Bird Identification and Fieldcraft
If you have recently started watching birds, then this book has a lot to offer. More experienced birdwatchers will have much of the information found here already, but this is the first time it has been set out in one place.
The book begins by looking at the process of identification. It then moves on to a more advanced level, dealing with topics such as changing appearances throughout the year. Secondly, it turns its attention to fieldcraft, looking at the specialist skills that all birders need, and how to plan out and get the best from your birding year.
The book is beautifully illustrated by five artists – the majority of the artwork is by David Daly – but the reader’s eye is often distracted leaping around two pages at a time to link text with illustrations. It is a shame that the two illustrations of winter and summer Black Guillemot on page 33 are labelled incorrectly.
Size and Shape is a useful section, providing clear information on size comparisons, head profiles and size differences within the same species. The distribution of certain species is discussed as an aid to narrowing down an identification, and information on seasons and habitats is also given. I liked the advice given on taking time to identify an unfamiliar bird and not grabbing a field guide too early in the identification process. The need to share decision-making with other birders and the golden rule about being big enough to admit to mistakes was well made.
Liberally scattered through the book are ‘top tips’. These provide an easy, quick reference designed to help our birding experiences.
There is perhaps an over-reliance on the concept of ‘jizz’, which beginners might find difficult. The author, and indeed the rest of us, find defining ‘jizz’ a real challenge and more solid criteria are needed to help us identify birds with more certainty.
No mention is made of the usefulness of DVDs and videos in re-creating our perceptions of moving birds. However, there is good advice on concentrating your attention on around 50 more familiar birds and learning them well in all plumages and at all ages.
I think the reference to the way feather moult and ageing can affect the appearance of birds could have been expanded, perhaps with some simple diagrams such as those on gull moult and age in Peter Grant’s classic Gulls – an Identification Guide.
Often, identifying birds in flight poses the most difficult problems, and the author gives the beginner real help with the advice to keep watching for as long as possible, concentrate on the shape and mode of flight, and to note the silhouette, in particular the shape of the wing. All good stuff.
It was refreshing to see the section on fieldcraft and the need to plan carefully how to approach birds. Getting the best use out of your optics is also covered; some information on care of optics would not have gone amiss here. Birders keen to break into more exacting areas of the pastime will appreciate the information on seawatching, gull roosts, goose-watching and visible migration. With other chapters discussing where to go, seasonal influences and the benefits of local patch work, we get an overview of how to plan a successful birding campaign.
So, in summary, this is a good book for those just setting out as birders. It does contain a lot of useful information on how to approach the difficult task of identifying birds and how to increase the chance of seeing a good range of species. The section on taking notes could have been expanded, with more information on field sketching, making comparisons with nearby species and the best materials to use. That no information is given on digiscoping is a disappointing omission.
Overall, this is a useful book with a lot of practical advice. I wish I had been able to find this information in one place when I began watching birds.
Tech spec
- Bird Identification and Fieldcraft by Mark Ward (New Holland, London, 2005).
- 128 pages, illustrated throughout with colour artwork and photographs
- ISBN 978 1843308874. Hbk, £12.99.
