West Midland Bird Club

Newly Published

The New Birds of the West Midlands

Graham and Janet Harrison. 2005. West Midland Bird Club, Warwickshire. ISBN 0-9507881-2-0. 496pp. £39.00. Hb. Available from The West Midland Bird Club, PO Box 1, Studley, Warwickshire B80 7JG

This book, covering Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the former West Midlands county, continues the trend of "county" avifaunas. It is a big book, at nearly 500 pages with 32 pages of colour photographs and superb line drawings by Steve Cale.

The opening chapters, by various authors, includes an introduction; an account of the history of the West Midland Bird Club (WMBC); the changing profile of the area; and then the various geographical regions of the area. The main body of the text is the systematic list covering over 330 species. For common birds, this concentrates on the period 1979 to 2001.

The species accounts, which draw heavily on data from the WMBC Annual Reports, summarise preferred habitats or locations, geographical and seasonal distributions, numerical trends and other quantitative data, such as ringing recoveries, and an estimate of the breeding population.

As a former WMBC member, and someone who started birdwatching in Warwickshire but who has not lived there for over 30 years I was very intrigued by the changes that have occurred since I left. For example, Buzzard, a species I never saw in Warwickshire, is now described as fairly common.

The news is not all positive however. Black Grouse are now extinct as a breeding species on the North Staffordshire Moors.

The book is a must for anyone who goes birdwatching in the area or who collects these local avifaunas. The main authors, Graham and Janet Harrison, all who helped with its production and the WMBC are to be congratulated on publishing such an informative and interesting book.

Reviewed by Nick Carter, BTO's Director of Development