Wild Things columnist Eric Brown delves into a book examining long-running squirrel wars and a whole host of other wildlife wonders from orcas to bats in a collection of updated natural history essays originally written for a national newspaper.

What is the most unpopular animal among Britain's seriously impoverished wildlife? Brown rat may come into the equation, maybe ring-necked parakeet or those pesky jellyfish that love stinging sea bathers.

Many would include among their top three least desirable animals the grey squirrel. This furry, sharp-toothed visitor is often to be found in gardens stealing tit-bits distributed for birds or denuding holly bushes of berries.

These acts might just be tolerable but if a grey squirrel invades your loft or takes a fancy to electric cables the damage will be extensive and expensive to repair. In those circumstances the hate factor around grey squirrels soars off-scale.

Introduced from North America in the late nineteenth century, grey squirrels have been wreaking havoc ever since, declaring war on human habitation and bringing the native red squirrel to the brink of extinction by competing rigorously for food and passing on disease survivable to the grey but fatal to the red.

Wild Things: The lesser spotted swallowtail

Patrick Barkham has waded into the red v grey debate in his book Wild Green Wonders which reveals that Ireland and Italy are the only other countries in the world to host both species. Another little-known fact from Mr Barkham is that if you find a grey squirrel trapped in your garden shed or even your home you cannot release it. That would be illegal. Barkham relates the history behind squirrel wars and reports on measures being taken in the reds' Lake District stronghold to deter greys.

Squirrels are only one of the myriad subjects tackled by Barham. His book is an almost autobiographical journey through nature experienced during 20 years as a wildlife writer for The Guardian newspaper. Once the paper's Australia correspondent, hardly a single natural world topic escapes his prolific pen. From the re-establishment of threatened peregrine falcons in towns and cities to the future of the mouse-eared bat, from tree protection to whales to beavers, badgers, deer, orcas and the Orkney vole.

He considers whether turtle doves, hen harriers and swifts can survive and examines whether re-introductions to the wild of wolves and lynx would be acceptable and beneficial.

Wild Things: Ten Birds That Changed the World

The final section titled The Future of Nature strikes a hopeful note with discussion on how beavers can control flooding and much on rewilding including the successful scheme at Knepp in Sussex.

Barkham's 2010 book Butterfly Isles is rightly regarded a nature classic and this compendium of his best updated wildlife Guardian columns over 20 years will surely earn similar acclaim. A green wonder indeed. Read, enjoy.