‘A magisterial diary for bird lovers.’ Observer

Shortlisted for East Anglian Book Awards – General Non-Fiction 2023

⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Telegraph

As seen on BBC Winterwatch 2023

‘Honest, human and heart-grabbing. I loved this book so much.’ Sophie Pavelle, author of Forget Me Not

‘Delightful’ Stephen Moss, author of Ten Birds that Changed the World

‘Fascinating and thought-provoking’ Jake Fiennes, author of Land Healer

‘Awe-filled and absorbing’ Nicola Chester, author of On Gallows Down

The Meaning of Geese is a book of thrilling encounters with wildlife, of tired legs, punctured tyres and inhospitable weather. Above all, it is the story of Nick Acheson’s love for the land in which he was born and raised, and for the wild geese that fill it with sound and spectacle every winter.

Renowned naturalist and conservationist Nick Acheson spent countless hours observing and researching wild geese, transported through all weathers by his mother’s 40-year-old trusty red bicycle. He meticulously details the geese’s arrival, observing what they mean to his beloved Norfolk and the role they play in local people’s lives – and what role the birds could play in our changing world. 

During a time when many people faced the prospect of little work or human contact, Nick followed the pinkfeet and brent geese that filled the Norfolk skies and landscape as they flew in from Iceland and Siberia. In their flocks, Nick encountered rarer geese, including Russian white-fronts, barnacle geese and an extremely unusual grey-bellied brant, a bird he had dreamt of seeing since thumbing his mother’s copy of Peter Scott’s field guide as a child.

To honour the geese’s great athletic migrations, Nick kept a diary of his sightings as well as the stories he discovered through the community of people, past and present, who loved them, too. Over seven months Nick cycles over 1,200 miles – the exact length of the pinkfeet’s migration to Iceland.