EVEN though lockdown has been tough on everyone, some people have used the last few months to start projects they might have been putting off or not previously have found the time to undertake.

One such person is Rhayader-based author Daniel Butler, whose book The Owl House is being published later this month.

Although The Owl House begins with Daniel's relationship with two barn owls which nested in the barn of his ancient farmhouse in rural Mid Wales, his close observation of the birds leads him to consider the nature, history and wildlife of the wider landscape around his home and beyond.

He touches on topics such as reintroduction, Welsh raptors, hawks and other wildlife like the weasel family, and muses on the relationship between humans and nature.

Daniel has been passionate about birds and wildlife from a young age and has built a successful career as a wildlife writer and journalist on the back of this obsession.

He became a journalist in 1989 and has had his work published in the Telegraph, Countryside, The Independent, Daily Express, coming to live in Radnorshire in 1993, when he started writing a column for Country Living.

From his sixteenth century farmhouse in the Cambrian Mountains, he trains hawks and forages in the surrounding countryside. But over the years his farm has become home to a pair of wild barn owls who have gradually become tame, allowing for unusually close observation, and the development of a unique relationship between man and bird.

This intimate relationship becomes the starting point for an exploration of how the landscape around Daniel’s farmhouse – and further afield – has altered over the years, and with it the fortunes of all kinds of wildlife, and in particular those of birds. The changing face of the British countryside is a story of habitat loss, human development and increased traffic and roads; increased housing; noise pollution (especially important for owls); changing farming techniques and land use.

The Cambrian Mountains may be one of the most remote and sparsely populated parts of Britain but it is not immune to physical change and the loss of local tradition and ways of living.

The Owl House is published by Seren and for more information contact Sarah Johnson on 01656 663018 or email sarahjohnson@serenbooks.com.