British field guides (1 Viewer)

[DavidP]

Planning on taking a trip to the Uk this summer.
I wonder what everyone would recommend as a good field guide for the Uk.
Reading past threads I purchased the paperback version of the Collins guide which I think is great, but it is a little large for field use, the type and illustrations are on the small side and i have my doubts that I will need the information on the Pale Scops Owl along with many of the other species that have a very low probability of appearing in the UK.

Is there an equal British version of the Collins guide that has the same quality, perhaps more info on each species relevant to the UK, is a little easier to read and to take in the field.

I find the US Sibley guide to Western species ideal in this respect, as it fits in my top shirt pocket, and is easy for the field but has the quality of the original sibley guide and is the same quality as the Collins but a lot easier to use and more useful to purely my area.
So my real question is there a Collins version of this sort of arrangement.

Thanks

David

 

[Jane Turner]

David - the best two guides to the UK are Collins and Lars Jonsson - which are the same size.... Don't laugh everyone, but there used to be a tiny book produced by Mitchell Beasly, illustrated by I think Peter Hayman that only covered birds regularly seen in the UK.

 

[Jane Turner]

Not 100% accurate info given by me - but this is it.

http://shops.owlpages.net/uk/amazon-item_id-0855331488-search_type-AsinSearch-locale-uk.html

When are you coming and where are you visiting?

 

[Steve Lister]

David - the best two guides to the UK are Collins and Lars Jonsson - which are the same size.... Don't laugh everyone, but there used to be a tiny book produced by Mitchell Beasly, illustrated by I think Peter Hayman that only covered birds regularly seen in the UK.

Both the Collins and Jonsson guides cover all of Europe. I will look up some that just cover Britain for you, and get back to you.

Steve

 

[DavidP]

Not 100% accurate info given by me - but this is it.

http://shops.owlpages.net/uk/amazon-item_id-0855331488-search_type-AsinSearch-locale-uk.html

When are you coming and where are you visiting?

Thanks Jane

I'll be in Uk in late July early August for about 3 weeks and plan to spend most time on the Isle of Wight, Falmouth Cornwall and the Gower peninsula in Wales. Let me know if there are any special places I should visit around there.

 

[Grousemore]

The Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and North-West Europe,by Kightley,Madge and Nurney is a good bet as a true field guide;eminently portable,very informative and only 380 species covered.
For UK only,it would be worth looking at,David.
[published by Helm, ISBN 0-7136-6444-4]

 

[pduxon]

I'll put in a nod for the The Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and North-West Europe,by Kightley,Madge and Nurney you can get it in the States as well.

I'd also recommend the The RSPB Handbook of British Birds by Peter Holden and Tim Cleeves, it covers the 280 commenest birds found in Britain.

 

[Steve Lister]

Hi David

Your main choices are:
Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and north-west Europe
(Kightley, Madge and Nurney: £11.95 in the UK)
Birdwatcher's Pocket Field Guide
(Golley: £9.99)
Collins Birds of Britain and Ireland
(Couzens: £9.99)
Birds of Britain and Ireland - Collins Wild Guide
(Holden: £8.99)

All are small and reliable, the first being the most popular but also including the largest proportion of species that you will not see - it has some that I have never seen in Britain in 34 years birding!!

I would also recommend the book Where to Watch Birds in Britain (Harrap and Redman, 2003 edition: £19.99) - it would give you plenty of detail on the main sites in the areas you plan to visit. There are also regional where-to-watch guides, but you would need three of them; despite England being a very small country we are incredibly well off for bird books.

Have a good trip
Steve Lister

 

[Surreybirder]

I'm a great fan of The Macmillan field guide to Bird Identification by Harris, Tucker and Vinicombe. It would be a sort of 'back-up' as it consists of a series of short articles on how to tell the trickier species apart (such as willow and marsh tit). It's the UK's answer to Kaufman's Advanced birding but the illustrations are all in colour (and very good).
On a nostalgic note, I don't think that you can do much better than The Shell Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland by Ferguson-Lees, Willis and Sharrock, but I suspect that my compatriots will regard me as very old-fogeyish o
It's worth looking at www.fatbirder.com for detailed info. on different English areas.
Good luck.
Ken

 

[pduxon]

Hi David

Your main choices are:
Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and north-west Europe
(Kightley, Madge and Nurney: £11.95 in the UK)
Birdwatcher's Pocket Field Guide
(Golley: £9.99)
Collins Birds of Britain and Ireland
(Couzens: £9.99)
Birds of Britain and Ireland - Collins Wild Guide
(Holden: £8.99)

All are small and reliable, the first being the most popular but also including the largest proportion of species that you will not see - it has some that I have never seen in Britain in 34 years birding!!

I would also recommend the book Where to Watch Birds in Britain (Harrap and Redman, 2003 edition: £19.99) - it would give you plenty of detail on the main sites in the areas you plan to visit. There are also regional where-to-watch guides, but you would need three of them; despite England being a very small country we are incredibly well off for bird books.

Have a good trip
Steve Lister

Would agree with the Harrap but couldn't agree with the Golley the ordering of the birds is attrocious!! I got to use it once and found it a real pain

 

[redshift]

I would strongly recommend the RSPB Handbook of British Birds (Peter Holden, Tim Cleeves) currently gbp 6.99 on Amazon. A excellent guide to British (rather than European) birds. Probably a much better choice than the Collins for someone coming to just Britain for a short break. Gives more general information about species too than some other books - it's not just an identification guide.

 

[Bluetail]

On a nostalgic note, I don't think that you can do much better than The Shell Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland by Ferguson-Lees, Willis and Sharrock, but I suspect that my compatriots will regard me as very old-fogeyish o

Only those who are too young to have known it, or who only like looking at pretty pictures! I've said it before and I'll say it again: the text was virtuosic, especially since it was virtually a one-man effort (Ferguson-Lees). The paintings have been bettered since, of course, but they were still very good (well, most of them). Trouble is it's long out of print.

For Dave, I'll put in yet another vote for the Kightley, Madge and Nurney.

 

[Rob Smallwood]

I'm a great fan of The Macmillan field guide to Bird Identification by Harris, Tucker and Vinicombe.

Can I just back up Surreybirder here - this is a brilliant book, pretty useless on its own (because it concentrates on difficult confusion species) but as a back up to any of the field guides well worth the money.

I once saw a pile in a "remainder" bookshop selling at £1.99 and still deeply regret not buying the lot and leaving a copy in every hide I visit!

 

[John Cantelo]

Despite the difficulties posed by the enormous range of species, I still think the Collins Bird Guide is so good it can't be ignored. Howver, should you not be persuaded ....

Birdwatchers' Pocket Guide - Mark Golley
Despite the generally aesthetically very pleasing plates, I'm surprised that this book has been recommended. Granted that it is small and highly portable, but the absurd (and inconsistent) layout by habitat makes it virtually unusable as a field guide. (Not just my opinion - I tried it out with some "learners" who just couldn't get on with it). This is compounded by a lack of maps. The text is good, but simplistic.

Pocket Guide to Birds of Britain & NW Europe - Kightley, Madge & Nurney
A clear winner. Workmanlike rather than inspired illustrations, but they do the job very well (and are a good size). Good range of plumages shown & good ID notes. Good maps & notes on status etc. Only drawback is that it includes some non-British species (but not to the extent that this really confuses (unlike Collins Bird Guide)

The Birdwatcher's Pocket Guide to Britain & Europe - Hayman & Hume
The only guide that comes close to (and in some ways exceeds) the artistry of the Collins Bird Guide. Superbly well annotated plates. Shirt pocket portable. However, just when the authors were about to give Collins some real competition they shot themselves in the foot by including neither maps nor accurate measurements. Poor on vocalisations. Should these drawbacks be remedied it would be my FIELD guide of choice. It covers all the 'basic' European birds (430) so might confuse the unwary. Small print so you may need specs!

Shell Guide - Ferguson-Lees et al
An old favourite. Sensibly separated 'main stream' UK birds and rarities. UK maps. Good, if pale, plates. Excellent text. Had it been still in print it would be my recommended book for UK use.

RSPB Pocket Guide - if you like photo guides (I don't) a good choice, if not avoid!

When leading walks I tend to use the Hayman book & that by Madge et al.

It is most odd that with the European guide market super saturated publishers have so neglected the UK market. Personally I'd love to see a slimmed down, suitably re-edited (i.e. rarities separated a la the Shell guide) version of the Collins guide for UK birders,

John

 

[Tero]

If you have a Borders store close by, they usually carry the Kightley book, so you can check it out before you buy. Some stores also carry a very old fashioned Peterson Europe guide. Its maps cover a bigger chunk of Europe.

 

[DavidP]

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I'll definitely try out the Knightley and Madge and maybe the RSPB book as well.
Find it hard to believe that the Collins guide which is very good doesn't come out with a slimmed down field portable version for the UK and Ireland. I'm sure the majority of there sales as is are from UK, everyone knows you're all bird mad its not a secret. Over here in the local wildlife preserve you have to watch out on Saturdays and Wednesdays during winter as those are bird hunting days, can't imagine they'd allow that in UK. A bit sad really to watch the birds one day and know they'll be blasted away at the next.

Dave

 

[pduxon]

Dave - the only thing is make sure you get the right RSPB book(if you do) there are quite a few!! but the one by Holden AND Cleeves is excellent, it uses art work from the Handbook of Bird Indetification.

Of the two I recommended the Holden Cleeves has lots of info on non id issues and cross references to confusion species (which you might find useful) the Kightley et al is a good size (fits in some trousers pockets). They're the two that I use on a day to day basis.

John - your comments on the Golley are spot on. If they had actually put the birds in the "standard" order the other faults would be liveable. A slimmed down Collins would be excellent, anyone know Svennson et al??