Purposeful Birdwatching

Getting to Know Birds Better

This book explains how to make your birdwatching more enjoyable, fulfilling and worthwhile. Illustrated throughout with the author’s sketches and fieldnotes, this is a call to appreciate birds for themselves.

‘I remember well my first Bewick’s swans, which I bumped into one November day not far from home. They looked at me, unsure whether or not to fly into the fog, as I tried to get as close as I dared. … What is it, exactly, that can, many years later, recall such emotionally charged birding moments so vividly to mind? I can’t really remember my birthdays at all, but my first green woodpecker and my first jay are firmly embedded. And with some of these things, the place it happened is equally important.’

With its mix of memoir, gentle advice and enthusiastic advocacy, this book sets out a case for purposeful birdwatching. Along the way, it explains how to make your birding more enjoyable, fulfilling and worthwhile. Using ideas and techniques from his five decades of experience, Rob Hume reveals how an ever-enquiring approach to observation of the natural world can yield unexpected treasures – whether this be something rare or simply new details concealed in the apparently everyday. From the basics of equipment and methods, through the mysteries of seawatching, to special insights on the likes of honey-buzzards and goshawks, and a focus on some iconic sites, his breadth of knowledge ensures there is something for every curious birder.

Illuminatingly illustrated throughout with the author’s sketches and fieldnotes, at its heart this is a call to appreciate birds for themselves, as individuals and as species, and not merely as numbers on a list. It will help lead beginners towards a practical and more satisfying hobby, while also being of great interest to experienced birders who will relate to the content through their own experiences.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK as soon as stock is available.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-7 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 30 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.