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Books on puffins (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter nivlat
- Start date
Dave Boyle
Well-known member
This ones a really good introduction to Puffins
hgalbraith1949
Well-known member
You should search for the Monograph: The Puffin, by Dr. Mike Harris. It is produced by Poyser and is the ultimate book on the breeding ecology of puffins in Europe.
Andrea Collins
Well-known member
I assume you are referring specifically to the Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) rather than the other three species which reside in the North Pacific.
The above mentioned books are both excellent but very different. The RSPB Spotlight book is a good introduction with lots of photographs to go with the text. The Poyser book by Mike Harris and Sarah Wanless is mostly text, maps and charts with a short section of colour photographs but will tell you just about everything you might want to know about Atlantic Puffins. Both are reasonably up to date.
There are also a few older books that are of use. Two from the 1980s are very good but may be out of date in some areas by now (I haven't read either for a long time so I can't be sure about that) -
"The Atlantic Puffin" by David Boag and Mike Alexander has text and photographs. Mike Alexander was at the time the warden of Skomer Island nature reserve in Wales and provided most of the information and observations from the island's puffin population.
"The Atlantic Alcidae" by David Nettleship and Tim Birkhead covers all six auks that breed in the North Atlantic so puffins are only a part of it. It has no photos, only text, maps and charts but is very comprehensive (again, allowing for its age).
Finally a recent photographic book is very good -
"Puffins, Life on the Atlantic Edge" by Kevin Morgans is not only a showcase for his excellent photography but actually provides quite a lot of information as many of the photos show interesting aspects of behaviour which are descibed in the captions and short essays which introduce the different chapters.
The above mentioned books are both excellent but very different. The RSPB Spotlight book is a good introduction with lots of photographs to go with the text. The Poyser book by Mike Harris and Sarah Wanless is mostly text, maps and charts with a short section of colour photographs but will tell you just about everything you might want to know about Atlantic Puffins. Both are reasonably up to date.
There are also a few older books that are of use. Two from the 1980s are very good but may be out of date in some areas by now (I haven't read either for a long time so I can't be sure about that) -
"The Atlantic Puffin" by David Boag and Mike Alexander has text and photographs. Mike Alexander was at the time the warden of Skomer Island nature reserve in Wales and provided most of the information and observations from the island's puffin population.
"The Atlantic Alcidae" by David Nettleship and Tim Birkhead covers all six auks that breed in the North Atlantic so puffins are only a part of it. It has no photos, only text, maps and charts but is very comprehensive (again, allowing for its age).
Finally a recent photographic book is very good -
"Puffins, Life on the Atlantic Edge" by Kevin Morgans is not only a showcase for his excellent photography but actually provides quite a lot of information as many of the photos show interesting aspects of behaviour which are descibed in the captions and short essays which introduce the different chapters.
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