Roy Dennis – författare

The RSPB’s Book of the Season 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.

Longlisted for the Highland Book Prize 2026This book highlights the catastrophic decline of the capercaillie (once a common and widespread bird in Scotland)  and discusses how the Highland cow could come to the rescue.Appalled by the catastrophic decline of the capercaillie in Scotland author Roy Dennis argues a dysfunctional forest habitat is to blame and that Highland cattle can be the solution.The name 'capercaillie' is derived from Gaelic 'capallcoille', or 'horse of the woods'. Capercaillie numbers in Scotland’s pine forests have tumbled from 20,000 in the 1960s to about 400 today. The species is now facing extinction without a major conservation effort.Roy argues that the capercaillie’s living space has become dysfunctional and the key to recovery is to mimic the behaviour of ancient oxen, which had a profound beneficial impact on the ecology of the woodlands.Ancient oxen are long gone but their distant relative, the Highland cow, was part of the woodland scene right through until the middle of the last century. Roy explains why they are now the key to restoring the forest ecosystem, creating path networks, increasing biodiversity and invertebrate populations - not only to the benefit of capercaillies, but nature as a whole.

A collection of vibrant essays to inform, stimulate and inspire every nature lover. Through unparallelled expertise as a field naturalist, Roy Dennis is able to write about the natural world in a way that considers both the problems and the progress in ecology and conservation. Beginning with cottongrass, whose snow-white blooms blow gently in the wind across the wetter moors and bogs, this is a year-round trove of insight and knowledge for anyone who cares about the natural world - from birdsong and biodiversity to sphagnum and species reintroduction. Written by one of our most prominent advocates for rewilding, the essays have a clear message: "Never give up on trying to conserve and restore wildlife and the wild places you cherish. It's essential to try and to succeed. And remember, it's never 'if', but 'when' - and with climate chaos closing in, the time is now."