edm@vrdxhq.verdix.com (Ed Matthews) (07/23/90)
I'm going to be spending two weeks in England and Ireland in September. Would really like some suggestions about where to go. I will be in London for two days at either end of the trip. Are there any places to bird in London accessible by tube, taxi? I am going to Kew. How's the birding there? I will be touring the southwest for about five days and am already planning a trip to Dartmoor National Park. My schedule is reasonably flexible and I will be renting a car. Any recommendations for places not to miss in this part of England? Finally, I'll have six days with rental car in and about Kilarney, Ireland. I'm planning a trip to Muckross to see the gardens. Is this a decent place for birding? Any recommendations for birding local to Kilarney would be appreciated as would any for day trips from Kilarney. What are the standard field guides for England and Ireland? Can they be purchased in the US? Thanks. -- Ed Matthews edm@verdix.com Verdix Corporation Headquarters (703) 378-7600 Chantilly, Virginia
misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika Forsten DC) (07/24/90)
In article <36067@vrdxhq.verdix.com> edm@vrdxhq.verdix.com (Ed Matthews) writes: > I'm going to be spending two weeks in England and Ireland in September. > Would really like some suggestions about where to go. The best site guide is 'Birdwatching in Britain' by Redman and Harrap. I expect it will be available in Britain. The Natural History Book Service (Devon) has it anyway. > I will be in London for two days at either end of the trip. Are there any > places to bird in London accessible by tube, taxi? I am going to Kew. How's > the birding there? > I will be touring the southwest for about five days and am already planning > a trip to Dartmoor National Park. My schedule is reasonably flexible and > I will be renting a car. Any recommendations for places not to miss in this > part of England? There are some regional guides as well, but I don't know if there are any on the parts you're going to visit. Jeff, can you enlighten us about any good sites there? > Finally, I'll have six days with rental car in and about Kilarney, Ireland. > I'm planning a trip to Muckross to see the gardens. Is this a decent place > for birding? Any recommendations for birding local to Kilarney would be > appreciated as would any for day trips from Kilarney. I don't know whether there is any site guide on Ireland, but there is a book called 'Birds in Ireland' by Clive Hutchinson about the birds. 19 pounds. > What are the standard field guides for England and Ireland? Can they be > purchased in the US? I don't know which books the Brits use, but I think the best would be: 'The Shell Guide to the Birds of Britain' and Ireland by Ferguson-Lees, Willis and Sharrock 9.95 pounds. or, if you prefer to have a book about the whole of Europe 'Hamlyn Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe' by Bruun, Delin and Svensson latest revised edition. 5.95 pounds. Both are very good books. The Shell Guide is special in that it also have colour plates of juveniles and other seldom shown plumages. It includes information on status and occurence in Britain. The Shell Guide is available from the ABA, I expect both are also easy to find in Britain. If you want to learn more about difficult plumages get: 'The MacMillan Guide to Bird Identification' by Harris, Tucker and Vinicombe. This is the European equivalent of Advanced Birding by Kenn Kaufmann.
dgraham@kean.ucs.mun.ca (David Graham) (07/25/90)
In article <MISAN.90Jul24195119@ra.abo.fi>, misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika Forsten DC) writes: > In article <36067@vrdxhq.verdix.com> edm@vrdxhq.verdix.com (Ed Matthews) writes: > >> I'm going to be spending two weeks in England and Ireland in September. >> Would really like some suggestions about where to go. > > The best site guide is 'Birdwatching in Britain' by Redman and Harrap. > I expect it will be available in Britain. The Natural History Book Service > (Devon) has it anyway. Also worth mentioning: 1. 'Birdwatcher's Britain' ("the unique pocket guide to birdwatching walks"), ed. John Parslow (many contributors for different regions). Pan Books/Ordnance Survey, 1983. I apparently bought it for 4.95 pounds. Has about 25 pp. on the SW of England, with maps of walks, sites etc. 2. 'Where to Watch Birds in Devon and Cornwall', David Norman and Vic Tucker, ill. Peter Harrison. Croom Helm, 1984. I have found this book very useful indeed on trips to the SW. >> I will be touring the southwest for about five days and am already planning >> a trip to Dartmoor National Park. My schedule is reasonably flexible and >> I will be renting a car. Any recommendations for places not to miss in this >> part of England? > Norman and Tucker devote 20 pp. to Dartmoor. Best local speciality for a lot of people is probably Ring Ouzel... >> What are the standard field guides for England and Ireland? Can they be >> purchased in the US? > > I don't know which books the Brits use, but I think the best would be: > > 'The Shell Guide to the Birds of Britain' and Ireland by Ferguson-Lees, > Willis and Sharrock 9.95 pounds. This book is excellent, as Annika says, but personally I find the colours rather washed out compared to most field guides. Good descriptions and maps. > or, if you prefer to have a book about the whole of Europe > > 'Hamlyn Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe' by Bruun, Delin and Svensson > latest revised edition. 5.95 pounds. > I still swear by my old copy of 'The Birds of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East', Heinzel, Fitter and Parslow. Collins, 1979. The Peterson guide I find not as useful, though I used it a lot and liked it before I got the Heinzel et al. I just received (though can't remember ordering) a new photographic field guide called 'Jim Flegg's Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe' (photographs by Eric and David Hosking). New Holland, 1990. It looks beautiful but of course will not interest those who are ideologically opposed to photographic field guides! The photos are spectacular in many cases. *************************************************************************** David Graham dgraham@kean.ucs.mun.ca ***************************************************************************
sandee@sun13.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee) (07/25/90)
In article <MISAN.90Jul24195119@ra.abo.fi> misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika Forsten DC) writes: >In article <36067@vrdxhq.verdix.com> edm@vrdxhq.verdix.com (Ed Matthews) writes: >> I'm going to be spending two weeks in England and Ireland in September. >> Would really like some suggestions about where to go. > .. and Annika suggests : >The best site guide is 'Birdwatching in Britain' by Redman and Harrap. > .... >I don't know whether there is any site guide on Ireland, but there is a >book called 'Birds in Ireland' by Clive Hutchinson about the birds. 19 pounds. > .... >'The Shell Guide to the Birds of Britain' and Ireland by Ferguson-Lees, >Willis and Sharrock 9.95 pounds. > .... >'Hamlyn Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe' by Bruun, Delin and Svensson >latest revised edition. 5.95 pounds. > .... >'The MacMillan Guide to Bird Identification' by Harris, Tucker and Vinicombe. >This is the European equivalent of Advanced Birding by Kenn Kaufmann. I'll leave the expertise of which guide is best to Annika, but I can provide some information on where to get them. ABA (1-800-634-7736, 7 days a week, 8 to 8 Mountain time) is weak on foreign field guides, but they DO have the Shell guide ($15.95) Los Angeles Audubon Society (1-213-876-0202, Tue thru Sat, 10-3 Pac time), lists 'Birdwatching in Britain, a site by site guide', Redman, Harrap $24.95 'Birds of Britain and Europe', Bruun et al. $14.95 'Watching birds in Ireland', Hutchinson $ 9.95 (19 pounds = $ 9.95 ???) Daan Sandee sandee@sun16.scri.fsu.edu Supercomputer Computations Research Institute Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4052 (904) 644-7045
misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika Forsten DC) (07/27/90)
In article <107582@kean.ucs.mun.ca> dgraham@kean.ucs.mun.ca (David Graham) writes: > > 'The Shell Guide to the Birds of Britain' and Ireland by Ferguson-Lees, > > Willis and Sharrock 9.95 pounds. > This book is excellent, as Annika says, but personally I find the > colours rather washed out compared to most field guides. Good > descriptions and maps. Yes, the plates are a bit washed out, unfortunately. I think Willis tends to paint this way, the same goes for 'The Birds of the Middle East and North Africa'. > > or, if you prefer to have a book about the whole of Europe > > > > 'Hamlyn Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe' by Bruun, Delin and Svensson > > latest revised edition. 5.95 pounds. > > > I still swear by my old copy of 'The Birds of Britain and Europe with > North Africa and the Middle East', Heinzel, Fitter and Parslow. > Collins, 1979. The Peterson guide I find not as useful, though I used > it a lot and liked it before I got the Heinzel et al. I just received > (though can't remember ordering) a new photographic field guide called > 'Jim Flegg's Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe' > (photographs by Eric and David Hosking). New Holland, 1990. It looks > beautiful but of course will not interest those who are ideologically > opposed to photographic field guides! The photos are spectacular in > many cases. For Britain the Heinzel guide includes rather a lot of unneccessary species. Because of the large scope, the text about each species isn't very long. Also the book is rather old by now. I like the look of the plates though, they're nicely drawn (which doesn't neccessarily mean they are correct). The plates in the Hamlyn guide are much coarser, the birds don't look nice (except for the new ones by Zetterstroem). But the text is superior, it really includes much of the latest stuff about identification. But this only goes for the latest revised edition, the earlier editions aren't any better, in my opinion, than Heinzel. Heinzel is practical if you travel over the whole of Western Palearctic, not just Europe. I agree about Peterson, not my choise. I haven't had time to look at my copy of Jim Flegg's new book yet, but it doesn't include more than one photo of each species, so I'd say it's rather useless as a field guide, but useful as a companion to a field guide. If you want a good photo guide on European birds, have a look at Delin and Svensson 'The Birds of Britain and Europe'. The text is the same as in the Hamlyn guide, but there are photos of almost all ordinary plumages (2-5 photos of each species). Price 14.95 pounds. Annika Forsten, Abo Akademi, Finland misan@ra.abo.fi
dgraham@kean.ucs.mun.ca (David Graham) (07/28/90)
In article <MISAN.90Jul27131748@ra.abo.fi>, misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika Forsten DC) writes: > > For Britain the Heinzel guide includes rather a lot of unneccessary species. Yes. > Because of the large scope, the text about each species isn't very long. > Also the book is rather old by now. I like the look of the plates though, > they're nicely drawn (which doesn't neccessarily mean they are correct). Yes, yes, and yes. I must admit I've often wondered about the correctness of some of the birds, in the same way that Arthur Singer's illustrations for the North American 'Golden Guide' look almost too good sometimes. > The plates in the Hamlyn guide are much coarser, the birds don't look nice > (except for the new ones by Zetterstroem). But the text is superior, it > really includes much of the latest stuff about identification. But this > only goes for the latest revised edition, the earlier editions aren't > any better, in my opinion, than Heinzel. Heinzel is practical if you travel > over the whole of Western Palearctic, not just Europe. I must try to get hold of the Hamlyn guide (haven't seen it yet)--I'll be in Scotland in a couple of weeks and may have a chance then. > I agree about Peterson, not my choise. I haven't had time to look at my > copy of Jim Flegg's new book yet, but it doesn't include more than one > photo of each species, so I'd say it's rather useless as a field guide, > but useful as a companion to a field guide. I agree completely. I find photo guides little help in the field (with the possible exception of the _Audubon Society Master Guide_, which at 3 vols. is hardly a pocket edition anyway), but I marvel that anyone can take such splendid pictures. I guess I'm just a sucker for bird books.... > Annika Forsten, Abo Akademi, Finland misan@ra.abo.fi *************************************************************************** David Graham dgraham@kean.ucs.mun.ca ***************************************************************************
bijl@eng.cam.ac.uk (David Bijl) (07/29/90)
A good book on British birds, and the one recommended by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), is in the "Mitchell-Beazley Pocket Guide" series. I think it is called "Birds of Britain". The information is very dense, with small but many useful sketches for every entry. I have several bird books: this one is the best for me. A friend who has been an avid and active bird watcher for 30 years also swears by it. It costs 5.95 pounds. I think it is free with RSPB membership. That is 15 pounds (from memory), and gives you free access to RSPB reserves, which pays of in about 3-5 trips. If you have a partner, he or she can get associate membership for 3 pounds or so. There address is RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, England, SG19 2DL. For reserve information, check out reserves of RSPB, National Trust, Wild Fowl Nature Trust, etc. I can dig out more information if you like. -- Yours, David Bijl, Cambridge University, England. (email: bijl@uk.ac.cam.eng)
jhiggott@dumbo.axion.bt.co.uk (jeff higgott) (07/30/90)
In article <107582@kean.ucs.mun.ca>, dgraham@kean.ucs.mun.ca (David Graham) writes: |> In article <MISAN.90Jul24195119@ra.abo.fi>, misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika |> Forsten DC) writes: |> > In article <36067@vrdxhq.verdix.com> edm@vrdxhq.verdix.com (Ed |> Matthews) writes: |> > |> >> I'm going to be spending two weeks in England and Ireland in September. |> >> Would really like some suggestions about where to go. |> > |> > The best site guide is 'Birdwatching in Britain' by Redman and Harrap. |> > I expect it will be available in Britain. The Natural History Book Service |> > (Devon) has it anyway. I agree here. This book is well worth getting. It gives sites, and directions as well as mentioning the birds that may be seen. Almost all the major/important sites seem to get a mention. |> |> Also worth mentioning: |> |> 1. 'Birdwatcher's Britain' ("the unique pocket guide to birdwatching |> walks"), ed. John Parslow (many contributors for different regions). |> Pan Books/Ordnance Survey, 1983. I apparently bought it for 4.95 |> pounds. Has about 25 pp. on the SW of England, with maps of walks, |> sites etc. 'Birdwatcher's Britain' is a nice book for the rambler with an interest in birds but the walks given don't really allow you to get the maximum number of birds for your time. |> |> 2. 'Where to Watch Birds in Devon and Cornwall', David Norman and Vic |> Tucker, ill. Peter Harrison. Croom Helm, 1984. I have found this book |> very useful indeed on trips to the SW. A good book with more detail on a smaaler area than Redman & Harrap. |> >> What are the standard field guides for England and Ireland? Can they be |> >> purchased in the US? |> > |> > I don't know which books the Brits use, but I think the best would be: |> > |> > 'The Shell Guide to the Birds of Britain' and Ireland by Ferguson-Lees, |> > Willis and Sharrock 9.95 pounds. |> |> This book is excellent, as Annika says, but personally I find the |> colours rather washed out compared to most field guides. Good |> descriptions and maps. The Shell guide has its faults (lots of minor ones, including the colours) but not as many as any other field guide. It covers everything you are likely to seein Britain and Ireland, and several hundred you aren't, in a separate section on vagrants. |> |> > or, if you prefer to have a book about the whole of Europe |> > |> > 'Hamlyn Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe' by Bruun, Delin and Svensson |> > latest revised edition. 5.95 pounds. I prefer heinzel et al over Bruun et al although the latter has been greatly improved recently (including all new text). The new plates in Bruun et al by Delin still contain inaccuracies. They are both good guides though. |> > |> |> I still swear by my old copy of 'The Birds of Britain and Europe with |> North Africa and the Middle East', Heinzel, Fitter and Parslow. |> Collins, 1979. The Peterson guide I find not as useful, though I used |> it a lot and liked it before I got the Heinzel et al. I just received |> (though can't remember ordering) a new photographic field guide called |> 'Jim Flegg's Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe' |> (photographs by Eric and David Hosking). New Holland, 1990. It looks |> beautiful but of course will not interest those who are ideologically |> opposed to photographic field guides! The photos are spectacular in |> many cases. Jim Flegg's photographic guide fairly poor (in my humble opinion), as almost any of the books in which Flegg gets involved are. The Hamlyn photographic guide is only slightly more expensive but has the same (useful) text as Bruun et al, far more useful photos, far more species, far more plumages etc etc. Flegg's guide really isn't all that bad, but it doesn't compare with the Hamlyn version. One major restriction of Flegg's guide is that they have only used the Hoshing's photos; The Hamlyn guide contains some of the best photos from a large number of photographers. * Jeff Higgott * * * "Under bridges, over bridges, to our destination" - HMHB (I am still thinking about the London sites.)
aw@stl.stc.co.uk (Alan Wilkinson) (07/30/90)
In article <36067@vrdxhq.verdix.com> edm@vrdxhq.verdix.com (Ed Matthews) writes: > I'm going to be spending two weeks in England and Ireland in > September. Would really like some suggestions about where to go. ... EDM goes on to explain that he plans to visit Dartmoor National Park in SW England, and Kilarney in SW Ireland. A few suggestions for SW England follow. Details of access can be found in 'Birdwatching in Britain' by Nigel Redman and Simon Harrap, though Dave Norman & Vic Tucker's 'Where to Watch Birds in Devon and Cornwall' would offer many extra suggestions for the south-west of England. Both books are published by Croom Helm and easily obtained in London, try Sotheran's, Sackville st., Piccadilly. By September most of Dartmoor's specialities (Ring ouzel and breeding waders on the moors; Redstart, Pied flycatchers and Wood warblers in the bordering woods) will have departed for wintering grounds abroad. The exception is Red grouse which is resident and may be found by walking (for along time!) on the higher parts of the moor especially Cranmere Pool near Okehampton. At this time of year most birders will be concentrating on migrating shorebirds and seabirds, and there are several good areas close to Dartmoor. SHOREBIRDS: The Exe estuary in East Devon attracts good numbers of most of the shorebird species that pass through Britain. At the mouth of the estuary, Dawlish Warren has a large roost of waders at high-tide, including Curlew, Whimbrel, Bar-tailed godwit, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Dunlin, Sanderling, Knot, Ringed plover, Redshank, and with luck, Little stint and Curlew sandpiper. Also several species of gull, terns and ducks; plus, from the beach, Gannets and perhaps the odd skua, auk species or kittiwake. Migrating passerines can also be found in the scrub around the car-park. A couple of hours before high-tide it is worth checking the mud-flats at the north end of the estuary around Topsham and Powderham, for Greenshanks, Spotted redshanks, Black-tailed godwits, Common sandpiper, Green sandpiper and perhaps an early Avocet, as well as many of the species mentioned earlier. BIRDS OF PREY: A BOP watch-point has recently been established at Haldon forest between the Exe estuary and Dartmoor. This is the only widelyPpublicised, wardened site for Honey buzzard in the UK, and Honeys are present from mid-May to at least the first week of September. Provided the weather is dry and reasonably sunny, expect to see Honey buzzard as well as the commoner Kestrel, Buzzard, and Sparrowhawk. Hobby (to mid-Sept), Peregrine and Goshawk are regularly reported. Access to the watchpoint is from the B3193 which runs north of the A38 main road from Exeter to Plymouth. Approaching from Exeter, turn left at the brow of Haldon hill onto the B3344 and immediately turn right onto the B3193 which passes under the A38. The watchpoint is sign-posted on the left about 2 miles north of the A38. SEABIRDS: weather conditions are critical, but in strong south-westerly winds, Prawle point in S.Devon or Porthgwarra in Cornwall can be good for seabird migration. If the wind goes round to West or North-West, from south-westerly (as often happens in the area), St Ives in Cornwall is the place to go. Large numbers of Gannet, Fulmar, Razorbill, Guillemot and Kittiwake occur, with smaller numbers of Manx shearwaters, Arctic skua and Bonxie. If the weather has been severe enough: Sooty shearwaters, Yelkouan shearwaters, Storm petrels, and the odd Sabine's gull or Leach's petrel are possible. Details of access to these sites can be found in either of the guides mentioned above. PASSERINES: perching birds are mainly evident as migrating species at watchpoints such as Prawle point and Slapton Ley in South Devon, or Porthgwarra and Marazion marsh in West Cornwall. In addition to migrants, Prawle point is noteworthy for its Cirl buntings. See the suggested guide books for details. South-west Ireland: Famous for its seabird watching spots of the SW coast, especially Cape Clear island SW of Cork, but presumably the tip of any Western peninsula, in on-shore wind conditions. The same seabird species as mentioned for Devon and Cornwall but usually in much greater numbers. Cape Clear also has resident Choughs. If you're interested in viewing British rarities during your visit, try the British RBA 'Birdline' - telephone 0898 700222 (25p or 38p/minute). Don't be surprised if British birders are chasing after American species at this of the year, though!
aw@stl.stc.co.uk (Alan Wilkinson) (07/31/90)
In article <3257@stl.stc.co.uk> by aw@stl.stc.co.uk (Alan Wilkinson) the
site details given for the raptor watchpoint at Haldon forest near
Dartmoor national park were slightly inaccurate, Here is a correction.
Access to the watchpoint is from a minor road (not the B3193) which runs
north of the A38 main road from Exeter to Plymouth. Approaching from
Exeter, turn left at the brow of Haldon hill signposted "Racecourse and
Forest walks" and immediately turn right onto the minor road which passes
under the A38. The watchpoint is sign-posted on the left about 2 miles
north of the A38. Grid reference SX881853.jhiggott@dumbo.axion.bt.co.uk (jeff higgott) (07/31/90)
In article <3257@stl.stc.co.uk>, aw@stl.stc.co.uk (Alan Wilkinson) writes: |> In article <36067@vrdxhq.verdix.com> edm@vrdxhq.verdix.com (Ed |> If you're interested in viewing British rarities during your visit, try |> the British RBA 'Birdline' - telephone 0898 700222 (25p or 38p/minute). |> Don't be surprised if British birders are chasing after American species |> at this of the year, though! The National Bird News also runs a hotline, phone 0898 884 501. It contains much the same list of birds as Birdline (Birdline staff phone NBN and vice versa) but works out cheaper since the message is voice operated and the detail is optional. In a recent test news of 10 birds was gained for 10p from NBN, but only 1 1/2 birds for 10p from Birdline. I would guess that a visitor from Britain who is not familiar with the species or sites would be better off phoning Birdline. * Jeff Higgott * * * "Under bridges, over bridges, to our destination" - HMHB