Nature Book Reader June 2020 - Flipbook - Page 84
A Nature Book Reader
NICK MORGAN
Nick Morgan blogs about the birds and other wildlife of the parish of Ainderby
Steeple, North Yorkshire. heirsofgilbert.blogspot.co.uk
Discover Birds Ian Wallace
If I had to pick one book
which changed my life it
would be a slim, landscape
format book aimed at novice
birders: “Discover Birds” by
Ian Wallace (or DIMW as he
is generally known to British
birders). It is one of the few
books which really captures
the experience and (for
those so infected) the sheer
excitement of birding. DIMW
is a great field man and it
shows in his descriptions and
in his distinctive illustrations
which pepper the book.
The chapters include
sage advice on birdwatching
techniques and fieldcraft,
a monthly calendar of the
ornithological cycle and
evocative sections on birding
at some of the top UK sites.
But above all it was the final
chapter, picking some of
his best times in the field,
which was so gripping for a
84
novice birder. It became my
benchmark for the promise of
future times and consolidated
a fledgling interest which has
lasted to this day.
Further Reading
The Lapwing in
Britain
by K G Spencer
Wild America
by Roger Tory Peterson & James
Fisher
