The Banbury area has seen declines of turtledoves, cuckoos, whinchats, spotted flycatchers, willow warblers, tree pipits, lesser spotted woodpeckers, willow tits, lapwings, grey partridges and corn buntings. On the other hand there has been a rise in numbers of buzzards, red kites, barn owls, ravens, great spotted and green woodpeckers, long-tailed tits and chiffchaffs. Did some of these declines exist before Dutch elm disease? Did Moorhens decline in the late 1980s as a result of predation by Mink? Do reductions in numbers of migrating waders such as greenshank, ringed plover and common sandpiper reflect population changes, shifts in migration routes, or changing local habitat? "This is one of a series of excellent county publications produced recently by the non-profitmaking Liverpool University Press and is highly recommended for anyone interested in the systematic monitoring of birds in their home area." - John Clark, British Birds. "The return of the raven and red kite are beautifully demonstrated in this book, and the sad decline of the lesser spotted woodpecker and turtle dove too. The graphs for pochard, peregrine, marsh tit, willow tit and whitethroat surprised me." Drawing upon a remarkable 60 years of surveys 1952-2011, this fascinating and richly illustrated book provides an in-depth picture of birdlife in the very heart of the United Kingdom, the twelve 10km squares surrounding Banbury and including parts of Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire. It creates a snapshot of remarkable changes in the distribution of many birds through the use of clear colour maps, species accounts and a variety of illustrations. is a very impressive record of their work (and play) over the last six decades. Superb colour photos throughout, maps and graphs, 202 pages, 25.5 x 17.5 cm.
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