Summary

In "The Observatory," Macdonald visits the Welney Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve. She studies a case of swans in the observatory, and considers the WWT's founder, Sir Peter Scott. He was also responsible for creating "a visual catalogue of individual swans," which has led to "one of the longest-running wildlife studies in the world" (157). She then visits a hide in which she watches and listens to the arctic swans, considering "our era of rising political nativism" (159).

In "Wicken," Macdonald visits the marshland ecosystem Wicken Fen with her brother and niece. While walking, her niece asks if all the animals in the reserve came from a zoo. Macdonald feels sad that in her adult world reserves such as this one may no longer even exist. She considers the history of other fens. She does not like thinking of nature as "a thing...