Coming Soon

Friends at Princeton sent me a list of new titles that will be available in the next few months, September-January 2027, to be exact. I share them with readers knowing that followers of this blog are probably first and foremost bird lovers but not without other diverse interests in the field of Natural History. 

My readers are great travellers too and there are titles here, incoming soon that may satisfy their search for travel and knowledge. From sea shells through to insects, birds and dinosaurs, a journey taking in Britain, USA, Central America and places in-between. The titles are intriguing as well as exciting and by following the links, a chance to read pre-publication pages, a sneak preview to maybe compile a Princeton wish list.

I am especially excited by news of The New Unfeathered Bird, a completely new and inevitably superb book by my friend Katrina van Grouw. Read about it below but you may have wait until next January to get your hands on a copy.                                                

Seashells: A Compendium of Five Thousand of the World’s Species by Paul Callomon and Gary Rosenberg. 

Seashells - Princeton

The book covers thousands of seashells from all the world's oceans, including named variants as well as many species never figured in a general work and many only recently named. Featuring a breathtaking array of stunning photos and up-to-date information on all groups, this book uses cutting-edge classification and places similar species together for easier comparison. Written by two of today's leading malacologists, the book covers every marine mollusc group and world region. Publication date: 22 September 2026   

Common Lichens of the Upland Southeast: Appalachia and the Piedmont by James Lendemer and Jason P. Hollinger. 

Common Lichens -  Princeton

This presents a new and simplified way to identify the key features of lichens. Describing 381 species, including many never before included in a field guide, this guide features hundreds of high-quality colour in situ macro photos, includes detailed discussions of natural communities, ecology, appearance, and comparable species, and draws on Lendemer and Hollinger’s decades of experience to address the difficulties and confusion commonly encountered when identifying individual species in the wild. Publication date: 29 September 2026   

Insects of Britain and Europe: A Field Guide by Thomas C. John, Peter Mullen, and Paul D. Brock features more than 5,500 clear colour photographs illustrating 3,000 species to aid in species identification with photo annotations and clear, concise descriptions. 

Insects of Britain and Europe - Princeton

This go-to guide for everyone interested in Europe’s insects also notes the habitat where each species is likely to be found and includes up-to-date distribution maps and flight-time graphics. Publication date: 29 September 2026   

Costa Rica’s Rainforests: The Natural History of the Plants and Animals of La Selva by Scott Wesley Shumway features more than 800 stunning colour photographs. Covering flowering plants, ferns, fungi, birds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, fishes, and insects, this book is essential for anyone visiting the Costa Rican rainforest and is accessible to ecotourists, students, and scientists alike. Publication date: 29 September 2026   

Costa Rica's Rainforests - Princeton

The Atlas of North America’s Migratory Birds: Tracking Movement Across Seasons and Continents by Peter P. Marra and Amy L. Scarpignato compiles diverse data types from thousands of contributors. This treasure trove of data covers nearly 600 species and brings together banding data collected over the past century with information gathered using the latest tracking technology, stable isotopes, and genetic tools. 

Atlas of North America's Migratory Birds - Princeton

Featuring eBird maps for every species, published here for the first time, this book is an essential and definitive resource for ornithologists, conservationists, and birdwatchers. Publication date: 3 November 2026   

Birds of Madagascar: A Photographic Field Guide by Callan Cohen and Ken Behrens is the most comprehensive single-volume guide to the island’s birds, featuring every species ever recorded: the 266 residents and regular migrants, 39 recorded vagrants, and 16 potential vagrants. 

Birds of Madagascar - Princeton

Featuring more than 1,300 stunning colour photographs and accessibly presents key information for quick field identification, the accounts include all essential information, including size, colouration, distribution, behaviour, vocalizations, favoured habitats, and key sites for observation giving a thorough overview of Madagascar’s habitats and birding spots, this is the first field guide to include Malagasy as well as French names. Publication date: 3 November 2026   

The Language of Bees by James C. Nieh draws on decades of groundbreaking fieldwork, exploring how social bees rely on the remarkable signals to organise all aspects of their lives, from foraging and warfare to espionage and defence. From the famous waggle dance of honeybees to the secretive trails and potentially coded sounds of stingless bees, Nieh shows how their intricate communication systems reflect a delicate balance between cooperation and conflict and how a changing world disrupts these finely tuned systems. 

The Language of Bees - Princeton

Blending personal insights with cutting-edge science, this illuminating and informative book reveals how the study of bees continues to deepen our understanding of intelligence, resilience, and the diverse ways that life communicates. Publication date: 10 November 2026   

Common Mosses of the Southeastern United States by Joseph R. Rohrer, Kirsten McKnight Ward, and Karl B McKnight enables even complete novices to make accurate identifications in the field, but is also invaluable for experienced naturalists, botanists, and ecologists. 

Common Mosses - Princeton

This book features over 1,000 superb original photographs of all the species, as well as drawings and infographics covering more than 200 species.   Publication date: 17 November 2026   

The Princeton Field Guide to the Jurassic by Nan Crystal Arens and Paul M. Barrett profiles the breathtaking diversity of Jurassic fauna and flora. Featuring more than two hundred illustrations – from full-colour life studies and landscapes to detailed drawings of representative species – this book discusses dinosaurs, marine reptiles, early birds, pterosaurs, mammals, amphibians, insects, marine invertebrates, trees, and vibrant plant life. 

Guide to The Jurassic - Princeton

The Princeton Field Guide to the Jurassic is a must-have reference book for anyone interested in the prehistoric world of dinosaurs. Publication date: 5 January 2027   

The Grassland Queen: An Avian Love Story in the American Plains by Priyanka Kumar provides a naturalist’s lyrical journey into the world of the endangered long-billed curlew and the vanishing grasslands that sustain them. In this uniquely personal book, Priyanka Kumar brings the curlew’s poignant story to life as she tracks them over many years in New Mexico, the Great Plains, and the Great Basin in the United States. 

The Grassland Queen - Princeton

Blending pioneering fieldwork with vivid storytelling and the latest science, The Grassland Queen offers an eye-opening look at how keystone animals keep this iconic ecosystem open, and a look into the sustained love of a lifelong naturalist for her “Zen bird”. Publication date: 5 January 2027   

A New Unfeathered Bird by Katrina van Grouw is a sumptuous blend of art and science. Including around 600 illustrations, this entirely new and substantially expanded text is filled with up-to-date research. This new edition contains a new layout and design by the author, as well as a section on the genesis and creation of the book.

A New Unfeathered Bird - Princeton

A New Unfeathered Bird combines accessible scientific discussion with powerfully evocative nature writing. Publication date: 12 January 2027. 

I am pretty sure that after reading this post there's a few scribbles on the nearest piece of paper plus  mental notes made  of titles that appeal. Keep a look out for reviews of one or more of the above on Another Bird Blog. 

Bye for now.

 

 

Bird Photographer of the Year, Collection 10

Another year goes by. It seems just yesterday that I reviewed Bird Photographer of the Year, Collection 9. And now, if a little late following the first package going missing in the post, Collection 10 arrives via a knock at the door from Parcel Force. 

Princeton’s Bird Photographer of the Year, Collection 10 celebrates bird photography from around the world, and as the sub-title explains this is the tenth iteration via a large format “coffee table” book of 11×9 inches. This is a perfect size with which to grab a cup of coffee, fully open said book onto a knee-height table and to then absorb the 250 or so fabulous photos. 

Bird Photographer of the Year Collection 10 

Opening the early pages reveals the categories of winning entries together with the “special awards”, a list that follows a helpful, logical order enabling a reader to quickly locate their own specialism. In the case of myself, all of the categories apply except perhaps the concept of Creative Perspective, but one ideal for photographers of an artistic intent. 

Categories - Bird Photographer of the Year Collection 10

 

Working slowly through the pages a reader will find close to each entry the photographer’s words around the how, the where and the when of the shutter clicks that captured their winning shot. These notes and explanations of the occasion of the photo detail a wealth of technological data for camera enthusiasts, amateur and professionals alike. Here is information about the camera make, the lens, shutter speeds, the aperture and the relative ISO for readers seeking to emulate or better the winning shot. It's a learning curve for sure in allowing us all to perhaps experiment a little more with our accustomed dial settings.

Free Whale Shower - Bird Photographer of the Year Collection 10

Free Whale Shower - Bird Photographer of the Year Collection 10

Almost without exception the pictures come from the leading makes of Canon, Sony, Nikon in either DSLR or mirrorless form with just the occasional Olympus. If only it was so simple because despite the technical data, these stunning pictures in isolation cannot explain a winning photographer’s vital skills in field craft, experience, empathy and the lying in wait in often inclement weather. And of course a photographer's knowledge of how birds behave under many different circumstances of the season, time of day, weather and external influences. 

An encounter with a bird or birds is impermanent, a one off, never to be repeated again, hence why, and to the annoyance of some, a photographer’s need to keep the button pressed until the buffer is full to bursting. Everyone is after that world beating picture as displayed in Collection 10. However those setting out in pursuit of birds with slightly less costly equipment should not be discouraged but instead take heart and advice from the stories here that luck, perseverance, timing and field craft are vital elements in taking that special picture.  

Northern Harrier and Grey-headed Fish Eagle - Princeton

As I penned these words while recalling my favourite pictures from Collection 10, I ran out of superlatives. In no particular order - breathtaking, captivating, exceptional, extraordinary, fantastic, phenomenal, stunning, striking, unique, evocative, impressive, mesmerising, timeless. 

Anhinga in Florida - Princeton

There is an overall victor of BPOTY with both winners and runner ups in all of the categories listed in the opening pages. Meanwhile the link to Princeton's page about the book  - Princeton does not feature many of the winning pictures, and where in my opinion, those featured are not the best of the fabulous 250 pictures described here. 

Princeton are right to expect that people buy and enjoy the whole book of 250 images with their corresponding and instructive information rather than a cursory scan of half a dozen images on a PC or mobile phone. However, for those yet to decide whether to spend £35 on this book it’s possible to view a better selection of the category winners at https://www.birdpoty.com/2025-winners.   

I interspersed the review with a few of my own favourites, however a reproduced image via a computer screen is not the ideal way to judge this book. Despite the drains and demands on all of our finances in these difficult times £35 is a relatively small sum of money to own a copy for future reference and/or to revisit on many a dark winter’s day. 

Flamingo - Bird Photographer of the Year Collection 10

And as we approach the Chrismas festival of late December, other than the latest bells and whistles camera and lens that could cost £10,000 - £15, 000, what better gift could there be for the birdwatcher in your life than this splendid book?

Price: $39.95/£35.00 

ISBN: 9780691278674  

Published: Sep 30, 2025 

Pages: 256 

Size: 11.25 x 9 in. 

245 colour photos.

PS. To all my friends who enquired after my well being. Thank you so much. Yes, I am well but taking a lengthy break from blogging. Maybe I will return soon with more news and pictures.

Birds At Rest: The Behaviour and Ecology of Avian Sleep - A Review

Caitlyn of Princeton messaged to ask if I fancied reviewing a newly published book entitled Birds At Rest: The Behaviour and Ecology of Avian Sleep by American ornithologist Roger F Pasquier. I quickly replied “yes please”. 

Pasquier is well qualified to write the book: a career with BirdLife International, the World Wildlife Fund, the Environmental Defence Fund, and the National Audubon Society. He is currently an associate in the Department of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History. His books include Birds in Winter: Surviving the Most Challenging Season. 

Although written from the perspective of an American birder and ornithologist, the theme of birds at rest is global in scientific significance and understanding. Birds and how they spend half their lives is a subject for continuing study by birders of all persuasions, irrespective of their geographical location. 

Birds at Rest - Princeton

New World and Old World birds are all descendants of dinosaurs, creatures that roamed Earth some 130 million years ago, one of which, Mei long, was asleep when volcanic ash covered it in the same sleeping position that many birds use now. Mei long (sleeping dragon) was one of many species of small birdlike theropod dinosaurs living in the area of Liaoning, China all those years ago. 

The meaty chapters of Birds At Rest together with a comprehensive index contains many references to European birds and North American birds alike when readers with a particular interest(s) can quickly find the link they need. For example, Eurasian Wren lists alongside House Wren and others of the clan. Likewise there is information about European Pied Flycatcher, Oklahoma’s State bird the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, and a description of how the female Yellow-billed Flycatcher of Central and South America builds a suspended pouch in which to sleep during the breeding season. 

Bird roosts, birds at rest and birds asleep has been a special interest of mine for many years, a fascination that stemmed from the early days of a ringing permit with a desire to learn more about the bird species found at roosts of my local Lancashire area of the UK.  Here was a subject that had been sorely neglected in the past, and where apart from the nationally known Starling roost of Blackpool Centre, there were few published records of roosting singles or roost assemblies. 

An early inspiration to better local knowledge was Peter Barnes who many years ago recorded large Corn Bunting roosts at Marton Mere, Blackpool. Sadly, Peter is no longer with us, the Corn Bunting is near extinct as a local breeding species and the existence of a winter roost of Corn Buntings is but a birder’s dream. 

There followed years of finding, tracking, confirming and ringing local birds at rest - Swallows, Chaffinches, Linnets, House Sparrows, Greenfinches, Redwings & Fieldfares, Blackbirds, waders, Long-eared Owls.  Much was learned from the many data sets sent to the BTO in those years when, unlike now, birds were plentiful. 

This preamble describes my justification, my reason and my desire to read Birds At Rest. To learn from history, and to discover how birds at rest are studied and recorded in the Digital Age of 2025 and beyond when GPS, electronic devices, radio telemetry and light-level geolocators are increasingly used. 

The Contents page shown below is an indication of how readers can enjoy and learn from this book, a volume for ornithologists, experienced birders, and for those on the learning curve of the world of birds. 

Birds at Rest - Princeton

The author has an easy style, a way with words coupled with a comprehensive understanding of birds, cognition gained from a lifelong experience amongst birds and fellow ornithologists. 

Birds at Rest - Princeton

Birds at Rest - Princeton

Birds at Rest - Princeton

 

The chapters contain many fascinating, insightful, often esoteric facts and figures about how birds spend half their lives, much, if not the majority of it previously unknown to me (and I suspect, to a good number of birders). 

We have all seen the massed huddles of penguins maintaining warmth on the Antarctica ice, but how many have witnessed 20 or more different species pressed against each other under rock ledges at 4000 metres in the High Andes? And did you know that Rock Ptarmigans on Svalbard in the Greenland Sea at 74-81° N live through ten weeks lacking almost any light and spend most of all day burrowed in the snow? 

I especially recommend to readers Chapter 10, Human Impacts. As might be expected the overall impact of the human race onto birds that need to rest and/or sleep is negative. Positives such as the warmth of industry, city centres, tree plantations and sugarcane fields are negated by increased light and noise and where living in close proximity to humans has exposed birds to invasive species and predators, impacts that has changed sleeping habits gained from millions of years of bird evolution. 

Birds at Rest - Princeton

I have given a taste only of Birds At Rest. I cannot recommend this book highly enough as a good read. It is original, illuminating, entertaining, educational and fascinating in so many aspects. From whatever direction of approach it is an exhilarating read for the layman or scholar alike and at £30 a throw better value than a subscription to RBA and the dead end of pin-drop birding. 

With a full 360 pages of text, minimal illustrations and no actual bird photographs this book provides a welcome change to the recent glut of field guides from publishers. This is a book to read and one to inwardly digest rather than a Sunday afternoon browser. 

This fine book was released in North America in February 2025 and only now is it published in Europe. Grab yourself a copy. You will not be disappointed. 

Price: $35.00/£30.00 

ISBN:9780691259963  

Published (US): Feb 18, 2025 Published (UK): Apr 8, 2025 

Pages: 360 

Size: 6.13 x 9.25 in. 

26 b/w illus.

 

Book Review - Inshore Fishes of Britain and Ireland

“An unexpected topic for Another Bird Blog”, regular readers might say, a review of Inshore Fishes of Britain and Ireland, a field guide to fish. A soon to be released book from Wild Nature Press via Princeton (25 April). 

Inshore Fishes of Britain and Ireland - Princeton

Let me explain. I live a two minute drive from the Lancashire coast, the wonderfully species rich ecosystem of North West England known as Morecambe Bay, where man, birds, animals and fish live together, often in competition, very frequently as prey and predator. 

The historic and once major fishing town of Fleetwood is a short ferry journey across the mouth of Morecambe Bay via The River Wyre, a focal point of the geographical area. Hereabouts, many people retain an affinity to what is today a mostly lost industry.  The important source of employment declined during the 'cod wars' of the 1970s when Iceland restricted how much fish could be caught in its waters. Later in the 1990s many fishermen sold their boats off under a UK government and EU led decommissioning scheme. And thereafter Fleetwood lost its main raison d'être. 

I will own up now; I like to eat fish. Fish is a rich source of protein filled with omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins such as D and B. Fish is rich in calcium and phosphorus and a great source of minerals, such as iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and potassium. 

My pal Jamie the Fishmonger has skills acquired via his Fleetwood family where he learnt the trade of knowing about the buying, selling and the processing of many sea foods.  He can tell me how good a fish will eat by glancing at the colour of the flesh or feeling the thickness of the skin. He knows about fish where I know the bare bones; he educates me about his iced display of treasure from the deep while filleting a bright eyed plaice in the blink of an eye. 

When Princeton floated Inshore Fishes of Britain and Ireland my naturally enquiring mind came into play whereby a landlubber’s curiosity might learn a little about the 400 or more species of fish which surround UK shores. After a quick shuffle of the pages, the many photos and the explanatory illustrations I just knew I had to share this gem of a book with followers of Another Bird Blog, so here it is. 

Unlike birds and mammals, fish in their live state are not obvious or easily accessible to land based observation but much more likely to be seen and studied by divers and snorkellers who can more easily identify and record these fast moving animals underwater. 

The authors of Inshore Fishes, Lin Baldock and Frances Dipper have a wealth of expertise and worldwide experience of  studying marine life through diving expeditions in the UK, Canada, Australia, the Middle East and Asia. As one who paddled in the Red Sea while surrounded by myriad exotic fish I remain in awe of Lin Baldock’s 4,000+ dives.  At Page 8 the authors acknowledge more than seventy  contributors who provided photographs, illustrations, previously unpublished information and other content that made this overdue and unique book possible. 

A glance at “Contents” shows the diversity, breadth of the species and the information to be found in this delightful and educational book of a succinct 288 pages.  

Inshore Fishes of Britain and Ireland - Princeton

“How to Use This Book” is essential reading to understand that unusually shaped fish can change both colour, shape and even sex, but that Habitat is equally important for fish identification as it is for bird and animal ID. 

The why and how of underwater photography points out the potential pitfalls and likely delights of portraying a pipefish or flashing to a flounder while showing many fine examples by way of e.g. Leopard-spotted Goby, a Starry Smoothound, a Norwegian Topknot or an Angelshark in their natural environments.

Inshore Fishes of Britain and Ireland - Princeton

Inshore Fishes of Britain and Ireland - Princeton

And if you thought that some birds are pretty good at hiding away through cryptic plumage take a look at the photographs of a number of species of flat fish like brill, turbot and scaldfish. Such beautiful and unique creatures have the means to become motionless and invisible to all but the sharpest eyes.

Inshore Fishes of Britain and Ireland - Princeton

Inshore Fishes of Britain and Ireland - Princeton

 Some pages emphasise key identification features and possible confusion species and also include a “confidence guide” distinguishing between easily recognisable species and those requiring closer examination. It’s a feature that could be put to good use in bird guides for novice birders when considering recent faux pas I witnessed - Short-eared Owl v Barn Owl or Wood Warbler v Willow Warbler, occasions when the use of a field guide would have saved embarrassment. 

The species’ accounts at pages 35-273 make for truly fascinating and compulsive reading in their descriptions and explanations of the remarkable lifestyles and life histories of these barely known creatures, many of which were completely unknown to me. 

There are of course a number of UK species which can sting, electrocute or otherwise harm an unwary diver - the rays, sharks, scorpion fish, or the venomous weevers.  Yet others like the wrasse family live close to the sea bed where they can be rare or rarely seen. I learnt that the Black Seabream, a protogynous hermaphrodite, bulldozes a nest on the ocean floor for the female and that this extraordinary behaviour has been the subject of a seven year study along the Dorset coast. 

With Inshore Fishes and following on from a number of very bulky “field guides” we appear to have returned to a more manageable size of guide at a pocket sized 5.88 x 8.25 inches of minimal weight and mass. The colour coded on-page icons, pointers and illustrations work a treat. The book is concise, compact, practical and extremely user friendly. Hooray. 

Inshore Fishes is published in association with the UK Marine Conservation Society, a joint imitative that makes an invaluable contribution to the series of marine photographic titles of Seasearch, a species recording project for volunteer sports divers. 

Inshore Fishes of Britain and Ireland - Princeton

Price: $27.95/£22.00 

ISBN: 9780691249018  

Published (US):Aug 1, 2023

Published (UK):Apr 25, 2023 

Copyright:2023 

Pages: 288 

Size: 5.88 x 8.25 in 

Here is a fine book that will appeal to the growing band of divers and marine conservationists who explore the coast of Britain. I imagine that many fishermen will be drawn to read this book, also part time sea anglers or those inshore hobby fishermen who set off in small boats from towns and villages around all parts of Britain and Ireland. In the book they will surely find much to interest, excite and educate. 

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Anni in Texas.

In the Footsteps of Audubon

Here as promised is a review of a book due for release on November 1st 2022 - In the Footsteps of Audubon by Denis Clavreul. This is a Princeton publication. 

In the Footsteps of Audubon - Princeton

Denis Clavreul is a French watercolourist, wildlife artist, and biologist whose celebrated works have been exhibited around the world. He is the author and illustrator of many books, including Dreaming of Africa and Pour une Loire vivante (That the Loire may live). 

https://www.denisclavreul.com/peintures-fraiches.asp

John James Audubon (1785 - 1851) is held in such high regard as a naturalist/ornithologist/painter and author that he is known simply by the surname of Audubon. 

Everyone knows of Audubon, not least me. Audubon’s stunning, stylistic, painstakingly detailed and dramatic drawings became a major inspiration in my early days of discovering birds. 

Audubon’s own journey began in France over two hundred years ago with his childhood in France and an early affinity for birds and natural history in its many forms. In 1803 his father obtained a false passport so that Jean-Jacques Audubon could go to the United States to avoid conscription in the Napoleonic Wars. At eighteen years old Jean-Jacques boarded a ship and changed his name to the anglicised form John James Audubon. 

As a young man Audubon travelled the Americas where he learned the crafts that would eventually make him famous. The book traces one such journey via Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Louisiana, Las Floridas (Florida), Labrador, Missouri and to the end of the journey in New York City. In those days the population of the young United States was around five million people. There were no paved roads, no automobiles, no electric lights, no cameras or binoculars, and no widely available books about birds. 

Throughout the journey the young Audubon practiced and perfected his artistic skills and became a self-taught ornithologist of repute. His pictorial record - The Birds of America, 1827 and 1838, stands as a colossal achievement in American art that will never be bettered. 

Birds of America

“In the Footsteps” follows the same route that Audubon took through the States of America with a chapter devoted to each leg of a journey some 200 years before. 

In the Footsteps of Audubon - Princeton

Two hundred and fifty of Clavreul’s deceptively modest, often impressionistic sketches and watercolours of birds, animals, people, plants and landscapes appear throughout the pages where they mingle with revealing selections from Audubon’s journals and a number of his paintings e.g. the simply stunning Great Egret, the Crested Caracaras or the Gannets. 

 

In the Footsteps of Audubon - Princeton

 “The weather was fine; all around me was as fresh and blooming as if it had just issued from the bosom of Nature. Although well moccasined, I moved slowly along attracted by the brilliancy of the flowers, and the gambols of the fawns along their dams, to all appearance as thoughtless of danger as I felt myself.” 

Audubon’s words make a knowing and comfortable juxtaposition of words and images that fit with Clavreul’s easy, relaxed style of descriptive writing. I felt that my journey through America and Audubon’s past was made all the better by being in the company of an agreeable, knowledgeable and sympathetic companion. 

Along the journey there are people who live with nature, many of them passionately engaged in preserving it. We encounter bird banders in Louisiana, devoted birders in Central Park, Florida & Quebec and ranchers in Missouri; just a few of the locations where Clavreul’s delightful sketches and paintings bring words and history to life. We see the natural world as Audubon saw it but with eyes and ideas of today. 

Banders in Louisiana - In the Footsteps of Audubon - Princeton

“The Night Hawks were skimming over and around me, attracted by the buzzing wings of beetles which form their food, and the distant howling of wolves gave me some hope that I should soon arrive at the skirts of some woodlands.” 

In the Footsteps of Audubon - Princeton

In the Footsteps of Audubon - Princeton

In the Footsteps of Audubon - Princeton

I must mention that the book is translated from the original French into English. The translator Martha Le Cars deserves a special mention for the sensitive, seamless and highly readable result. 

In the Footsteps of Audubon, a book in landscape format, will probably not appeal to the average birder. However, I am certain it is one that will find a home with students of bird and natural history art, travellers, writers, and indeed anyone who simply loves books for the joy they bring in these troubled times. 

I thoroughly recommend it as one that would make a thoughtful gift for a young aspiring writer or artist, someone in the mould of young John James perhaps? 

This is a book that I quickly grew to love and one I would like to keep but with bulging bookshelves I am stuck for space. However I have a better, more useful idea. I will donate this delightful book to my granddaughter’s school though their art department, where I hope it will become a tool for talk, discussion and projects, perhaps even an inspiration to one or more budding artists or writers. 

https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691237688/in-the-footsteps-of-audubon 

$39.95 / £30.00 

ISBN: 9780691237688 

Published: Nov 1, 2022 

Copyright: 2022 

Pages: 256 

Size: 11.75 x 9.5 in. 

Illustrations: 272 colour 

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Blogspot and Anni in Texas.

Review - The Birds of New Jersey

The rain batted down against the bedroom window once more this morning. Add to this the seemingly ever present gusts from the west and it seemed a good time to postpone checking Barn Swallow nests until tomorrow but instead delve into a book recently received for review by Another Bird Blog.

The Birds of New Jersey

Readers from North America especially those that bird on the East Coast, will be pleased to hear that the book is the awaited “The Birds of New Jersey – Status and Distribution” by William J Boyle Jr, a birder of 40+ years and author of "A Guide to Bird Finding in New Jersey".

Of course I know where New Jersey is and I recognise it includes the birding sites of Sandy Hook and Turkey Point and the celebrated migration hot-spot of Cape May, where both US and UK birders/banders make pilgrimages. But until I looked in “Wiki” I didn’t realise the state of New Jersey in only about 70 miles wide and 170 miles from top to bottom; all the more reason to rejoice in the 450 + species recorded here in such a relatively small state. A major reason for the huge number and variety of species here is that as far as a bird is concerned New Jersey has a wide variety of habitats in a geographically ideal location whether they reside permanently, seasonally, or just make stop-over visits during migration time.

So this book is not simply another field guide to add to the many already out there, it is firstly a guide to the status and distribution of the more than 450 bird species recorded in the state of New Jersey in the last 200 years. Until now there has been no single, comprehensive and readily available guide out there for birders and naturalists, so as well as the 200 year history, this book draws from the many publications and bird journals of more recent years. Naturally enough in this the age of the Internet, Boyle’s book includes records from online reporting services like eBird, New Jersey Rare Bird Alert and the Cape May Birding Hotline, so it is bang up to date.

I am hugely impressed by this book. It is very well written, clear and concise, nicely laid out and thorough in presentation. By the time I had studied it well I realised that it was as the back cover blurb had claimed, “authoritative”. The 300 pages contain species accounts that describe the preferred habitat and relative abundance of each species as well as detailed, colour coded and very precise maps, interspersed with some really excellent and varied photographs that break the text into readable chunks. Shame about a distant and blurred but the actual Northern Lapwing photograph, the second ever record of Vanellus vanellus in New Jersey, and if only William had asked I would have emailed him a few pics of Lapwings from Pilling!

The Birds of New Jersey
The Birds of New Jersey

I found the terminology used for Status and Distribution especially effective and useful, with a couple of extra terms I had not seen before in this type of book. Those two are “Irregular” - species whose occurrence is unpredictable, and “Local” - typically found only in specific habitats and areas within a particular region. If only field guides could include such fine detail it would surely help birders unfamiliar with a particular place to find birds, or indeed help new birders to sort out the likelihood of the bird’s occurrence in the first place? This led me to think that anyone who birds regularly in New Jersey or neighbouring states should not only study this book in depth but also keep it side by side with their standard field guide to Eastern North America.

The Birds of New Jersey

The final 13 pages of the book contain a helpful and extensive bibliography for readers interested in pursuing and learning more about the birds and natural history of New Jersey.

To sum up, “The Birds of New Jersey” is an object lesson in how to produce a book of this type. It is well researched, succinct but detailed, easily accessible and extremely logical in the arrangement of the information. The book also lives up to the quality of print, colour and paper that we expect of a Princeton product.

Finally, another few facts about New Jersey: Its per-capita income is the third highest in the United States and New Jersey also has the highest percentage of millionaire households. So there are a few people who don’t have to worry about the cost of this splendid book, not that anyone should at the bargain price of $24.95 or £16.95 from Princeton University Press.