The Birdwatcher's Yearbook
Various authors - edited by David Cromack
"As a resource, The Birdwatcher's Yearbook 2012 is second to none...."
LATE OCTOBER saw the arrival of the thirty-second edition of the excellent Birdwatcher's Yearbook series. 2012's version is as complete as the title has ever been, being a 328-page feast containing almost all the general information a British birdwatcher could ever need. As it turned out, finding anything 'wrong' with what has been published is nigh on impossible without becoming too picky.
The Birdwatcher's Yearbook 2012 begins with a general round-up of 2011's biggest ornithological headlines; although these may be old news to some it is remarkably up-to-date (including the Slimbridge Spoon-billed Sandpiper project and migrant Common Cuckoo tracking amongst others) and, in the future, will inevitably serve as an excellent reminder of the year's top stories. The features section also doubles up as a review; a round-up of some of the best books and websites that 2011 have had to offer provides readers with plenty of entertaining literature to explore.
Next up is the diary section; each month is given a double-page spread with one page illustrating a diary and the other a page for notes. I initially felt that the offering of one A5-sized page for monthly notes was perhaps a little inadequate unless used sparingly — however, this isn't a problem if one understands that a separate notebook is necessary for daily bird notes! In contrast, the log chart is superb — the British list is complete and up-to-date, and offers plenty of columns to record a wide range of lists. In addition, the inclusion of British dragonfly and butterfly lists is a nice touch, and reflects the increasing numbers of British birders whose interests broaden from just birds during the less-productive summer months.
Also updated is the guide to Britain's more productive nature reserves and observatories; this encyclopaedic walkthrough of over 400 sites is wonderfully accurate, providing readers with a potential wealth of new places to explore. In my opinion, there were one or two questionable entries in the section that suggested some sites had perhaps been ignored but, when considering how many sites are listed, the percentage appears minute and the effort that has gone into this year's edition cannot be denied.
The exhaustive directories included are perhaps the most impressive feature of The Birdwatcher's Yearbook. In addition to a trade directory, which lists recommended outlets to purchase anything from optics to software to holidays, there is also an excellent directory for artists, photographers and lecturers. Towards the end of the book is another directory that lists important contacts at county, national and international levels, ranging from county bird recorders right through to the biggest international organizations.
As a resource, The Birdwatcher's Yearbook 2012 is second to none for anyone with anything from a passing interest in British birds to the keenest among us. One could argue that, in contemporary times, much of the information available could be found on the internet. However, nothing else groups data into one resource like this, making it a unique, useful and highly efficient book for obtaining information. This is undoubtedly the Yellow Pages of British birding, and much more besides.
Josh Jones (BirdGuides website)
................................................
FATBIRDER View: Just BUY IT! If you are from or live in these isles and are a birder you need this, it is an essential reference even with wonderful internet resources like Fatbirder you will still find plenty here to more than warrant the outlay!
Bo Beolens (fatbirder website)
.............................................
".....stuffed to the gills with all sorts of handy bird-orientated information."
OF THE 34 years I've been watching birds The Birdwatcher's Yearbook has been available for 30. It's just sort of always been there.
This somehow tactile little volume has always been stuffed to the gills with all sorts of handy bird-orientated information. Since before the common usage of the internet, the Yearbook has been providing garden birdwatchers, general birders and turbo-twitchers alike pretty much all the fiddly bits of info they may at some point need (other than what's in their field guides and the exact location of the latest giga-rare) regarding local recorders, reserves, tide tables, regional and national information services and the like, and this it still does (it's actually pretty amazing the diversity of information that people with an interest in birds may require at some point).
Since its birth back in 1980, the ethos of this publication has been a simple one: provide a one-stop shop of formal, up-to-date information to British (and visiting) birders of every skill level and depth of interest. This it has always achieved with ease and never more so than in the latest edition.
As usual the book is handsomely presented with this year’s cover art featuring a vibrant pair of Kingfishers (I know it's shallow but I like bird books, of any description, to just...look nice). The text is crisp and clear as are the illustrations and you know where you are in the book with easy to locate, quick to thumb to, sections.
A very handy Quick Reference section gives up detail on sunrise/set times and tide tables valid to April 2011, grid references, sea areas (for when you're finding that holiday-with-the-family Bulwer's Petrel), the birdwatchers’ code of conduct and countryside code, as well as a list of Schedule 1 species and national and regional birdlines.
Not many people carry laptops when birding and phones can be a bit annoying sometimes. The Birdwatcher's Yearbook will sit comfortably in your field bag and, what's more, its batteries won't die.
It really does have an awful lot going for it. Here's to its next thirty years.
Des McKenzie (BirdGuides website, reviewing the 2010 edition)
.............................................................................................
LATE OCTOBER saw the arrival of the thirty-second edition of the excellent Birdwatcher's Yearbook series. 2012's version is as complete as the title has ever been, being a 328-page feast containing almost all the general information a British birdwatcher could ever need. As it turned out, finding anything 'wrong' with what has been published is nigh on impossible without becoming too picky.
The Birdwatcher's Yearbook 2012 begins with a general round-up of 2011's biggest ornithological headlines; although these may be old news to some it is remarkably up-to-date (including the Slimbridge Spoon-billed Sandpiper project and migrant Common Cuckoo tracking amongst others) and, in the future, will inevitably serve as an excellent reminder of the year's top stories. The features section also doubles up as a review; a round-up of some of the best books and websites that 2011 have had to offer provides readers with plenty of entertaining literature to explore.
Next up is the diary section; each month is given a double-page spread with one page illustrating a diary and the other a page for notes. I initially felt that the offering of one A5-sized page for monthly notes was perhaps a little inadequate unless used sparingly — however, this isn't a problem if one understands that a separate notebook is necessary for daily bird notes! In contrast, the log chart is superb — the British list is complete and up-to-date, and offers plenty of columns to record a wide range of lists. In addition, the inclusion of British dragonfly and butterfly lists is a nice touch, and reflects the increasing numbers of British birders whose interests broaden from just birds during the less-productive summer months.
Also updated is the guide to Britain's more productive nature reserves and observatories; this encyclopaedic walkthrough of over 400 sites is wonderfully accurate, providing readers with a potential wealth of new places to explore. In my opinion, there were one or two questionable entries in the section that suggested some sites had perhaps been ignored but, when considering how many sites are listed, the percentage appears minute and the effort that has gone into this year's edition cannot be denied.
The exhaustive directories included are perhaps the most impressive feature of The Birdwatcher's Yearbook. In addition to a trade directory, which lists recommended outlets to purchase anything from optics to software to holidays, there is also an excellent directory for artists, photographers and lecturers. Towards the end of the book is another directory that lists important contacts at county, national and international levels, ranging from county bird recorders right through to the biggest international organizations.
As a resource, The Birdwatcher's Yearbook 2012 is second to none for anyone with anything from a passing interest in British birds to the keenest among us. One could argue that, in contemporary times, much of the information available could be found on the internet. However, nothing else groups data into one resource like this, making it a unique, useful and highly efficient book for obtaining information. This is undoubtedly the Yellow Pages of British birding, and much more besides.
Josh Jones (BirdGuides website)
................................................
FATBIRDER View: Just BUY IT! If you are from or live in these isles and are a birder you need this, it is an essential reference even with wonderful internet resources like Fatbirder you will still find plenty here to more than warrant the outlay!
Bo Beolens (fatbirder website)
.............................................
".....stuffed to the gills with all sorts of handy bird-orientated information."
OF THE 34 years I've been watching birds The Birdwatcher's Yearbook has been available for 30. It's just sort of always been there.
This somehow tactile little volume has always been stuffed to the gills with all sorts of handy bird-orientated information. Since before the common usage of the internet, the Yearbook has been providing garden birdwatchers, general birders and turbo-twitchers alike pretty much all the fiddly bits of info they may at some point need (other than what's in their field guides and the exact location of the latest giga-rare) regarding local recorders, reserves, tide tables, regional and national information services and the like, and this it still does (it's actually pretty amazing the diversity of information that people with an interest in birds may require at some point).
Since its birth back in 1980, the ethos of this publication has been a simple one: provide a one-stop shop of formal, up-to-date information to British (and visiting) birders of every skill level and depth of interest. This it has always achieved with ease and never more so than in the latest edition.
As usual the book is handsomely presented with this year’s cover art featuring a vibrant pair of Kingfishers (I know it's shallow but I like bird books, of any description, to just...look nice). The text is crisp and clear as are the illustrations and you know where you are in the book with easy to locate, quick to thumb to, sections.
A very handy Quick Reference section gives up detail on sunrise/set times and tide tables valid to April 2011, grid references, sea areas (for when you're finding that holiday-with-the-family Bulwer's Petrel), the birdwatchers’ code of conduct and countryside code, as well as a list of Schedule 1 species and national and regional birdlines.
Not many people carry laptops when birding and phones can be a bit annoying sometimes. The Birdwatcher's Yearbook will sit comfortably in your field bag and, what's more, its batteries won't die.
It really does have an awful lot going for it. Here's to its next thirty years.
Des McKenzie (BirdGuides website, reviewing the 2010 edition)
.............................................................................................
