How to be a Birder part 18

Hint # 18 Read books about birding and birders

Some years ago I bought and read Bill Oddie’s “Little Black Bird Book.” Apart from being a very humorous look at birders and bird watching as a hobby, this book is full of information about Bill’s experiences as a birder and how to go about the hobby. He gives far more information than I have given in this series of posts. I’m not sure if his book is still in print but it’s worth pursuing in second-hand bookshops or on eBay.

Apart from that wonderful book there are many hundreds more interesting books about birders and ornithologists that are entertaining as well as educational. Recently I read Sean Dooley’s book “The Big Twitch”. Again this is very humorous and instructive. Sean set aside a whole year recently to go birding. He attempted to beat the all-time unofficial record number of Australian bird species seen in a calendar year. The various sub-plots, including his frustrating love-life, just add spice to the entertainment.

Second hand bookshops and their remainder tables are worth going over as are bookshop sales with discounted volumes. I have made a deliberate choice NOT to access eBay too often lest I be tempted to buy still more bird books to add to the growing pile waiting to be read. It is getting to the point where I need several more bookshelves to house all these wonderful books. Perhaps an extra room could be built on my house; yes, I’ve always secretly wanted a library. Make that two extra rooms; my wife has also wanted a library.

Books I found useful:

The following is a short list of books I found useful when I was learning about birds. The first three may well be out of print. Sean’s popular book is still in print.

• Bill Oddie’s Little Black Bird Book Bill Oddie (Methuen)
• Bird-watching in Australia Ted Schurmann (Rigby)
• Learning about Australian Birds Rosemary Balmford (Collins)
• The Big Twitch Sean Dooley (Allen and Unwin)

Noisy Miner