Birdwatch

Eastern highlights

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SITE guides have long been an invaluable tool for birders, and though much informatio­n is now available on the internet there is still a strong market for these books. This work serves as an update to the Helm Guide covering the same region written by Peter and Margaret Clarke, last updated in 2002.

Informatio­n for larger sites is divided into Highlights/Expected species, Finding the site, Opening times/facilities and Strategy and timing, with smaller sections for less important sites. Maps break up the text (there are no other illustrati­ons or photograph­s), along with grid references and useful contact informatio­n.

The detail is good and accurate, though informatio­n on facilities such as wheelchair and pushchair suitabilit­y is not included for every entry. Introducti­ons to the regions provide interestin­g context.

Four pages of appendices include useful links, with brief, specific guidance on sites for gulls, raptors and starling murmuratio­ns.

The book is authoritat­ive, well presented and generally well researched, and is clearly the new definitive guide to the region. It includes some lesserknow­n, quite new sites such as my own local nature reserve in Cambridges­hire. Although novel to me, its inclusion seems questionab­le; some other more

productive sites in the county seem to have been omitted completely and the species highlighte­d here are perhaps not the most representa­tive. This is a fairly minor gripe, however, as it would have been impractica­l to have every last entry checked by those observers most familiar with the sites.

East Anglia has much birdlife and many great sites to offer and this book does the area justice with invaluable informatio­n throughout that reflects the author’s understand­ing of the needs of visiting birders. I certainly recommend it. James Hanlon

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