Best beginners guide (1 Viewer)

DJ Sideboard

Well-known member

• Nov 22, 2004

• #1

I need to buy someone with a fledgling interest in british birds a first field guide.

What do people consider to be the best?.

Thanks in advance,

DJ.

 

Grousemore

Senior Member

• Nov 22, 2004

• #2

RSPB HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS... Peter Holden and Tim Cleeves.
Not only a decent Field Guide, but plenty of other useful info, especially for the beginner; population, movements and migration etc.
Also mentions 'confusion species' and being British, does not have too many species to confuse the inexperienced birder.

 

Richard D

what was that...

Supporter

• Nov 22, 2004

• #3

Rob Hume & Peter Hayman's Mitchell Beasley Guide to birds is a good beginners guide and nice and compact (although personally I prefer the previous edition - green cover)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...4343/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_10_1/202-4228993-3434240

If you prefer a photographic guide Rob Hume's RSPB/Dorling Kindersley guide is probably the best photographic guide.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...4448/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_11_2/202-4228993-3434240

The favourite guide seems to be the Collins guide but in being very comprehensive it may confuse the beginner.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...34515/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_3_1/202-4228993-3434240

All three are worth having.

Richard

 

Malcolm Fisher

Well-known member

• Nov 22, 2004

• #4

DJ Sideboard said:

I need to buy someone with a fledgling interest in british birds a first field guide.

What do people consider to be the best?.

Thanks in advance,

DJ.

Click to expand...

I dont know whats the best of course, but as a sort of luke warm beginner I was bought the RSPB Birds of Britain & Europe, by Rob Hume published by DK at rrp of £16.99. I found it very good indeed, and the pictures were enough to make me even more interested.

 

L

level seven

Registered user

• Nov 22, 2004

• #5

As a first guide I'd definitely recommend Bill Oddie's book, Birds of Britain and Ireland, as it seems to be aimed right at the beginner. It has lots of tips about identifying birds for the inexperienced birder (and more experienced!) and often points out what is more likely to be found at a particular time of year or part of the country.

It won't be too long before you'd want to move on to something like the Collins for the extra detail and plumages etc, but I find myself often referring back to Bill Oddie's book too.

 

pduxon

Quacked up Member

• Nov 22, 2004

• #6

Well I'll agree with Grousemore and suggest the RSPB Handbook of British Birds by Holden & Cleeves.

Some of the others mentioned above cover Britain AND Europe so you get lots of species of woodpeckers when we get only 3!!!!

The Holden and Cleeves concentrates on the Birds you are most likely to see over here. Certainly I found the confusion species bit VERY useful.