Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!uupsi!sunic!tut!ra!misan From: misan@ra.abo.fi (Annika Forsten DC) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: Birding in Southwest England and Ireland Message-ID: Date: 24 Jul 90 16:51:19 GMT References: <36067@vrdxhq.verdix.com> Sender: misan@ra.abo.fi Organization: Abo Academy, Finland Lines: 53 In-reply-to: edm@vrdxhq.verdix.com's message of 23 Jul 90 12:49:46 GMT In article <36067@vrdxhq.verdix.com> edm@vrdxhq.verdix.com (Ed Matthews) writes: > I'm going to be spending two weeks in England and Ireland in September. > Would really like some suggestions about where to go. The best site guide is 'Birdwatching in Britain' by Redman and Harrap. I expect it will be available in Britain. The Natural History Book Service (Devon) has it anyway. > I will be in London for two days at either end of the trip. Are there any > places to bird in London accessible by tube, taxi? I am going to Kew. How's > the birding there? > I will be touring the southwest for about five days and am already planning > a trip to Dartmoor National Park. My schedule is reasonably flexible and > I will be renting a car. Any recommendations for places not to miss in this > part of England? There are some regional guides as well, but I don't know if there are any on the parts you're going to visit. Jeff, can you enlighten us about any good sites there? > Finally, I'll have six days with rental car in and about Kilarney, Ireland. > I'm planning a trip to Muckross to see the gardens. Is this a decent place > for birding? Any recommendations for birding local to Kilarney would be > appreciated as would any for day trips from Kilarney. I don't know whether there is any site guide on Ireland, but there is a book called 'Birds in Ireland' by Clive Hutchinson about the birds. 19 pounds. > What are the standard field guides for England and Ireland? Can they be > purchased in the US? I don't know which books the Brits use, but I think the best would be: 'The Shell Guide to the Birds of Britain' and Ireland by Ferguson-Lees, Willis and Sharrock 9.95 pounds. or, if you prefer to have a book about the whole of Europe 'Hamlyn Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe' by Bruun, Delin and Svensson latest revised edition. 5.95 pounds. Both are very good books. The Shell Guide is special in that it also have colour plates of juveniles and other seldom shown plumages. It includes information on status and occurence in Britain. The Shell Guide is available from the ABA, I expect both are also easy to find in Britain. If you want to learn more about difficult plumages get: 'The MacMillan Guide to Bird Identification' by Harris, Tucker and Vinicombe. This is the European equivalent of Advanced Birding by Kenn Kaufmann.