This Saturday will see the launch of a new book on Maldon district's wildlife by local author John Buchanan.

It comes from John, who has lived in Maldon for 20 years, and a small group of like-minded friends challenging themselves to discover how much wildlife they could find on their doorstep.

The result, Wildlife of Maldon, is a celebration of the fauna and flora of Maldon and its surrounding areas - it covers everything from butterflies to seals, with a particular focus on birds, and is fully illustrated with photographs taken locally.

John said: "It will perhaps surprise many people to realise how much great wildlife we have here.

"Our estuary holds internationally important wintering populations of waders and wildfowl and its breeding species include the barn owl, nightingale and turtle dove.

"32 species of butterfly have been recorded here over the past few years."

John has been a life-long birdwatcher and has spent much of his time in the district exploring its natural history.

He hopes that the book, which is his first, will "increase awareness of our natural heritage" and "encourage those in power to put measures in place to protect it for future generations to enjoy".

He said: "It highlights the various species and habitats that should be looked after so that we can help them into the future."

John will be launching Wildlife of Maldon tomorrow (Saturday, 18 September) at Maldon Books' Book Hut in Promenade Park.

He will be there from 10am.

After the launch, the book will be available to buy from Maldon Books, at 23 High Street. It will also soon be available to purchase online.

To find out more about the launch, you can visit its Facebook page using the link here.