Storm-petrels & Bulwer's Petrel DVD by Bob Flood and Ashley Fisher
Storm-petrels & Bulwer's Petrel covers all species of storm-petrel recorded in the North Atlantic, plus two species considered to be potential vagrants — White-bellied Storm-petrel and Matsudaira's Storm-petrel. The vast bulk of the footage is made up with Flood & Fisher's own at-sea footage, much of it filmed at close range though with a considerable chunk — often, in many ways, the most useful footage for field identification — filmed in 'authentic' pelagic conditions. The first DVD covers general identification, introduction to the species, and comparison of similar species. It finishes with an identification challenge — brief clips ranging from beginner to expert, unlabelled on the DVD (though with the answers in the book); great fun and excellent practice. The second DVD covers each species in detail one by one.
The book complements both DVDs and adds a host of extra information into the mix, from maps and details of extralimital records to notes on taxonomy and an overview of plumage and jizz. There are numerous stunning colour photographs, many of birds in the field though with some of birds in the hand or museum specimens used to highlight key features, gorgeous pencil sketches by Ian Lewington, and notes on things such as wing structure and moult. It concludes with notes on some of the more complex taxonomic situations, a bullet-pointed 'ID jogger' for each species, and a list of all the footage or photos (cross-referenced with numbers on the DVD and including date, location and all background species).
If I could isolate one thing in this product that might cause the viewer in Europe to scratch their head, it's the use of American terminology. Or more correctly the assumed familiarity with the American terminology. For a product aimed at birders on both sides of the Atlantic, the use of 'gray', 'molt' and 'color' is of no consequence at all to the British speaker, the use of names such as Red Phalarope (for Grey Phalarope) and Band-rumped Storm-petrel (for Madeiran Storm Petrel) is perfectly acceptable and perhaps even preferable, and the four-letter alpha codes are easy enough to understand even without reading the glossary; but, from what I can see, there is no explicit explanation of the moult terminology used. Thus, the fact that Leach's Storm-petrel starts its PB2 moult in May–July may — even after checking the glossary and discovering that PB2 moult is second pre-basic moult — means very little to the average birder on this side of the pond. That said, this isn't a criticism of Flood & Fisher's use of the 'Humphrey Parkes' moult system; I, for one, much prefer this terminology, especially when southern-hemisphere species — whose seasons, and thus 'first-winter', 'first-summer' etc. plumages, are out of sync with northern-hemisphere timings — are being discussed. Think of this paragraph not as a complaint but as a warning: you might have to read some American literature* before being able to take full advantage of the moult paragraphs; but it would be nice to see something like that in the product itself to save the need for cross-referencing.
Moult aside, is there anything else missing from this book and DVD? There's certainly a level of assumed viewer knowledge, and keeping the book in your lap whilst watching the DVD will definitely prove handy. A glance at a map of the Atlantic is also likely to help in understanding the ranges of some of the species. But by and large, for most keen birders, I don't think there will be any problems. The whole product works on three levels: the book can be used as a standalone reference, read from cover to cover or used as a source of particular information for individual species; the DVD and the book can be combined to provide an ultimate reference, combining moving footage with detailed descriptions; or you can simply sit back, relax, and watch the DVD through on its own, taking in the flight actions and jizz of the different species as you do so.
This is a beautiful product, well produced, well thought out and clearly driven by immense personal passion; for any birder with any interest in coastal or pelagic birds it is a serious must-have. For those at a more beginner level, looking for help in telling House Martin and European Storm-petrel apart, this is probably not the best guide to begin with; but for those out there who have ever wondered how easy it would be to pick out a passing Madeiran Storm-petrel or if there's more to telling a Swinhoe's from a dark-rumped Leach's than just critical evaluation of plumage (yes, there is!) then this guide comes highly recommended. I'm already salivating at the prospect of the next release, Pterodromas.
*This paper is probably not a bad starting point.
The DVD can be ordered directly from www.scillypelagics.com, where there is also a short promotional clip.
Run time: 120 minutes. Book: 212 pages, hardback, ISBN 978-0-9568867-0-5. £39.99 (incl. P&P to UK destinations).
Species covered: White-faced Storm-petrel, Wilson's Storm-petrel, European Storm-petrel, Black-bellied Storm-petrel, ‘white-bellied’ storm-petrels, Madeiran Storm-petrel, Leach's Storm-petrel, Swinhoe's Storm-petrel, Matsudaira's Storm-petrel and Bulwer's Petrel.
