Book Review - Britain's Butterflies

The publication of new books was another casualty of world events in 2020 but thankfully we are back on track with the appearance of new titles from a number of publishers. Princeton University Press is in the process of catching up with their releases of 2020 whereby they kindly sent me a review copy to feature on Another Bird Blog. 

When summer birding is slow, most bird watchers look for butterflies and other insects where they can use their observational skills in identifying and enjoying yet more colourful creatures. Originally destined for March 2020 comes BRITAIN’S BUTTERFLIES, a Field Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland by David Newland, Robert Still, Andy Swash, and David Tomlinson, a book aimed at beginners, experts and birders alike. 

This new, fully revised and updated fourth edition arrives as the latest in the highly successful WildGuides series and is now available to order online or from the publishers and high street book sellers. Britain's Butterflies - Princeton Press 

 

Many readers will already own the third edition of April 2015 and perhaps wonder why they might spend £18 for this latest version. In fact there are a number of innovative and improved features in this 2020 edition not found in previous versions. 

Britain's Butterflies - Britain's Butterflies - Princeton Press 

 

A forward by Julie Williams of Butterfly Conservation reminds us that the latest results from the annual UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) led by Butterfly Conservation, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) show that 2019 was the best year for butterflies for over 20 years in the UK. 

Despite the positive results above, the continuing long-term decline of some butterfly species remains a cause for concern as shown by the 44 years of this project, a study which demonstrates that since the 1970s there are more species in decline than on the increase. Julie borrows the phrase “Insect Apocalypse” that some use to describe the present situation. 

And now to to the body of the book. 

There are new introductory sections to the main “types” of butterflies that include updated distribution maps together with the latest species’ orders to reflect the latest taxonomy, together with revised sections on recording & monitoring, conservation, and legislation. 

The section on butterfly biology is especially useful in giving an insight to the ecology of butterflies, the understanding of which, combined with a detailed chart of favoured habitats, gives enthusiasts a head start. Similarly the section ‘Where to look for butterflies’ and the accompanying habitat and landscape photographs will surely help to understand and investigate better their chosen branch of citizen science. 

For butterfly twitchers a list of key places for rare and localized (sic) butterflies lies at page 30/31 and includes place names and SD grid references, together with a handy coloured graphic depicting favoured habitats to help pinpoint the spot.  Useful too that ‘Butterfly watching and photography’ at page 242 describes the dos and don’ts, most of which will be familiar to birders, even if they don’t always follow the rules. 

Page 42 - Britain's Butterflies - Princeton Press 

Other features include many splendid stunning colour plates that show typical views of each butterfly species, including the various forms and common aberrations. Detailed species profiles provide information on status and distribution, including up-to-date maps, and cover adult identification; behaviour; breeding habitat requirements; population and conservation; egg, caterpillar & chrysalis; and caterpillar food plants. 

I was impressed by the detailed maps that show the range of each species, if not surprised that too few species make it up here to our Lancashire, NW England list. Average summer temperatures here are often 3-5 °C less than Southern England, a fact that emphasises the dearth of butterfly variety in this and in other parts of Northern England.  Scotland makes up for this by possessing a handful of specialities of their own e.g. Scotch Argus, Mountain Ringlet and Pearl-bordered Fritillary. 

Britain’s Butterflies contains all 59 butterfly species that breed regularly, as well as four former breeders and a good number of rare migrants from Europe and most likely to be seen in Southern England. 

Page 224 - Britain's Butterflies - Princeton Press 

The only jarring note in this book comes in an unconvincing section entitled ‘climate change and butterflies’ found at Page 245, almost as an afterthought.  The authors remind us of the increase in data collection, the majority by amateur enthusiasts over recent decades, that has resulted in a huge database of records and information.  The text speculates upon the future of butterflies in a number of paragraphs that contain supposition around ‘may have’, 'may be’ or ‘may also result’ when discussing changes to climate on butterfly populations, food plants, life cycles, and numbers of, etc.  

The authors quote zero scientific evidence on which to base their vague claims. Nor do they address or reflect upon the many opposing and quite legitimate opinions that climate change is part of a long-standing cyclical variation of global weather going back billions of years, variations that butterflies have survived.

The UK continues to build over large swathes of green land to accommodate a population due to rise to 70 million.  If we continue to overpopulate while employing tons of insecticides and pesticides in what is left of a dwindling and fragmented countryside and farmland, can we be surprised if insects like butterflies and many other animals suffer ill effects?

Nevertheless, and despite my minor quibble and unfashionable opinions on climate, this is a super little book.  It is of useful proportions to fit the pocket (5.88  in x 8.25 in) and generous content by way of 256 pages, 600 + colour photos and 10 line illustrations. 

Page 160 - Britain's Butterflies - Princeton Press 

British Butterflies is set out in an organised, logical and accessible design, and finished to the high quality we expect of Wildguides. Every inch of space is used to advantage so as to educate and inform the reader, right down to the inside flap that holds a key to maps & codes, a 150 mm ruler, and a “quick” index. The text is precise, the graphics detailed and well defined. The photographs are superb, far better than the average images of butterflies that I capture via my expensive DSLR. 

Page 68 - Britain's Butterflies - Princeton Press 

At £17.99 Britain’s Butterflies is great value. Less than a tank full of unleaded buys a book to take the reader an awfully long way along the road to discovering butterflies. 

The book is produced in association with Butterfly Conservation therefore it seems likely that the organisation will benefit to some degree from sales, in itself a good enough reason to invest in this edition. 

Britain's Butterflies - Princeton Press is due for release 14 September 2020. 

==============================

Suggested reading - Butterfly Conservation.

“Butterflies are the best-studied UK insects by far, providing vital insights into the changing state of wider biodiversity and the ecosystem services that depend upon it, as well as an important opportunity for the general public to engage with conservation, citizen science and the natural world. Restoring butterfly populations across the UK, in gardens, urban green spaces and the countryside, is likely to bring substantial benefits to innumerable other species but also to the health, wealth and well-being of the human population.” 

"You can leave a patch of grass to grow long - this helps butterflies lay eggs in the grass." 

"Try not to use pesticides or insecticides - these can kill butterflies as well as other insects." 

"Avoid using peat compost. Peat is being taken away from natural peat bogs which is where many animals and plants live, and can affect the wider eco-system which the butterfly relies on. Instead use one of the many alternatives available." 

"Grow as many flowers as possible in the springtime".

==============================

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday and Anni In Texas.

Britain’s Mammals - A Review

On my desk for review today is a new Princeton field guide, a book which doesn’t feature birds but one that will be sought after by almost 100% of bird watchers. The book is the much awaited Britain's Mammals: A Field Guide to the Mammals of Britain and Ireland from Princeton Press. This is the latest in the series of best-selling WILDGuides. 

The authors of Britain’s Mammals are Dominic Couzens, Andy Swash, Robert Still, & Jon Dunn. Andy Swash and Robert Still were two of the authors of the hugely successful “Britain’s Birds”, first published in late 2016, a book which found its way into many a birders' library. This latest book is a companion to the bird guide and shares not only one of the authors, but also looks and feels the same as soon as the first page is turned. 

Britain's Mammals

Skipping introductory pages to books is a bad habit of mine, but on this occasion I found myself immersed in the Introduction to Britain’s Mammals. It really is essential reading by firstly reminding us that in comparison to birding, mammal watching is a minority interest with much to be discovered by those willing to devote time and energy. 

The Introduction explains in just a few succinct pages the life-cycle and biology of mammals together with a very useful explanation and diagrammatic display of the names and scientific classification of Mammalia. A handy text and photographic overview of the types of British mammals reminds the reader that in comparison to the comparatively easy pursuit of birding, the study of mammals requires different techniques. A potential mammal watcher must exploit various times of both day and night and often use different equipment and methods to find and photograph their elusive quarry. 

Britain's Mammals - Princeton Press.

Part of the Introduction, the History of Britain’s Mammals, describes how getting close to wild animals takes a great deal of concentration and patience to achieve any sort of result; watching mammals is infinitely more difficult than birding. There is a timely explanation of why. For seven centuries or more persecution and exploitation of both land and marine mammals was rife, with many species becoming extinct or their numbers seriously reduced. No wonder then that history has taught mammals how to avoid homo sapiens, their most deadly and persistent predator. 

I guess I suffer from many misconceptions about British mammals, the main one, borne out by a glance at the book’s Contents page, is just how many mammal species can be seen in the British Isles. It is easy to forget that the UK and Ireland terrestrial mammals like squirrels, voles, mice shrews, moles, hedgehogs, rabbit, hares, carnivores and deer are in the minority. Bats and marine mammals form the largest groups of British mammals, reflected in the 70 pages devoted to 30 species of bats and over 40 pages featuring 37 species of marine mammals – seals and cetaceans. 

Britain's Mammals - Princeton Press.

The field guide element of Britain’s Mammals has handy and up-to-date distribution maps on the species' page together with illustrations which denote both the status and size of the animal. A typical page contains tips and information on where to look for a particular animal, its habitat, habits, food, breeding behaviour and population status. Very often there is information and helpful advice on the tracks and signs that may give away the animal’s location and/or its identification.

There are seven pages devoted to illustrating animal tracks. The publishers even provides a ruler in the inside book cover for the reader to measure tracks they find and then compare with scale bars depicted at the illustrations on each relevant page at p46-52. What a simple but innovative idea from the authors to make this a fully interactive field guide. 

Britain's Mammals - Princeton Press.

I must make special mention of the photographs in Britain’s Mammals. They are almost without exception truly stunning given the difficulties of in the first place even seeing mammals in the British countryside. In particular, the photographs of bats, both in flight and at rest, are simply superb, as are the pictures of mice and shrews. These are animals which are rarely glimpsed by everyday field workers who spend many hours in the great outdoors. I can only marvel at the time, skill, effort and dedication devoted to taking these images. 

Britain's Mammals - Princeton Press.

In summary. The winning WILDGuide formula continues throughout this wide-ranging and attractively designed field guide that follows in the major footsteps of Britain’s Birds. There’s a fully photographic experience and high quality information from its approximately 500 colour photos and 325 pages. 

Britain’s Mammals is a book for simple enjoyment as well as for learning and I heartily recommend it to readers of Another Bird Blog. It is available now from the usual sources at $29.95 or £17.95 and is something of a bargain. 

Britain's Mammals and Britain's Birds - Princeton Press.

Log in to Another Bird Blog soon for more news, views and reviews.

Linkintg today to Eileen's Saturday Blog.

Britain’s Birds. A Book Review.

Birders love their collections of field guides, generally added to or updated on each trip to some far flung corner of the world or when a new version of an old favourite is announced. Birders also like to debate the pros and cons of either an artwork or a photographic field guide and usually come down fairly and squarely in favour of one style or the other. Their preference was thrown into yet more debate in recent years by the innovative Crossley guides that sit between the two camps. 

If an opinion poll existed my guess would be that most birders favour artwork guides, so it will be interesting to see how the birding community receive a new and entirely photographic guide to the birds of the UK. The book in the spotlight today is Britain’s Birds: An Identification Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland by Rob Hume, Robert Still, Andy Swash, Hugh Harrop & David Tipling. Published by Princeton University Press, the book is due for launch at BirdFair 2016 and for general release in mid August. 

Britain's Birds - Princeton University Press

Via Princeton’s pre-publicity I read that the book measures just 6” by 8” and contains 3,300 colour photos within its 560 pages. My immediate thought was that the authors would do well to squeeze the requisite information into the available space and I was more than keen to see the finished article. When I first unpacked Britain’s Birds it was obvious that here was a hefty piece of work. It tipped the scales at 1200 grams, making it a candidate for inclusion in a large rucksack containing all the essentials of modern birding - cameras, lenses, a pager, a Smartphone, a large supply of Snickers and a can of Coke. 

After the obligatory Contents followed by advice on how to use the book there is a handy feature at pages 8-13 by way of thumbnail pictures of “Types of Birds”. These smaller pictures direct the reader to the most likely eventual page to find the full account of the species they are looking for. This is clearly a useful idea, especially for novice birders, but the process could never be fool proof. This is especially true in the case of “perching birds” that loose collection of birds which present so many pitfalls of ID to a beginner wondering whether a bird is for instance, a “warbler”, “bunting”, “flycatcher” or “crest”. For more experienced birders this initial selection process is unimportant but for a novice it is often a crucial step fraught with difficulties; I congratulate the authors for incorporating this idea into the book. I can see these six pages being a great help to many a budding birder. 

My own experience is that novice birders shy away from artwork guides as if the birds depicted are in some way “not real”, which is true enough, however good the artwork may be. If a purely photographic guide like Britain’s Birds makes birds more accessible to people starting out on the birding trail then that is all to the good. 

A pleasing element of Britain’s Birds is the way the species accounts are arranged in a user friendly order rather than the strict taxonomic order of many field guides, a mysterious system which flummoxes so many starting out in birding. But now in Britain’s Birds the freer list allows “Large waterside birds” to include herons, bitterns, egrets, ibis, spoonbill, cranes and storks. And Hooray! At last we have a field guide where swifts, swallows and martins appear more sensibly together under the heading “Aerial feeders”. 

The pages devoted to each species are occasionally double spread which helps to even out the load of the detailed information about identification, size, variety of plumages, voice descriptions etc. However the design of all of the pages including single sheets that cover a species remains uncrowded and allows the photographs centre stage. Distribution maps in the right hand corner of each page are of necessity small (60x40cm) in order to fit the available space. I have some reservations about the accuracy of a few species I know well locally, e.g. Cetti’s Warbler, Lesser-spotted Woodpecker and Corn Bunting, but in general the maps seem truly representative and accurate given the ever changing but mostly declining numbers and status of so many UK species. 

In “Acknowledgements and photographic credits” the authors tell us that Britain’s Birds was ten years from conception to completion, a mammoth piece of work that required a phenomenal amount of time and effort from the authors. As we might expect given the many advances in digital photography in recent years, the 3,300 photographs from 251 photographers are without exception of very good, even exceptional quality, sharp in focus and reproduced with true to life colours. The combined efforts of both authors and photographers paid off big style in Britain’s Birds which sets a new benchmark in photographic field guides that will be hard to beat. 

Britain’s Birds lives up to the pre-publication claims by being bang up to date with the inclusion of everyday species, races, vagrants, rarities, together with both category D and E species. The book is comprehensive, user friendly and jam-packed with essential information on status, populations, distribution and conservation. For those who like to browse, there are many high quality photographs to admire. I recommend it to readers of Another Bird Blog as a book they must buy. My already well-thumbed copy is now in a safe but handy place for quick reference. 

 

Britain's Birds -  Princeton University Press

Produced to Princeton’s usual exacting standards this is a fine book and something of a steal at £19.95 or $35 direct from Princeton University Press or slightly less from Amazon.

Amazon has a number of turn-over pages where potential buyers can see a selection of actual pages before they buy. I predict that few people will not choose to buy Britain's Birds resulting in a large demand - best to order it quick.

Linking this post to World Bird Wednesday.

Are You Into Rare Birds?

Here on my desk is a copy of a new book from Princeton University Press entitled The World’s Rarest Birds. The content makes for disturbing reading, packed as it is with evidence and insight into how man is slowly but surely eliminating many of Planet Earth’s 10,000 bird species. 

The bare facts from The World’s Rarest Birds are not simply worrying, alarming or even disturbing, they are far worse. On a scale of scary words perhaps “chilling” or “frightening” could more accurately describe how: 

• 197 Critically Endangered bird species face an extremely high risk of extinction within the lifetime of the present human generation 

• 389 Endangered species are also at a very high risk of extinction 

• 4 species extinct in the wild now exist in captivity only 

• 60 more species are so poorly known they are classified as Data Deficient 

The World's Rarest Birds - Princeton University Press

Fortunately there are conservationists motivated enough to document this appalling situation in the hope it will stimulate others into action sooner rather than later. I have to sympathise with the trials and tribulations of the authors Erik Hirschfeld, Andy Swash and Robert Still, who together with the publishers Princeton University Press and BirdLife International decided to compile this book, the aim being to raise the profile of bird conservation efforts worldwide. In 2012 the book was scheduled to publish when events overtook the project, entailing a complete revision to account for the release of a major update to BirdLife International’s list of threatened birds. “Good News” they thought when seven species were removed from the list thanks to conservation measures or new population discoveries. The bad news for them was that 23 species had to be added, but following no further setbacks The World's Rarest Birds was finally published on April 3rd 2013. 

After spending a couple of days exploring the book I have no doubt that if it receives the circulation, attention and acclaim it clearly deserves their efforts have not been in vain. 

For all the wrong reasons The World’s Rarest Birds is an impressive book, remarkable for the fact that in the large format 360 pages of 8 ½ x 11, there are 977 colour photographs and 610 coloured maps which document and detail the many birds of the world under serious threat. It is worth repeating those figures - 360 pages, 977 photographs and 610 maps describing, listing, picturing and mapping threatened birds. In other words, this is not a tiny problem that will go away if we ignore it, but more precisely a major catastrophe that the whole world should act upon.

 Globally Threatened Bird Species - The World's Rarest Birds

The Introduction to The World’s Rarest Birds sets the scene for the remainder of the volume, describing the background to the book and the source and inspiration for the many fine photographs contained therein. There are short accounts of the diversity and distribution of bird species, the endemic and important bird areas, together with an illuminating section on the interaction between birds and the human race. Humans are of course at the root of the many problems that birds face but thankfully this latter discussion is not entirely negative. Witness the fact that despite the pressing need for this book, more is known about the status and distribution of birds than about any other order of plants and animals. This apparent contradiction is due in no small part to the mainstream involvement of ordinary bird watchers in Citizen Science such as the Christmas Bird Count in the USA, the Big Garden Birdwatch in the UK and to the many, many hours of field work donated by bird counters, bird ringers and amateur ornithologists all over the world. 

More than 25 pages are devoted to discussion of the pressures that birds face, ranging through agriculture and aquaculture, hunting, climate change, human disturbance, pollution, energy production, mining, damming and water abstraction, fishing, logging etc. and ad infinitum - The list seems endless. 

The major part of the book which lists the species of concern is entitled The Regional Directories and sub-divides into geographic regions of Africa, Asia, Australia, Oceanic islands, The Caribbean with North and Central America, South America, and Europe with the Middle East. This vital and detailed section is sure to become the main focus of a reader wherever they are based in the world, including as it does snapshots and photographs of the species themselves, on-going or planned conservation measures and risks to the particular species. 

Naturally enough I focused on the section for Europe and the Middle East where I found familiar names and faces.

 Europe and The Middle East - The World's Rarest Birds

Approximately 730 species have been recorded breeding or wintering on the landmass of Europe and the Middle East or migrating regularly through the region. Forty of those species - or over 5% - are globally threatened, including Red-breasted Goose, Balearic Shearwater, White-headed Duck and Velvet Scoter. 

The book touches upon other European species which may be “Next On The List”, the naming of which ensures the calamity becomes personal and immediate to any reader. European Turtle Dove is depicted, a victim of habitat loss in the UK and unsustainable hunting in blackspots like Malta where European Birds Directives seem to be regularly and quite belligerently ignored. 

European Turtle Dove - Phil Slade

It is in Europe also where agriculture and fisheries policies are implicated in declines of many species. Once a common enough bird in the UK, the only time I see Turtle Doves nowadays are on holidays to the Balearic island of Menorca where old-time agriculture holds sway - for now. 

The Egyptian Vulture, another species I see regularly in Menorca and the Canary Islands is globally endangered due to multiple threats across the 82 countries it occupies in Europe, Asia and Africa. For the Egyptian Vulture its disastrous decline is caused by the disappearance of wild animals on which it depends for food, poisoning of carcasses near the birds’ breeding grounds, collisions with power lines and the growing veterinary use of anti-inflammatory drugs in Africa; as the book explains and illustrates throughout, there is no single threat to a particular species, but more likely a series of misfortunes or deliberate acts which lead down an often short road to danger or even extinction.

Egyptian Vulture - Phil Slade

The Critically Endangered species Balearic Shearwater is another species I see in Menorca and where I admit until now I failed to appreciate the true extent of the endangered status of the species. That’s the other problem, endangered species don’t fly around with an “Endangered” label attached - the key to understanding is education and awareness of what is at stake for humans, birds and the environment alike. 

Menorca - Balearic Shearwater project 

The European pages mention others too, once common farmland species like Starling and House Sparrow which may be sinking towards threatened status. On a purely local level will other species like Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer soon appear on such shameful lists? 

In a section entitled Threats Without Borders the authors remind us that almost one-fifth of the world’s bird species migrate, making regular movements beyond their breeding grounds, often crossing one or more national boundaries on their long-distance travels. Strategies such as this can expose birds like the Basra Reed Warbler to threats on not only its main breeding areas but also in the wintering area of Kenya. Another example of this cross boundary phenomenon centres upon especially threatened groups of soaring birds such as cranes and raptors which migrate along narrow corridors of land subject to rapid changes in land use: also waterbirds which find more and more of their coastal wetland sites disappearing because of land reclamation or change of use.

Threats Without Borders - The World's Rarest Birds

There is a fine Appendix and Index to The World’s Rarest Birds, part of which is a three page list of extinct birds dated according to their passing. The 130 strong inventory stretches from the 1500s with the St Helena Dove all the way up to the Kauai Oo declared extinct on Hawaii in 1987. Along the way this sad list takes in the likes of Mauritius Night Heron in the 1600s, Jamaican Red Macaw circa 1700, Bonin Thrush in the early 1800s and Labrador Duck in 1875. We could go on adding to this roll of misfortune and we probably will. 

As the publishers quite rightly say with their accompanying literature, “this is a book that we all wish wasn’t necessary” (my emphasis). This is a sentiment that will resonate to most reading this blog but the book needs to find a wider audience rather than simply reach the already converted. The World’s Rarest Birds deserves that wider audience and I sincerely hope it reaches them; otherwise we may need to produce another and more desperate volume in a short number of years. Let’s hope not. 

This is a great book, and I have a suggestion. Buy two and send one copy to your elected representative at the highest level possible. I think I’ll send a copy to my European Member of Parliament, include a photograph of a Turtle Dove and a promise to use my vote wisely at the next European election.

Buy this book at Princeton University Press  $45 or £34.95.

I'm linking this post to I'd Rather Be Birding .