A READER LIVES A THOUSAND LIVES
As many of you know, I'm a writer by profession. Words are the tools of my trade and I love them in the same way that my cabinet-maker dad used to love the saws and hammers hanging in his workshop. And just as my dad could never pass any wooden furniture without checking the quality of the joints, I can never pass a bookshop without buying something to add to the 600+ books already waiting to be read in my house. Don't tell my wife it's that many...
All writers read. Voraciously. I'm no different. I've usually got five or six books on the go which I pick up depending on my mood, location or the time available. If I'm in bed then I'll luxuriate in a long chapter of a novel. If I just have a few moments waiting on a bench somewhere, I'll dip into a factual book and just pull out a few salient points. I've read good books and I've read trashy books, but I've learned something from every one of them.
I thought that this week I'd point you towards some of my favourite birding books. They have all helped me expand my knowledge of the avian world in some way or other and, as we all know, all learning is a good thing. And before you ask, no; I don't get commission.
So in no particular order...
The Helm Guide to Bird Identification
I had to start with an ID guide and my well-loved hefty Collins would be the obvious choice, but the Helm is a little different. Like it's subtitle says, this book is “An In-Depth Look at Confusing Species” and as such it's a great companion piece to your own favourite bird guide. It doesn't cover every bird you'll come across but it does group birds according to their appearance and shows how to tell them apart. So as you'd expect, there's a section comparing the different Egrets and another showing the variation between the kinds of Wagtail we get in this country, but it also focusses on things like the similarities and differences between a Common Sandpiper and a Temminck's Stint – very useful as the latter has recently been seen in the Dearne Valley. And while it's section on gulls is not exhaustive, it's a great starting point.
The Sibley Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America
The Sibley Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America
One of the frustrating things about travelling abroad is that you can find yourself looking at the most amazing bird you've ever seen bit have no idea what it is. Is it common? Is it a mega rarity? Is it even male or female? It's certainly a quandary. At one point I was visiting Canada and the United States quite often so I invested in these two guides. Small enough to fit into a large jacket pocket or bag and indispensable when in the field or (more likely in my case) back in the hotel room, checking up on what bird could possibly match my scribbled notes and sketches. Even in these days when we all travel a bit less, these books are great to flick through and dream.
Britain's Birds by Jo Woolf
This is the newest book on this list but it's already become one of my favourites to dip into when I have a few moments. It's subtitled, 'A Treasury of Fact, Fiction of Folklore'. The author has taken an alphabetical selection of Britain's common birds from Bittern to Yellowhammer and recounts a selection of stories about each bird. Some are true, some are handed down old-wives tales, but all are interesting.
Latin For Bird Lovers
I'm a bird lover and a word lover so what could be better than a book explaining what many birds' scientific Latin names mean and how they relate to the species? It's not the easiest book to navigate around (being arranged alphabetically by the individual Latin words) but it's much easier than learning Latin from scratch. That was my covid lockdown project. Let's just say I swiftly moved on to painting.
The Oxford Dictionary of British Bird Names
So I asked, “what could be better than a book explaining what many birds' scientific Latin names mean”? Answer: A book listing thousands of old British folklore bird names, where they were used and that name's etymology. If I could only every read one bird book for all time then this would be it. It's funny, it's interesting and sometimes it's baffling but, for someone like me with a passion for birds and words, it's as near perfect as a book can be.
The RSPB Pocket Book of Bird Anatomy
This is a book for those who want to know how birds work. It's in-depth and exhaustive but still manages to be readable and simple to understand, even for a non-biologist like myself. It covers everything from how birds evolved for the T-Rex (not pterodactyls and other flying dinosaurs as I had always believed) through to how they breathe, fly, procreate, their musculature, bone structure and everything in between. It's fascinating and well worth a read.
How to be a Bad Birdwatcher
You might know Simon Barnes from his regular column in the RSPB magazine that drops through members' letterboxes. His gentle yet probing writing style has made him one of the country's top nature writers. He also does a good line in sports coverage too.
This book shows how everyone knows more about birds than they think they do and, with a little patience and encouragement, they too can appreciate the beauty of the natural world on the wing. If you like this then also check out the same author's 'A Bad Birdwatcher's Companion' and 'Birdwatching with your Eyes Closed'.
A Siege of Bitterns
I like a good murder-mystery novel among all the serious stuff. You know, the 'Midsummer Murders' kind of thing where the background fun is usually more important than the actual murder case. 'A Siege of Bitterns' is the first in a series of novels featuring Inspector Domenic Jejeune. I know, it's a daft name but get past it and you'll find a loner cop who relieves the tension of his stressful day job by being a keen and knowledgable birdwatcher. It's in those moments of calm, immersing himself in the natural world that he can see the case clearly without the mental clutter of modern life. These books are great fun in the cosy crime genre but more than that; the author gets the mentality of birding right.
So that's some of my favourite birdy literature. I hope that you'll have a look at some of it. It's good to share. And as it's my birthday this week I'll put out a request to my nearest and dearest. If any of you have a spare £70 hanging around then I'd love a copy of 'All the Birds of the World'. Thank you (says he, more in hope than expectation).