Britain's Birds 2nd Edition (1 Viewer)

[John Cantelo]

I just heard it's being 'prepared for dispatch' and should be sent out tomorrow or Monday.

 

[Nicola Main]

At last! Enjoy it! I know I was like a kid at Christmas when mine came through the door!

 

[Andy Adcock]

Where did you order from John? I got mine from NHBS a fantastic company for all nature related books and equipment!

NHBS undoubtedly carry a very wide range of stock, some of it quite specialist, however, they remain an expensive supplier.

The actual cost of a book from NHBS is usually the most expensive option but their postal costs are also expensive. Whilst some offer free delivey when a certain amount is spent and others continue to offer free postage as standard, NHBS charges rise on a scale relative to the cost of the purchase, presumably some kind of insurance cost? I don't see how they continue to thrive in the face of such competition but they undoubtedly do.

I use a range of suppliers and only use NHBS as a last resort or if they have an offer on.

 

[John Cantelo]

NHBS undoubtedly carry a very wide range of stock, some of it quite specialist, however, they remain an expensive supplier.

The actual cost of a book from NHBS is usually the most expensive option but their postal costs are also expensive. Whilst some offer free delivey when a certain amount is spent and others continue to offer free postage as standard, NHBS charges rise on a scale relative to the cost of the purchase, presumably some kind of insurance cost? I don't see how they continue to thrive in the face of such competition but they undoubtedly do.

I use a range of suppliers and only use NHBS as a last resort or if they have an offer on.

I try to use high street bookshops if I can but often neither they nor their warehouse have the book(s) I want. Online I tend to buy first from Wildsounds and then NHBS. I like to buy things from NHBS every now and again as even if it is sometimes a little more as I regard that a price worth paying to have a supplier willing to carry such a large stock of relatively obscure books.

 

[Essex Tern]

NHBS undoubtedly carry a very wide range of stock, some of it quite specialist, however, they remain an expensive supplier.

The actual cost of a book from NHBS is usually the most expensive option but their postal costs are also expensive. Whilst some offer free delivey when a certain amount is spent and others continue to offer free postage as standard, NHBS charges rise on a scale relative to the cost of the purchase, presumably some kind of insurance cost? I don't see how they continue to thrive in the face of such competition but they undoubtedly do.

I use a range of suppliers and only use NHBS as a last resort or if they have an offer on.

I got it for £18.49 delivered which I thought was quite good, but similarly I would normally go for a post free supplier.

I actually looked to see if there was a readily available pdf version, as I love the Collins Bird Guide app, and also Gulls, and Gulls of the World, which both come on pdf and can come with me birding on my phone. I prefer pdf versions now for the portability and would have foregone the paper version otherwise.

 

[Andy Adcock]

I try to use high street bookshops if I can but often neither they nor their warehouse have the book(s) I want. Online I tend to buy first from Wildsounds and then NHBS. I like to buy things from NHBS every now and again as even if it is sometimes a little more as I regard that a price worth paying to have a supplier willing to carry such a large stock of relatively obscure books.

Unless it's something really specialised, try Speedhen or Wordery, both are often the cheapest option for pre-pub offers the former at least, offers free postage as standard, I think they both do?

I buy all my New Naturalists from Speedhyhen these days, here's a link to the next one

https://www.speedyhen.com/Product/Ian-Newton/Uplands-and-Birds/24445205

and the latest Dragonfly book from Smallshire and Swash which I just purchased.

https://www.speedyhen.com/Product/D...e-to-the-damselflies-and-dragonflies/24680936

Edit: Now I smell a conspiracy!

Both those links come up as 'invalid' with WH Smith, Foyles and Waterstones as options?

 

[John Cantelo]

Wildsounds have it "in stock for immediate dispatch" for £14.99 including P&P. This time round I ordered via NHBS largely because they had another book I wanted that Wildsounds didn't but perhaps that was a mistake!

 

[Andy Adcock]

Wildsounds have it "in stock for immediate dispatch" for £14.99 including P&P. This time round I ordered via NHBS largely because they had another book I wanted that Wildsounds didn't but perhaps that was a mistake!

Including postage, it's usually now on orders above £20 at Wildsounds which is my usual supplier of choice?

https://www.wildsounds.com/pages/terms.shtml#Postfree

 

[John Cantelo]

Including postage, it's usually now on orders above £20 at Wildsounds which is my usual supplier of choice?

Thanks. I must have misread the blurb. If that's the case then £14.99 plus p&p seems the going rate and NHBS is no more expensive than elsewhere.

 

[Andy Adcock]

Thanks. I must have misread the blurb. If that's the case then £14.99 plus p&p seems the going rate and NHBS is no more expensive than elsewhere.

Speedyhen has it at £15.44 inclusive of pp but they don't have any yet.

A couple of sellers on Amazon have it at a similar price with free pp too but from their delivery date estimates, I'd say they don't have it yet either.

 

[Steve Lister]

Thanks. I must have misread the blurb. If that's the case then £14.99 plus p&p seems the going rate and NHBS is no more expensive than elsewhere.

I ordered two for £29.98 - avoids paying for p and p and will be a nice surprise for one of my birding mates.

Steve

 

[Andy Adcock]

I ordered two for £29.98 - avoids paying for p and p and will be a nice surprise for one of my birding mates.

Steve

Not meaning to be ungrateful Steve but I don't like photo guides.........

 

[Steve Lister]

Not meaning to be ungrateful Steve but I don't like photo guides.........

I'll give it to someone else then Andy

 

[Andy Adcock]

Just testing this link at the request of the seller.

https://www.speedyhen.com/Product/D...e-to-the-damselflies-and-dragonflies/24680936

Link is still failing to reach their site.................

 

[njlarsen]

I also get an error message
Niels

 

[John Cantelo]

A week after others my copy has finally arrived. Hardly dipped into it yet but I plan to go through it in detail anon ....

 

[Nicola Main]

Would love to hear your views on it John! The pages seem a lot clearer and printing seems to be better. I like the inclusion of the roundel symbol for gull aging to show how many years it takes for them to become adults. Just wish they had chosen a different Tawny Owl photo that stance just doesn't show the bird properly at all. Blackcap was another one I didn't like in the old version but they have changed that one! Do you have the Pocket version? I really recommend that one too! Perfect for taking out in the field.

 

[Stonefaction]

Overall it is a very good book and I like it. However, the maps are the biggest issue for me that I've found so far. While it is impossible to show all areas (especially where coverage is restricted to small sites) where particular birds can be found, some of the suggested coverage appears to be long out of date. Even in some cases comparing distribution maps with the 2008-11 atlas project reveals what appears to be imaginary distribution rather than actual for some species. There also appears to be a lack of consistency shown in categorising some species with regards the maps.

A few observations from mostly an Angus/Fife stand-point. Black-Necked Grebe is shown as a summer visitor to Angus & Fife. Yes, they did breed at Loch of Kinnordy but that was about 20+ years ago, though it doesn't seem to have reached many book authors' ears yet. Fair enough there was 1 bird took up YEAR-ROUND residence at Elie in Fife over past couple of years but Black Necked Grebe isn't a bird that turns up in Angus/Fife (my main birding areas) on anything like a predictably regular annual basis. Canada Goose isn't shown in Angus or Fife but they are far more reliable (especially in mid-summer) than Black Necked Grebe.

The map for Mandarin shows a small area to the west of Montrose Basin. If they are there then no-one has told Angus birders who tend to travel to Aberdeen for the year-tick with the Johnson Gardens/Walker Dam bird. Red Throated Diver is shown as a summer visitor to everywhere inland north of a line through Fife Ness. That seems incredibly broad-brush coverage. Mediterranean Gull - more common and increasingly reliable than Black Necked Grebe is only shown as scarce/irregular. Little Tern is shown as summer visitor but again is probably less likely to be encountered in Fife/Angus than Mediterranean Gull though perhaps slightly more than Black Necked Grebe. Neither Roseate or Black Tern are shown on Angus coast where both are probably more reliable than Little Tern, and definitely moreso than Black Necked Grebe with roughly a 2 month window in late Summer for both.

Other than Bonxies, Skuas don't appear to be seen off Angus/Fife coasts according to the maps. Arctic is a regular bird on passage (probably on a par with Bonxie?). Poms are claimed by a few observers each year and I've seen more Long Tailed Skuas off Angus/Fife coasts than I have Black Necked Grebes, though they are probably irregular visitors at best. Black Tailed Godwit is a regular outwith breeding season in Angus/Fife (Invergowrie Bay/Eden Estuary/Montrose Basin) but isn't shown at all in Angus/Fife yet the numerically less common Whimbrel which is shown as a regular migrant is.

Little Egret is now regular in Angus and Fife, now almost guaranteed year-round, but is shown as only to be found in coastal areas in southern Scotland - yet Great White Egret is shown as scarce/irregular (which it is), in NE Scotland. The birds of prey - White Tailed Eagle, Osprey, Honey Buzzard, Marsh Harrier in particular show a confusing lack of consistency when compared to each other.

Pied Flycatcher is shown as scarce/irregular (which it is) along the coast of Angus & Fife but Black Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat and Whinchat aren't (yet are probably likelier to be encountered than PF). Red Backed Shrike is shown as a regular migrant along Fife/Angus coast but is less reliable than LW, Whinchat and Black Redstart.

Not a local gripe but Cetti's Warbler is surely no longer limited to the S/SE of England as shown? Nuthatch coverage appears to be out of date for Scotland with only a small area of the Borders/Lothian shown. Magpie is another species whose range has expanded greatly into most of the local Angus/Fife 'gaps' on the map. Raven is regular in small numbers in NE Fife year-round. The map for Hawfinch (Scone Palace is the place to go) has coverage in other areas of Angus and Perthshire where if the birds are there, it has been kept very quiet indeed.

Having highlighted all of the above, the maps are probably one of my own personally least used features in ANY book. I tend to go online to check sightings/tap into local knowledge to find if birds are likely in a particular area rather than consult a field guide map where the size of the maps and age of book are likely to render the information within as of very limited use. For novice birders though they should give an idea of what they could realistically expect to see in their area. On that score this book manages about a 6/10 for Fife and Angus from me. Rest of the book probably just about an 8/10.

 

[Nicola Main]

I agree with everything you've said stonefaction coming from this area of the world too! I wonder what they based their maps on and from what source? I always find the BTO maps to be the best.

 

[John Cantelo]

Would love to hear your views on it John! The pages seem a lot clearer and printing seems to be better. I like the inclusion of the roundel symbol for gull aging to show how many years it takes for them to become adults. Just wish they had chosen a different Tawny Owl photo that stance just doesn't show the bird properly at all. Blackcap was another one I didn't like in the old version but they have changed that one! Do you have the Pocket version? I really recommend that one too! Perfect for taking out in the field.

I'm still working through it. However, I'll make a few initial points -

• the printing in the new edition seems much brighter and crisper than in the original

• the typeface is generally more clear and easy to read

• the extra page and better focus in the introduction is an improvement

• in general the layout has been improved aiding clarity and ease of use

• the grouping of birds is better both on the plate and in ordering where they're covered

• there's been an improvement in the selection of most photos (where replaced) & new ones are generally very helpful

• I've never seen a 2nd edition of a bird guide (or any book come to that) that's been so extensively revised and edited. Someone's gone through the old version with a fine tooth comb

• I agree about the gull symbol

On the downside I've found a couple of errors in the index and I'd agree that the maps remain a weakness (although smaller those in the BTO Collins photo guide are better).

I don't have the pocket guide partly because I don't think it adds anything (other than portability) and partly as in the UK (& in Europe) I rarely take a bird guide with me (or at least I never did until I got the Collins Guide app on my phone). I was schooled to be a 'make notes and look it up later' birdwatcher.