As one who loves to scrounge round 2nd hand book shops and charity shops book sections I sometimes come across interesting natural history books.I found an interesting one the other day in a shop in Richmond on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales called "Raptors-a field guide to surveying and monitoring" published by the Scottish Stationary Office in 2007 .Loads of interesting info in there for anyone interested in birds of prey even if they are not involved in surveys and plenty of warnings to be careful in the breeding ranges.Naturally no information on where the breeding sites are but for lovers of birds of prey plenty of reading matter even if it is a little heavy at times.It was not until we got home that we realised that there was a c.d. of raptor calls in with it.As I got this plus a couple of out of print field guides and a well used copy of Robert Dougall's book "A Celebration of Birds" for a job lot price of £25 I was well chuffed with a wet hour in a pretty Dales town.
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
That sounds like a really good lot there. We used to buy boxes of books at auction years ago, sort out the one's we wanted, & then put the rest back in for the next auction.
Over here all books are very expensive, new & second-hand.
I love books, despite all the information on the internet you can't beat referring to a book & reading it too. I read this morning that dunnocks live in families of three in the breeding season! 2m+1f or 2f+1m How odd!
Best wishes
Hazel in Southwest France
A good find Seaman, and it sounds like you got a reasonable price with the other books (you could pay more than that just for a second hand copy of the 1st edition of the raptor guide).
Now you just need to find some raptors to monitor!
If anyone else likes the sound of this book, the third edition is due to be released any day now (again with a CD Rom).
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Noisette, books are expensive in the UK as well, particularly natural history books and others which are fairly short print runs. It is possible to find bargains in charity shops, secondhand shops, and online, but you have to search for them! The amount that I've spent on books over the years is quite scary, but I don't have many indulgences and I wouldn't want to not have my small 'reference library' to hand!
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Unknown said:Now you just need to find some raptors to monitor!
Still got a few around our recording area that the men in plus fours have not got at yet.
Yes it is an interesting book for anyone with a serious interest in raptors but it is unwise to let Mrs S or myself loose in bookshops,now need a joiner to fit some more book shelves .
I agree with Roy W. I wouldn't claim to have a reference library quite yet, but even the few books that I currently possess have proved invaluable. I purchase any reference books on Robins that I can find and have the David and Andrew Lack books including a 1944 reprint of 'The Life Of The Robin' as well as the Chris Mead and Read, King & Alsopp volumes. They have each offered new insights into robin behaviour and make even the shortest walk through the forests an eye opening experience. At the turn of the year I was able to keep an eye open for upcoming behavioural changes when BR started announcing his territory to attract a mate and later, when Mrs BR was on the scene I was prepared for courtship feeding and then, once there were nestlings, I knew when they would fledge. Of course there were many more behavioural quirks that the books did not mention, but that made it all the more interesting. I often check out charity shops and I am often amazed by the great selection of books that I find. Often there is more variety than I would find in a 'new' bookshop. I'm sure most of the information contained within these books can be found online, but there's nothing quite like having a reference book to hand, albeit with a few well thumbed pages. Luckily I don't need any shelves just yet, but given time I'm sure that will change!
Unicum arbustum haud alit duos erithacos
(One bush does not shelter two Robins)
Zenodotus (3rd Century B.C.)
Hazel C said:I love books, despite all the information on the internet you can't beat referring to a book & reading it too
Totally agree with this,I think both I and myself are addicted to books of all sorts.While a lot of my field guides are quite dated there is still lots of good info in them,my first "real" field guide was the 1950's edition of Peterson,Mountfort and Hollom 's Birds of Britain and Europe is still on the shelf,cost a whole apprentice weeks wages of 25 shillings. Beginning to get a good selection of peoples birding adventure books nowadays these make good reading on a winters evening with a large whisky.
Confessions of a book addict: I am loath to get rid of nature books. I've got (mostly) bird books dating back to the 60's, both children's and adults. Everything from "A Young Pathfinder's Book of Birds" to Herklots' "Hong Kong Birds" (well, I was living there at the time). Don't get me started on field guides! Everywhere we go is an excuse for a new one. Off to Lanzarote soon, excuse me while I just consult "Birds of the Atlantic Islands" ;-)
"Let loose the Kraken!"