BIRDS NEW TO BRITAIN 1980 - 2004. By Adrian Pitches and Tim Cleeves.

(2005) later reprint. 8vo (160 x 240mm). Pp344. Colour photograph plates, b/w vignette illustrations of birds, bibliography. Dark green boards, spine titled in gilt.

"More birds have been seen in Britain than anywhere else in Europe, and new species continue to arrive each year as vagrants from Central Asia, Siberia and North America. Between 1980 and 2004 more than 70 species have been added to the British list. This book is a compilation of all those records. Finding a 'First for Britain' is the birding equivalent of winning an Olympic gold medal, and the finders' accounts convey that excitement and sense of achievement. These articles are interspersed with 25 annual summaries of the birding years 1980-2004, and 25 essays by prominent birders about their special years during this period. Contributors include Mark Cocker, Chris Harbard, Steve Gantlett, Richard Millington, Dawn Balmer, and Rebecca Nason, who recounts an extraordinary 2004 on Fair Isle when two 'Firsts for Britain' were found within the space of a week! There is also a guest foreword by Eric Meek, chairman of the umpires for the British List - the British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee. The book is richly illustrated with colour photographs of the actual birds themselves (where available), together with a selection of line drawings. This book is an essential work of reference for anyone with an interest in British rarities."