I don't know neither the author nor the book, but I thought it could fall in "nature writing" category

The World Without Us - Alan Weisman

Here is a link that might be useful: The World Without Us

My absolute all time favorite is The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden. It is based on her observation as she took nature walks and she also illustrated it beautifully. She died tragically, there is also a book about her life, I would have to look up the title, I have it on one of my bookshelves.

Pat

Thanks very much Pat.

After reading some reviews I think this book is just the kind of thing I'm looking to add to my shelf. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Do check Farley Mowat's Never Cry Wolf ... Canadian naturalist spends a year observing a family of wolves. I read it almost 40 years ago, and still remember passages vividly, especially the ones where I had to pause reading for laughing so hard. It was assigned reading in high school, and even under that handicap, EVERYONE in the class loved it.

If you like birds, try Bernd Heinrich's Mind of the Raven and The Geese of Beaver Bog, both detailed descriptions of behavior. I was so interested in Mind of the Raven on an airplane flight that I jumped a mile when the attendant offered water and she assumed I'd been engrossed in a murder mystery. :)

If you haven't read Gerald Durrell's "My Family and Other Animals", it's a good memoir.

"The Flight of the Iguana: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature" by David Quammen is on my TBR pile so I don't know first hand if it's good, but it received a lot of praise.

Second the recommendation of "Never Cry Wolf".

This website may be helpful:
The Outside Canon

From Outside magazine in 1996

"Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer is an outstanding piece of writing.

I really enjoyed Humboldt's Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Latin American Journey that Changed the Way We See the World by Gerard Helferich. It is both travelogue and biography of the famous scientist/explorer, with much detail about his journeys through Mesoamerica.

Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard is another favorite of mine. It is an introspective, often meditative, narrative of his travels through the Himalayan region of Dolpo -- beautiful, haunting and austere. The Tree Where Man Was Born is another of his about his travels in Africa.

Wow! Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions! You've all given me some great jumping off points and some interesting titles to look into.

"Teaching a Stone to Talk" by Annie Dillard.

I'm currently reading the 2007 biography of Beatrix Potter by Linda Lear. In it are superb descriptions of her wanderings in the lowlands of Scotland, as well as in the Lake Country district of England.

Some of the Gladys Taber books fit this description, in terms of describing the seasons in New England.

I always thought that The Tree Where Man Was Born was one of the most beautifully haunting titles I ever heard. Matthiessen also wrote a book called Far Tortuga. I haven't read either book and don't intend to. The titles alone have resonated in my mind for thirty years. Few books have stayed with me as long.

Rosefolly

I enjoyed Ecology of a Cracker Childhood by Janisse Ray. Another mesmerizing favorite is Henry Beston's The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod. The latter is so soothing to me that when I'm blue I like to read favorite sections -- especially the part about winter.

I second David Quammen's natural history -- particularly The Song of the Dodo and The Boilerplate Rhino: Nature in the Eye of the Beholder. Be warned though: if you have a tender heart, the former may make you weep.

Edwin Way Teale's nature-travel books are lovely. I especially like Springtime in Britain: An 11,000 Mile Journey Through the Nautral History of Britain from Land's End to John O'Groats. They are out of print but seem to be readily available at Amazon and elsewhere.

I also enjoyed Rachel Carson's The Sea Around Us several years ago.

I enjoyed Mary Austin's The Land of Little Rain about the California desert.

Right now I'm reading Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey and enjoying it. He was a park ranger in Arches National Park in Utah when it was still a National Monument and wrote very evocatively about the place.

A couple more books by Gerald Durrell I would recommend are The Bafut Beagles (about animal collecting in British Cameroon, with some wonderful descriptions of people, animals and nature) and The Whispering Land (animal collecting in Patagonia with even more great animal and nature descriptions). You might also want to try Three Singles to Adventure (Guyana) and The Drunken Forest (Argentina and Paraguay).

I don't know if they would really qualify, but I like Nevada Barr's mystery series set in different U.S. national parks. There is always a murder involved, which the park ranger Anna Pigeon solves; but I like the feel she has for the settings.