b/w. map end-papers; tipped-in, colour frontis. drawing of the author by Will Garfit; Cley has been described as 'the Mecca of ornithologists for the last 140 years', and Billy Bishop was warden of the Norfolk Naturalists' Trust Nature Reserve at Cley from 1937, eleven years after it had been started, until his retirement in 1978. His memoirs are a fascinating account of a world which has changed dramatically, from the days of the Gentleman Gunners whose great objective in life was to shoot the rarest birds for their collection, but who had an unrivalled knowledge of their subject, to the modern methods of conservation and management of habitat. Billy Bishop has some marvellous stories to tell, both of past characters, gunmen and wildfowlers, and of the birdwatchers and photographers of today. But his book is also the story of the successful creation of a superb reserve, and of the many unusual birds which have been seen there. A checklist of the birds sighted at Cley, with brief notes on their rarity, is included, as are extracts from his diary as warden, with the highlights of forty years' work, including the return of lost breeding species such as the black-tailed godwit, the avocet and the bittern, and the story of how an injured bittern which he had rescued helped to solve the vexed question of how bitterns boomed. This delightful book will be a must for the birdwatcher, but will also appeal to a much wider audience.