a series of diary entries, with incredible attention to detail (similar to my grandad's obsessive driving log book...) Could have done with a much firmer edit, with more of his thoughts and views on the politics of the restoration process and less of the minuate of what flight he got and what time his train arrived and what he had for dinner.

[Eleanor Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really 3.5 stars.

This book was both fascinating and quite dull. The descriptions of the creatures are great, and there's a lot of detail about their ideal habitat and feeding. The problem (for me) was the intense detail of gathering e.g. each chick was extremely repetitive and other than showing how much work it all is adds nothing but bulk. 

I did enjoy it, but I found myself glossing over large chunks too.

[Foggygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and educational read, when dealing with trying to restore wildlife the author emphasizes the need to take the long view. Happy Earth Day!

[John Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous. Great insight into the whole process of reintroductions. The more you read, the more you feel Roy is actually talking to you. Loved it!

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love birds and I found every single chapter of this book to be a fascinating read.

[Elainedav · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an extraordinary memoir charting a lifetime of wildlife restoration projects in the UK. Fascinating.

[Dave Potts]

to-read

[Tristan Dumas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational and full of real world examples. Has helped me chose my career path in ecology and I’m excited to take his work and try to help the field of ecology.

[Dale Main · Rating 3 out of 5]

69/100

[Callan Denham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Promising

[Shannon R · Rating 3 out of 5]

So informative and optimistic. Enjoyed learning about animal translocations and reintroductions from an absolute pro. I wish it was written a little less like a diary transcript, though, and a bit more descriptive.

[Ellie T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a big book with a lot of heavy content and took me a long time to read. I am glad I invested the time as it was inspiring, thought-provoking and at times very depressing. What an amazing life Mr Dennis has made and what a difference he and his associates have made.

Like others, I found the repetition and number of names quite challenging to stay engaged with. All in all though, very glad to have read it.

[Marnix · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's amazing how soon the details transcribed from diaries become utterly boring. Too much superfluous detail, not enough overview.

[Roger Morgan-Grenville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long and detailed account of an amazing career, with much for us all to be grateful for.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactingly detailed. Bear in mind that for this author, rewilding = reintroductions.