Who Is In My Garden: peregrines at cathedral inspiration for book

Two children are watching from their bedroom window on a wet and dreary winter day and are eager to go out to play when they see the small birds struggling to find food in the long wet grass. They decide to ask their mother for some bird food that they can take outside to scatter among the birds at the bottom of the garden. The garden was no ordinary one, it was their sanctuary and it was alive with the rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds, and the occasional scurrying of a hedgehog, rabbit or a squirrel. It was full of bushes, shrubs, and plants that grew in wild abundance, creating a perfect haven for all sorts of garden creatures, bumble bees, butterflies and occasionally bushy-tailed dormice. Tobi and Emily spent their days exploring the nooks and crannies, whispering secrets to the robins, and leaving crumbs for the squirrels.

They see all the different creatures that live in their garden and how they adapt their behaviour as the months move on towards spring - when they eagerly anticipate the arrival of a pair of peregrine falcons that will be returning to their nesting area at the very top of the cathedral tower - the story unfolds around the presence of these magnificent birds and how all the creatures in Tobi and Emily's garden behave as the birds rear their young and see them grow into adult falcons as they learn how to fly and gain confidence - now in late summer as we see the parent falcons and their young fly off into the sunset.