Bird Cottage

Product Information

Born to a wealthy family in Wales, Len acquires a love of birds and music from her father, with whom she performs at soirees, where he recites poetry, accompanied by his daughter on violin. News of his subsequent arrest and execution causes less of a ripple than the prospect of building work disturbing the birds. She never lost her interest in birds, but she also when 21, played as a violinist for a symphony orchestra. Aus der Welt der Menschen zog sie sich immer mehr zurück und bevorzugte stattdessen die Gesellschaft der Vögel, zu denen sie über die Jahre hinweg eine immer engere Beziehung aufbaute.

Howard was a remarkable character, a formidable defender of her beloved birds, whose writing found a hugely appreciative audience. The fact that she was a woman, and had not received a formal education, certainly played a role in this, but the way in which she approached the birds, as individuals with their own perspective on life and her, was also frowned upon.

From her new home, she found the peace, and the avian subjects, which she needed to author two bestselling bird books. You can imagine spending many happy hours here enjoying each other’s company and relaxing into your holiday. Eva Meijer, the multi-talented author of Bird Cottage ( Het vogelhuis in the original Dutch) has such a particular way of articulating her main protagonist’s thoughts on the page that I almost felt like I was inside her head. Bird Cottage has comfortable accommodation (as described below) to sleep four adults with linen and towels provided. Equipped with electric oven, grill, ceramic hob with extractor, and a slimline dishwasher, the view of the surrounding countryside from the expanse of windows in the kitchen is stunning.

Len makes a home with the generations of birds which inhabit her garden; indeed, they soon come to inhabit her home, too. Having given up her seat in a London orchestra, she moved to Ditchling, a tiny village in Sussex, where she took up residence in ‘Bird Cottage’ and began studying the behaviour of the birds in her garden, gaining insight that was well ahead of its time, which she published in articles and two books that became bestsellers in their day. Moving to a small cottage in Sussex, she wrote two bestselling books, astonishing the world with her observations on the tits, robins, sparrows and other birds that lived nearby, flew freely in and out of her windows, and would even perch on her shoulder as she typed. Double doors open from the living area to the east-facing terrace and private garden – great for the summer months, and a modern designer log burner exudes heat throughout the room in the winter. Ich finde es unheimlich faszinierend, dass ihr die scheuen Tiere so nah kamen, in ihrem Haus schliefen und sie bei Gefahr sogar um Hilfe baten.

She lived through two world wars and showed a level of compassion and consideration to British garden birds that’s unparalleled, even in this day and age. Nowadays many ethologists share her views and study nonhuman animals in their own habitats, sometimes living with them for extended periods of time. She was never fully accepted by the scientific community as her “experiments” weren’t rigorous enough, they objected, based as they were merely on her own experience and observations. Ihre Studien waren außergewöhnlich, denn sie warfen ein ganz neues Licht auf die Intelligenz der scheuen Tiere und trotzdem wurde ihre Arbeit nicht wissenschaftlich anerkannt, da Len Howard eine Frau ohne entsprechende Ausbildung war. Simpelweg omdat de omgeving kunstmatig is en dieren zich dus nooit zullen gedragen zoals ze in de natuur zouden doen.

No life comes out as a finished whole but is assembled from pieces over time, and then changes again.

London proves too much for her: she feels “stifled” and “can only breathe normally again when I’m in the train”. Zaten öyle bir ruhu var ki kitabın, etrafınızdaki kuşlara merak kesilmemeniz, bir an için olsun dünyaya Len Howard gözlüğü takmadan bakmanız mümkün değil. The language starkly shifts through the emotional registers, sometimes plain, and sometimes evocative. If you’re more interested in the coast then Northumberland’s stunning beaches and Yorkshire’s popular fishing villages will not disappoint.