Re: Books

Bird watchers 'dull and worthy'?

I thought the media had us all down as rampant twitchers . I notice if there is a 'birdwatcher' in a major TV whodunnit then chances are he is the murderer or some sort of weirdo :(

:))

S

Hi,

I think Field guides come under gear, but something like Lars Jonsson's Birds and light comes under Books and art.

As for 'bad birdwatcher- I have spent 35 years getting to be a good one-  I read it once and haven't gone back to it :)

S

Effectiveness of Field Guides,

I guess a Field guide is like a steering wheel - It's only as good as the nut holding it :) 

W ith all the changes and advances in ID over the last 20 years the old guides reallly don't cut the mustard any more. There are plenty of excellent reviews in the birding press when new guides appear. It really comes down to how you use them.

:)

S

The Secret Lives of Garden Birds - Dominic Couzens .

Great book, nice easy read full of interesting facts. Bite size chunks, perfect for bedtime reading. I'e learnt so much from this book.

Great illustrations from Peter Partington.

MarJus

Another book I'm enjoying is 'the wildlife companion' (a think book). It is filled with miscellaneous facts, poems, quotes, puzzles and all sorts of things to do with wildlife and each page number is followed by a fact concerning that particular number! Very enjoyable!

I've got a book in that range "Birdwatcher's pocket companion",it is set out as the above book .

Littleowl 

This may be a wee bit off topic but here goes!

At the moment Im rerading a book called Journeys in the wilderness.

Its a complation of  John Muir's writings Its a fantastic read .

I would love to see half of what that man saw in his life time .

He realy is the father of conservation.

Oh aye and i love going round the second hand shops looking for real old books on Birding and the like.

Cheers

AL

Yes the Collins Guides are very useful - There also is a companion Volume Garden Birds . The Wild Flowers Herbs & Healing plants  Fungi Trees Butterflies are also pretty good with plenty of species accounts. We stock them to support our conservation site  - a littel cheaper than what you suggest

The silhouettes are very useful and as you say the layout too There is a selection of used  books as well and I have fopund it is always difficult to nail a definitive guide for the birds but as far as little field guides go these like field binoculars are light and useful and at you fingertips

Best Wishes

Colin D

Current favourite book:

'Photographic Guide to the Waders of the World' by David Rosair

It's a bit chunky and certainly not one for the top pocket, but it has photos of all the waders if you are a fan......

-Graham

I like the idea of sharing info about good books on wildlife topics, though I tend to agree that some of the reference books are gear.  I have had books for presents over the last year.  One of them, The Secret Life of Birds by Colin Tudge, contains loads of detail about all kinds of birds: science of flight; physiology; evolution; classification; mating and other habits.  It sounds rather technical listed like that, and some of it is, but I found it a really good read. The author has a real love of birds and commitment to their environment conservation world wide.

On another tack completely, The Wheel on the School by Meindert Dejong is a children's classic which tells the story of how a group of children in a small village school in Holland are inspired to bring back storks to nest on the school roof and how they involve and affect the whole village community as they set to work to carry out their idea.

Hi,

if that's the one he did with Dave Cottridge it's a good book-  Richard Chandler's Shorebirds of the Northern hemisphere is great too. And arguably more for Birders :)  - bigger images and more text :)

S