Mark is a widely acclaimed author of creative non-fiction and naturalist who writes and broadcasts on wildlife in a variety of national media. His new book One Midsummer’s Day: Swifts and the Story of Life on Earth (Cape), is both a portrait of a favourite bird and a celebration of the interconnectedness of all life.

He has contributed to the Guardian country diary for 35 years. His 12 other books include biography, history, literary criticism and memoir. A Claxton Diary: Further Field Notes from a Small Planet (2019) won the East Anglian Book of the Year Award and Crow Country was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize, and won the New Angle Prize (2009).

The incredible lives of Swifts