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New Wildlife,
Natural History and Gardening Books
Books appearing on this page are
recommended. Most are
available from good bookshops or from www.Amazon.co.uk
Home
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Gardening for Bumblebees by Dave Goulson produced by the
Bumblebee Conservation Trust, School of Biological and Environment
Sciences, University of Sterling, FK9 4LA
This booklet is only available from the
Bumblebee Conservation Trust through their website at
www.bumblebeeconservation.org. It contains excellent information
about how to attract bumblebees to your garden by growing the flowers they
feed on (both wildflowers and garden flowers), providing nest sites for
them and creating a wildflower meadow in your garden. The information
about their preferred flowers plus excellent pictures and details about
the decline of bumblebees in our countryside all helps us to better
understand their requirements and hopefully help them in our own gardens.
Highly recommended. |
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Orchids of Britain and Ireland - a Field and Site Guide by Anne and
Simon Harrap A & C Black 2009 ISBN 978-14081-0571-9 £24.99
If you have ever seen a military orchid, a
monkey orchid or even a damp meadow dotted with common spotted orchids,
and felt an absolute thrill - this book should be in your collection.
Orchids are amongst the most wonderful and exotic plants in our native
flora and many people seek them out. I still remember
exactly where and when I saw my first lizard orchid and the railway
embankment where the scent of a butterfly orchid led me to its precise
location. If you have any interest in these plants this book a must
have. The second edition of this wonderful volume has stunning
photos of every orchid in the UK and Ireland, close ups of individual
flowers to aid identification, details of habitat, flowering period,
conservation and for the more botanically minded, hybrids and subspecies. This isn't just a field guide - it is a
complete volume on these most of glorious plants. Highly recommended. |
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The Wisdom of Birds -
an Illustrated History of Ornithology by Tim Birkhead
Bloomsbury Publishing plc 2008 £25 ISBN 978 0 7475 9256 3
This is an extraordinary book. If you
are one of the many people interested in birds and
birdwatching and want to find out more about these extraordinary creatures,
this book will take you on a journey to discover how we know what we know
about them. Tim Birkhead is Professor
of Behavioural Ecology at Sheffield University, but don't let that put you
off. This book, in spite of its author's impressive and perhaps
daunting scientific credentials, is truely readable. Professor
Birkhead is a natural communicator and has written a book packed with
information that comprises a history of ornithological scientific
research, folklore and myth all adding up to a mine of information about
how this knowledge was obtained. With chapters on instinct,
migration, breeding, song and the role of the field scientist, there is
much to read, understand and learn. With beautiful illustrations
from centuries past (I especially like the half reptile, half cockerel
painting from 1600!) this is a book brimming over with fascinating
knowledge.Highly recommended.
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British Butterflies
and Moths - A photographic guide by Chris Manley. A C & Black
2008 £24.99 Softback ISBN 978-07136-86364
A new book on moths and butterflies is
always an exciting prospect, especially when it contains beautiful,
quality images. This book contains stunning photographs of 850
macromoths, 74 butterflies and 500 micromoths, plus many wonderful
pictures of caterpillars, eggs and pupae. The author (a sculptor by
profession as well as a photographer) says that the book 'aims to convey
the beauty and fascination of moths to a new audience' and he most
certainly succeeds admirably. The information on each species is
sparse, but there are many other books providing that kind of
detail. This book aims to provide sufficient information to identify
almost any macromoth or butterfly recorded in Britain. In fact the information
is more than sufficient, giving details of size, distribution. habitat and
flight period, plus larval food plant. There is also a short section
explaining the rather confusing classification of butterflies and moths,
their distinguishing features, anatomy and life cycles. This book must have been a labour of love
and will be spending very little time on my bookshelf as it will be in
constant use - if not for identification purpose, then simply for the joy
of the images of these wonderful insects. Highly recommended.
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Wild Costa Rica by
Adrian Hepworth. New Holland Publishers UK Ltd 2008.
£29.99 ISBN 978 84773 113 5
If you have a hankering to visit a warm
and beautiful tropical country in the near future, and want to see an
amazing range of colourful and fascinating wildlife, look no further than
Costa Rica. Adrian Hepworth is a professional photographer and
zoologist who moved to Central America ten years ago and now works as a a
freelance wildlife photographer. His photos are stunning but it has
to be said he has wonderful material to work with. Costa Rica has an
amazing range of habitats from cloud forest to mangrove swamps with the
richest wildlife imaginable - in fact it has a higher density of animals
and plants than any other country in the world. An estimated 350,000 species of insect
live in Costa Rica, plus 240 species of mammal and 860 species of bird
although it is less that half the size of England. Of the 174
species of amphibian, 36 are found no where else in the world. If
you are planning to visit Costa Rica (or simply take an armchair visit as
I just have) this book will thrill you from start to finish. A
perfect large coffee table book but full of facts and information too. Recommended.
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Wild France - the animals.
plants and landscapes by Bob Gibbons. New Holland Publishers UK Ltd
2008. £29.99 ISBN 978 1 84773 340 5
France is just a stone's throw away from
our shores, yet much of its wildlife is very different from our own.
More than 12 million British people visit this popular holiday destination
every year and many are no doubt perplexed by the wonderful range of
mammals, birds and insects they see on their travels. This fabulous
coffee table sized book, written and illustrated by Bob Gibbons, one of the
UK's most renowned wildlife photographers and a natural history tour guide,
should be the first stop for anyone interested in wildlife who is planning
to visit France in the near future. The photos are all taken with an
artist's eye as well as being an identification tool. The chapter on
invertebrates, with stunning pictures of moths, butterflies, dragonflies and
beetles is superb and the landscape photos are dazzling. Even if you don't
have plans to visit France in the near future this wonderful book could
change your mind! Recommended.
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All About Garden
Wildlife by David Chandler. New Holland Publishers UK Ltd 2008
£4.99 ISBN 978 1 84773 052 7
New Holland
have produced a series of four excellent books on garden wildlife for
children, packed with information and excellent illustrations, all in an
easy to read and understand format. The pages are attractively
laid out with sections on where and when to see the creatures illustrated.
The text is very readable and designed to introduce the fascinating world of
natural history for 8 to 12 year olds. I especially liked the ‘Did
you know’ sections with just the sort of facts children love (this beetle
can bite – the bite can hurt and might even bleed!). My own interest
in natural history blossomed as soon as I could read and these books will
certainly open up the world of wildlife to today’s children. All
about Bugs, Butterflies and Birds are also available. Recommended. |
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RSPB Handbook of Garden
Wildlife by Peter Holden and Geoffrey Abbott Christopher
Helm 2008 ISBN 978 0 7138 8860 3
£9.99
There has been a spate
of guides to garden wildlife in the last few months and this could be one to
add to your Christmas list. Illustrated throughout with high quality
glossy photographs, there are sections on everything from birds and mammals
to dragonflies and moths. A small selection of the plants you are
likely to come across in your garden is also included, but this is very
confusing and unnecessary. There is also some information on how to
create a wildlife garden, its management and a guide to monthly wildlife
highlights. By and large the addition information in this book is
extremely limited but the identification section is colourful and
attractive. If you are a beginner to gardening for wildlife and need a
handy book to identify a bird, butterfly or other creepy crawly this could
be the book to get you started. Highly recommended. |
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Gardening for
Birdwatchers by Mike Toms and Ian And Barley Wilson
British Trust for Ornithology 2008 ISBN
978-1-906204-30-3
£ 9.99
Buy a book from the
British Trust for Ornithology and you know you will be getting something
excellent. Written by experts but always wonderfully readable, all BTO
books are packed with great photos, good, accurate and interesting
information, and this book is no exception. In spite of the title this
isn’t just about the birds in your garden. It includes information on
attracting all sorts of wildlife from bumblebees to moths. Several planting
plans are included with lists of wildlife friendly plants, plus information
on creating ponds and meadows. However, as you would expect, birds are
featured heavily with details about how to attract more species to your
garden by providing natural berries and seeds, nest sites and roosting
places plus there are sections on how and why birds use our gardens, An
excellent book for any one interested in the birds or any of the wildlife in their garden.
Highly recommended. |
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Best
Birdwatching Sites In North Wales by Alan Davies and Owen Roberts.
Buckingham Press Ltd 2007. ISBN 978-0-955933-94-0 Paperback £15.95
Wandering though our
glorious local countryside enjoying wildlife and scenery is a wonderful,
relaxing pastime, but occasionally it’s good to take a trip to a site
where you can be assured of something special. This book, the latest
in a series including guides to Norfolk and the Scottish Highlands, lists
almost sixty areas in North Wales that are renowned for their bird fauna.
The information is comprehensive indicating whether the site is accessible
by car, where the nearest shops, toilets and cafes are located and the best
times to visit, as well as the more obvious information of species likely to
be seen and a wealth of excellent background information. A detailed
site map, suitability for wheelchairs and detailed background information
are all included. You can also gen up on ‘birdspeak’ terms such as
fence-hopper (a bird that has escaped from captivity), check out Welsh bird
names and record what you have seen in the list at the back. An
excellent guide for beginner or enthusiast.
Recommended. |
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Nature
by Night – a Guide to Observation and Identification by Vincent Albouy
New Holland Publishers UK Ltd 2008 ISBN 978 1 84773 114 2 Softback
with colour illustrations £14.99
Most people who are
interested in wildlife find themselves out in the hours of darkness at some
time, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the night. The
obvious things that attract our attention are the bats, owls and moths but
so much more is happening between dusk and dawn. This new paperback
book is the first to be published that devotes itself to the watching and
identification of nocturnal wildlife. But before you rush out and buy
this wonderful little book, be aware that it covers Britain and Europe –
there are precious few brown bears in the UK! In spite of that it is
absolutely fascinating and has wonderful quirky illustrations, full of
character, of everything we associate with the night time including some
moth species, mammals, birds and amphibians. There is also a specific
chapter on flowers that attract nocturnal insects. This two part book
has general information about watching wildlife at night and a beautifully
illustrated identification guide.
Highly recommended.
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© Text and
photographs Jenny Steel
2009
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