Here are our ‘Best Birdwatching Site Guides’ products:
Books providing information about bird sites have been available for many years in the UK, but the Best Birdwatching Sites guides have been widely praised for presenting their contents in the most reader-friendly way.
To quote Dave Gosney, who was a pioneer in the site guide field: “Both the author and publishers need a big pat on the back for taking an old format and putting so much thought into exactly what information is needed by birdwatchers and how it should be presented.”
Each book in the series details sites in alphabetical order, complete with high quality maps and directions to the site. All sites are assessed for wheelchair access and proximity to buses and train services. We don’t forget to detail those all-important public conveniences, either.
The authors list the Target Species for each site (and, based on their own exerience, rate your chance of seeing each one as a percentage). So, if you are keen to see a Nightjar in Norfolk, the index will indicate 11 sites regularly attract this migrant species and on checking the percentages you’ll see that Dersingham Bog NNR is likely to be your best bet for a sighting.
Sample two-page spreads can be seen for each of the titles in the Best Birdwatching Sites series so you can see how thorough they are.
Best Birdwatching Sites: Cornwall & Scilly
The most comprehensive guide to one of Britain’s leading birding counties features 52 mainland sites assessed by Sara McMahon, while Nigel Hudson provides a thorough guide to the rarity-rich islands of Scilly.
208 pages.
208 pages.
Best Birdwatching Sites: Dorset
JUST PUBLISHED
The most comprehensive guide to one of Britain’s leading birding counties, written by Neil Gartshore, a long-time resident of Dorset and former RSPB Warden. Features 65 reserves and birding areas covering a range of different habitats.
248 pages.
Best Birdwatching Sites: Norfolk
The 1st edition of this ground-breaking and much-praised guide sold out quickly. For this 2nd edition author Neil Glenn revisited all the sites to update the information and then added another 12 new places, bringing the total to 83. 256 pages.
Best Birdwatching Sites: North Wales
The counties of Gwynedd and Clwyd abound in great birding places and Alan Davies (formerly the warden at RSPB Conwy) and Owen Roberts have hand-picked 50 major sites and a cluster of 11 smaller spots near Wrexham for this highly-praised site guide. 192 pages.
Best Birdwatching Sites: Scottish Highlands
Described by Birding World as ‘ the book of choice for any birders visiting the region’, the highly-acclaimed guide by Gordon Hamlett features 22 birding routes from John O’Groats to Pitlochry, plus the islands of Skye and Handa. 240 pages.
Best Birdwatching Sites: Solway
Author John Miles, a former RSPB reserve warden at Geltsdale, knows the region intimately and provides detailed reports on coastal and inland sites in both Cumbria and Dumfries & Galloway, to cover the key wildlife watching sites in both counties. 240 pages.
Best Birdwatching Sites: Sussex
Discover some of the best-kept secret locations of this southern county in company with authors Adrian Thomas and Peter Francis. The book covers 57 sites and features innovative migration charts and seawatching advice. 192 pages.