Books
We take a look at the latest releases...
Latest releases including All The Birds of The World
THE STUBBORN LIGHT OF THINGS MELISSA HARRISON, FABER, HB £14.99
This is a collection of work by Melissa from her writings in Nature Notes for The Times. They range from 2014 to 2020, and cover geographical areas ranging from South London, Dartmoor and Dorset to her new home in Suffolk, although the stories do venture out of these areas, too, covering topics in the news at that time. They do cover a lot of bird sightings, as Melissa has a dog which takes her out walking at least three times a day! This is an easy to read book, and ideal for those long winter nights.
ALL THE BIRDS OF THE WORLD EDITED BY JOSEP DEL HOYO, LYNX £85
This is one amazing book which, as the title suggests, covers all the birds you would hope to see on this planet, which today stands at a total of 11,524 species. Many subspecies are also shown, and the 3,313 endemic species are marked. They are painted by 32 different artists, many from the UK. There are distribution maps on each bird and 37 larger maps at the back of the book, so you can’t go wrong. The status of each bird is shown and there are even details of how to find video, photos and sound recordings of each species.
This book will certainly allow you to browse the birds you have already seen, and push you to see even more around the world.
THE BUMBLEBEE BOOK NICK OWENS, PICCES PUBLICATIONS, HB £24.95
With so much work going on in your gardens to promote wildlife, this is another book you need to get to ID these amazing insects, along with their ‘cuckoo’ forms. The book is well laid out, with a large number of pictures on each species. One chart shows the changing emergent dates from 1912 to 2015 in the south of Britain, indicating the way that increasing temperatures are having an effect on these bumblebees! There are lists of flowers to use in your garden, as well as conservation tips, life cycles, bumblebee mimics and lots more.
ODD BIRD LEE FARNSWORTH, FARRAGO BOOKS, PB £8.99
There have been some good crime and mystery novels using birding as a backdrop, but this is more of a male-led rom-com – along the lines of High Fidelity, with birds replacing bands. And it’s very enjoyable, with well-drawn characters, a good plot, and enough birding detail to keep you happy. Perfect reading for a long journey, or to relax after a hard day’s gull IDing.