Previously published, Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork : Lettertec Publishing, 2017.

In 2009 Declan Murphy and his fellow birdwatchers made an extraordinary discovery, locating a nest of woodpecker chicks deep in the Wicklow mountains. While the Great Spotted Woodpecker had occasionally appeared as a winter visitor to Irish shores, none had ever been known to breed here. For the last decade the author has followed the daily lives of these birds, some of whom have taken up residence in a wind-torn Spanish chestnut tree near his home.
From the sound of the drumming that first alerted ornithologists to the woodpeckers' presence, to the sight of their elaborate mating rituals, to the scent of the savage pine marten arising from the birds' fallen plumage, the author takes us on a riveting sensory journey through live, death fear and hope. The reader is drawn deep into the sphere of this fascinating species, and reminded of the joy to be found in the myriad wonders of the great outdoords.