Esther Woolfson's book Corvus: A Life with Birds that centres on her fascination with corvids, the bird group that includes crows, rooks, magpies and ravens, has enjoyed rave reviews since it was first launched earlier this month.

The avian enthusiast, who works part-time at Yeadon's bookshop in Banchory, said she has been thrilled with the response from the local community to her book.

She said: "It is very funny when people are looking at the book in the shop and then they realise it was me who wrote it. Everyone I have met so far has been very kind and receptive which is lovely."

Her work was recently adapted for Radio 4's Book of the Week programme, which the Aberdeen authoress said has been one of the highlights for her since the book was first published.

She said: "When I learned that it was going to be the book of the week a few weeks ago I just about passed out. It was adapted for radio and read by Maureen Beattie (a Scottish actress). They did a fantastic job.

"It is strange but lovely when you listen to it. The book has to be specially adapted for radio and it is a huge cooperative process that takes place to make that transformation. It is a nice feeling that so much attention is being paid to your work."

Newspapers and radio stations have been queuing up to interview Esther about her literary success and the writer admits that she has found all of the attention a huge change from her normal everyday life.

She said: "As a writer you sit in a room and write and you do your research on the internet. It is a very obscure and quiet life so having all these people wanting to interview me is a big change but I feel very lucky."

Esther's interest in corvids first developed when her daughter rescued a rook 16 years ago that has lived in the Woolfson household ever since. The rook, named Chicken, is now joined in Esther's home by a number of other avian friends, including a talking magpie called Spike and a baby crow called Ziki.

The writer hopes that her work will make people think twice about the bird group, historically feared by the superstitious as heralding bad luck.

She added: "My hope for the book is just that people enjoy it and see corvids in a different way. I think the most you can aim for as a writer is just to communicate something to your readers."

Esther's next book, Piano Angel which comes out in October, is set between Glasgow, New York and Hungary and centres around the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.