'This is much more than a book about barnacle geese' says the author, Graham Uney, in the Preface, and indeed it is. Although it is a short book (116 pages) it takes us from Hull to the high Arctic and any birdwatcher will enjoy visiting so many sites renowned for their wildlife.

Uney now runs Wild Ridge Adventure, a company specialising in walking holidays, and writes for a large number of outdoor and wildlife magazines, as well as working as a professional photographer (http://www.grahamuneyphotography.co.uk/). In this book his own journey through life is reflected in the pilgrimage of the central subject, the barnacle geese. Beginning with the arrival of birds from the Arctic tundra and a visit to Campfield Marsh, we first sight the barnacles at Rockcliffe Marsh. Uney then looks back to Halton Gill in the Dales, to the family holiday where he first discovered his love of nature. An outdoor job in horticulture led to the first blossoming of journalism, which itself led to his meeting his wife-to-be Olivia.

Settled for a while in Strathpeffer Uney developed a new career as a mountain leader with Wilderness Scotland, with a chance to enjoy the wildlife of the wild parts of Scotland. His book diverts for a few pages, to describe the valley of the Eden, and its Scottish Solway sister, the Esk, before arriving at their goal, the Solway. Here Uney comes into his own, in the flat open merselands where the Arctic birds come to winter, with a brisk tour of the bird reserves. Mersehead, Southerness Point, Burgh, Rockcliffe and Campfield Marshes, Cardurnock - all names that ring in the memory of any birdwatching reader, even if he's never actually been there.

Turning to the barnacle geese which form the subject of the book, Uney describes the three populations, their migrations south when winter turns, and the way birds get hold of you. Then, abruptly, the story turns to the heart of the book, the northward quest for the geese. MV Grigory Mikheev leaves Oban for the Small Isles, following the geese northwards for their breeding grounds in the Arctic, via the massive gannetry on Sula Sgeir, the neighbouring island of North Rona, the Faroes and then Jan Mayen, north of the Arctic Circle. Then comes Bear Island, and then the destination of Svalbard and its main island, Spitzbergen. At last the barnacle geese are revealed, together with the truth about a little egret. The Svalbard geese form the climax to this journey, after which the story heads south, to see more barnacles in Suffolk, and back to Scotland, with the barnacles in Islay. Finally Uney revisits 'his' Solway barnacles at Burgh Marsh returned from Svalbard.

It would be easy to see the genesis of this book in a holiday birdwatching diary. Certainly the book reads like an experienced birder's report - 'a gaggle of 42 barnacle geese joined in the feast' - 'fourteen dunlin stood each hunched on one leg'. This not a criticism. Any birdwatcher will appreciate that it adds to the recreation of the scene. This is a book by a birder, and a birder's book. The loving descriptions of the Solway and other reserves, the appreciation of landscape and wildlife other than birds, all come as a bonus. Uney finds an otter in Glencoe, red deer in Glen Etive and a roe on Islay, as well as whales, seals and polar bears in the Arctic. It's a light touch, but a sure one. There's a moving recollection of the chapel at North Rona, and the romance of the high Arctic is deeply felt. The photographs, not credited and therefore assumed to be by the author, have an attractive immediacy about them.

There are some criticisms - perhaps a few too many mentions of Paramo clothing? What happened to the endpapers? Why are the first chapter pages headed 'Arriving from the Acrtic'? A map or two would be nice. And even an entertaining book like this deserves an index. But these are minor matters - if you enjoy reading about birds and their homes you'll enjoy this book.