In the woods above Polly Atkin’s home in Grasmere, Cumbria live the tawny owls she calls her neighbours. Each night, they come down to her cottage at dusk, calling out as night falls – in particular a trio of owlets she watches grow from fledglings to young adults in 2023. As the antics of the owl siblings develop – their capacity to play, to bicker, to share and to protect – they encourage her to think differently about some of the big needs of all our lives: solitude and companionship, care and belonging, rest and retreat. The other four species of owls that live wild in Cumbria swoop through the pages, including the day-hunting short-eared owl, but as much as anything they highlight the unusual access Atkin has to the tawny owls of Grasmere. And into the frame step questions about all sorts of relationships, from how we feel when in darkness to our entanglement with the digital world and its ability to connect us across continents. THE COMPANY OF OWLS is a love song to owls – in general, and particular – and a reflection on what makes them, and us, unique and distinctive. It’s a call to find joy in unexpected places and times. It is a lesson in learning to listen – to really listen – in a world full of noise.
