With a glowing endorsement from celebrity wildlife enthusiast Chris Packham proudly adorning the cover, Where to Watch Birds in Britain immediately positions itself as an authoritative text. Given that it covers 454 major birdwatching sites in this follow‐up edition to the 2003 original, and features maps of 300 of those sites, it certainly lives up to the idea that “there could be no better guide”.
Despite the immense undertaking, the authors do not pretend to offer a comprehensive guide, but have rather created a set of selection criteria so that they can offer a quality guide. Quality in this context is whether a site will reward prolonged visitations in terms of varieties of species observable and the accessibility of the site to visitors, bearing in mind the mobility of disabled birdwatchers. However, if a site offers year‐round quality and a wide range of species to sustain interest, this may trump accessibility issues for inclusion. There is an obvious preference for wetlands, which means that some areas have better representation than others, but the whole of the UK is covered.
Each entry is subdivided into sections. Each site receives an introductory paragraph, explaining something of the history, ownership and the periods of the year when the site is most likely to reward visitors. Notes on the different habitats that exist on the site follow; explaining where nesting is most likely to be taking place and how it is promoted by local conservation groups. After this the range of species to be found at the site is listed, what time of year they can be seen and some indication of numbers. This section is backed up at the end of the book by a list of the authors' recommended 100 species for viewing, which will be useful for new twitchers wanting to find rarities to start their birdwatching careers. It is a shame, however, that the authors have chosen to discard the species index of the previous edition, as it makes it more difficult to immediately identify which sites to visit, if you wish to view one of those 100 species. The fourth section in the entry is the access section. Typically, this explains how to get to the site, describing the approach by car and where it is possible to park, but, for those sites found on islands, it also gives sea and air travel options with some detail on service times.
As mentioned above, the majority of entries also feature black and white maps of varying scales that include parking areas, hides and viewpoints, as well as representations of the terrain. If these do not provide enough detail, each entry references the appropriate OS Landranger map and some feature grid references and contact details for local trusts.
It is easy to admire what has been achieved in this guide. It provides any birdwatcher with new territories to explore outside their usual haunts, offering the chance to see uncommon and localized species, and as such should be of great use in any general UK reference section.
