Fledgling, my debut nature memoir will be published as lead title by Aurum, an imprint of The Quarto Group, on 5th April 2022.

A wild finch changed my life. I rescued him after a storm blew his nest to the ground and he was abandoned by his flock. I raised him and eventually reunited him with his family, returning him to the wild. For three months we were inseparable, the finch accepting me as his mum. Instinctively clingy, he spent every waking hour on me. I saw myself in him, how he like me, sought comfort, security and reassurance, craved affection and was hilariously goofy. The vast differences between us shrunk so there were none. FLEDGLING, my debut nature memoir is his legacy. I wrote it for him and his feathered kind in the hope people will notice their wild neighbours and connect to the nature that surrounds us all. 

Pre-order / order here:

https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/fledgling/hannah-bournetaylor/hardback/9780711266674.html

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fledgling-Hannah-Bourne-Taylor/dp/0711266670

Fledgling is set in the rural grasslands of Ghana where I rescued, hand-raised and released a swift and a mannikin finch back into the wild. It tells the story of how immersing myself in the birds’ care gave me hope when, after following my husband to Ghana, I struggled to adapt to a new existence in an extreme environment without a purpose of my own. 

This is a short video of my bronze winged mannikin finch fledgling making nests out of my hair. I rescued and looked after him full time for 3 months.