ONCE in a lifetime a book on Natural History devoted to Lancashire comes along. The Wildlife Trust has produced just this and the coloured photographs are stunningly beautiful.

If you would like to buy a copy and you act quickly you can even join the list of subscribers published in the book.

It would also be a wonderful present for a friend.

It cost £20 plus £4 postage and packaging but here are 320 colourful pages containing accurate text and more than 400 photographs. The details are: Order Hotline. Tel 01772 317 242.

Hills alive with the sound of curlews

THE curlews are back in Bowland bringing their distinctive sounds to the moors.

To many people the curlew's bubbling, liquid song travelling across the fields represents the sound of Bowland.

At this time of year thousands of curlews are in the area to breed, having spent the winter feeding on the estuaries and lowlands.

They bring up their young on farmland and moorland and need wet, boggy areas, which teem with the insects and bugs they eat.

Curlews use their long, curved bills to probe the mud in search of food.

The Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an extremely important area for curlews, holding approximately two per cent of the entire European population of the birds.

The boggy fields and moors of the area provide perfect conditions for successful breeding.

Curlews nest on the ground in open fields and moors. The male prepares several nest scrapes and the house-proud female selects one and lines it before laying her eggs.

Eggs hatch in May after being incubated by both parents. The downy chicks are independent, able to feed themselves and walk to good feeding areas.

Lucy Barron, RSPB Birds of Bowland project officer, said: "The RSPB is working with farmers and landowners throughout the area to help protect curlews and their habitats.

"Curlews are really special birds and without them and their evocative call, places such as Bowland just wouldn't be the same."

You can discover more about the birds and wildlife of Bowland by taking part in a series of events throughout the spring and summer.

Look for the special birds of the moors on a Moorland Safari in the Trough of Bowland, led by experts from RSPB, United Utilities and English Nature.

Walks take place on Saturdays and Wednesdays.

For details and to book a place, contact the RSPB's Anna Sugrue on 01484 861148 or email: anna.sugure@rspb.org.uk