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Field
Guides
- A good field guide is the
birder's second most important piece of kit ! There are
lots of books and guides to choose from. The most
important considerations are size, quality of images and
quality of information and text. If you're a beginner,
you will need a basic field guide to identify the main
Irish bird species, some of which you may have never seen
before. As you progress, you will need a more
comprehensive field guide with more information, more
illustrations covering plumage variation, and more
details of territorial and migratory distribution and
identification features. All of the books mentioned below
are highly recommended and these (and many more) are
available from the Wings shop at BirdWatch Ireland HQ.
- Pocket Guide to the
Common Birds of Ireland by Eric Dempsey -
A good introductory text to Ireland's wild birdlife
geared towards the beginner with useful text and bird
illustrations throughout.
- Bill Oddie's Birds of
Britain and Ireland by Bill Oddie - An
ideal introduction to identifying and learning about the
birds of Britain and Ireland, illustrated superbly
throughout with large, clear and accurate drawings of
birds in various plumages. 250 species covered in this
book along with a very readable and enjoyable text. Ideal
for beginners !
- Collins Bird Guide
by Killian Mullarney, Lars Svensson, Dan Zetterstrom and
Peter J. Grant - Provides all the information needed
to identify any species at any time of the year, with
detailed text on size, habitat, range, identification and
voice. Accompanying every species entry is an up-to-date
distribution map and 3500 original illustrations to show
the species in all the major plumages (male, female,
immature, in flight, at rest, feeding, etc). This is
quite simply the best and most comprehensive birding
field guide available !
Birds of Europe
by Lars Jonnson - A firm favourite ! Comprehensive, yet
in a handy pocket size. This is still one of the best field
guides available for use in Ireland and Europe. Excellent
introductory chapters provide great advice on how to approach
the study of birds.
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