RSPB BIRDING YEAR

Sub-titled 'Seasonal Tips and Activities to Learn About Bird Behaviour'. This must be the most readable bird book ever written, breezing through the months of the year in engaging style, and conjuring up numerous seasonal scenarios for meeting birds and emphasising the ways you can get involved. In January you can give real help by providing food, but watch out for fights at the feeder, and make sure to keep it clean. In 2021 the greenfinch entered the endangered list because unhygienic feeding conditions were spreading infectious diseases. Each section features several Birds of the Month, with photos, identification tips, and advice on where and when to keep watch. September's Bird of the Month is a Knot, with flocks of them swirling round estuaries such as Morecambe Bay as they return from their Arctic summer. Each month also has a Challenge Bird, one that may be difficult to spot, and Monthly Musings feature a range of topics, for example the domestic habits of blue tits, how they disinfect their nests with herbs like lavender and ground ivy, or an explanation of how you can tell a bird's diet from its beak shape, for instance the broad conical bill of a seed eater, good for crushing. Finally each chapter has a To-do list. February's highlight is watching the weed dance of a great crested grebe's courting ritual, April's To-dos include enjoying the antics of a heronry, while June's To-dos are taking part in a peregrine city watch and listening to a nightjar, the only British bird to coordinate its breeding cycles with the full moon. Every page is a delightful revelation. 224pp, softback, colour photos.