West Midland Bird Club

Birds of a feather on our doorstep

Red Grouse in Sutton Park, Great Bustards in Birchfield and flocks of starlings filling the sky over Birmingham.

All these avian events and many more are outlined in The New Birds of the West Midlands which has recently been published by West Midlands [sic] Bird Club to celebrate its 75th anniversary.

With a foreword by club president Bill Oddie, a birdwatcher who spent his formative years in the West Midlands, the near 500-page volume is by purpose a record of all the birds recorded in the region during the past century and, on occasions, further back into the mists of time.

Including 32 pages of colour plates and numerous line drawings by Steve Cale, the book is packed with information. Charts and graphs show the annual totals of birds recorded in the area down the years and the monthly distribution of those birds.

To give an example of the detail, take the information for the Great Northern Diver. More than a page of narrative outlines the sightings since 1929 of a bird which winters mainly in coastal waters but occasionally finds its way inland.

There are also three charts showing the numbers of birds during the past 15 years, the monthly distribution of those birds and the best sites to go and see them based on previous records.

For birds more regularly seen in the area, the book details breeding patterns and distribution across the region and annual fluctuation in numbers.

For some birds, such as the Skylark, the book outlines a depressing decline in numbers as changes in farming methods and other influences, such as altering weather patterns, have a major impact on the population.

However, the book offers the reader far more than just statistical detail on the birds of the region. Authors Janet and Graham Harrison have pulled together a wealth of other useful information.

Alan Richards, vice president of West Midland Bird Club, of which he has been a member for more than 55 years, outlines the history of the club since November 1, 1929, when Wellington Ernest Groves invited four friends to his house in Edgbaston and proposed the formation of a bird club.

Club chairman Jim Winsper explores how the weather and climate has impacted on the birds of the region while the movement of birds to and from the West Midlands is detailed by club ringing secretary A E Coleman.

The changing profile of the West Midlands is also outlined — from belching chimneys in the Black Country during the industrial age to the clogged motorways of today — contrasting with the dales and peaks of north Staffordshire, the river valleys of the Severn and Avon plus the rugged ridge of the Malvern Hills.

The book is not a pocket reference guide, but a valuable, detailed research aid packed with information, details and statistics about the birds of the region.

Andy Martin