Best Birdwatching sites in the Solway by John Miles

I'm a huge fan of Buckingham Press's Best Birdwatching Sites series. They're just the right size, the perfect companion for a birding trip to an area; packed with maps, information, further reading suggestions, and a handy checklist. I was delighted to find that my "home county" was now available as the latest addition.

The Solway covers both the English and Scottish sides of this underwatched area. And as a result the region it covers is pretty vast: from Barrow-in-Furness to the Mull of Galloway is a drive of some 200 miles taking over four hours. John Miles (ex-RSPB reserve warden) manages to cover the area with aplomb with short essays on 24 Cumbrian sites and 33 in Dumfries and Galloway. The majority of the featured sites are coastal, but there are plenty of upland areas.

Think of the Solway, and most people will recall a trip to see Barnacle Geese, or perhaps the famous skua passage from the remains of Bowness's ruined railway relic, which forms a bottleneck on the firth with Scotland almost close enough to touch. But the area has more to offer, as ably exemplified in this book. Of course the great shrines of annual pilgrimage for wildfowl, Caerlaverock and Mersehead, are featured; but so are some less well-known gems: Carrifran Wild Wood near Moffat, for example.

In common with the other Best Birdwatching Sites books, the Solway boasts almost 100 site maps, advice on public transport and wheelchair accessibility, a checklist and tips for getting the most for each site. It also includes tips on seawatching and a month-by-month guide to birding in the region. As well as the birds that each site is likely to produce, John also indicates other flora and fauna of interest — although the book is in no way comprehensive in this respect. I'm also puzzled by the decision to capitalise bird names, e.g. Hen Harrier, whilst demoting the "northern brown argus" (and indeed all non-bird species) to lower case.

I shall make sure I always have a copy of this book in my glove-box. Despite being a native Gallovidian, I found new sites that I would like to explore, and up-to-date information that is sure to prove essential reading for any visitor to this beautiful region.