Tim Dolby

In the category of “books likely to only appeal to the .01%”, I give you this solid gold publication. As I live in Australia for now, and I enjoy stalking its amazing birds with my camera (purely amateur hour and likely even more entertaining for the birds than it is for me), and I’m rapidly running out of ‘new-to-me’ birds in my area, I grabbed this on a whim when I saw it at my local bookstore.

It exceeded my expectations, to say the least. Broken down by state, then by region, complete with common birds, not-so-common birds, descriptions, maps and suggested road trips to bird hotspots! I fell in love with this feature, as it includes day trips, weekend trips and dedicated bird-stalking 10 day trips. It then capped itself with a cherry on top by highlighting areas that also included interesting non-birding things to do, for those unfortunate spouses such as mine, who like birds well enough, but don’t find the need to stalk them, yet still find themselves dragged along for the ride.

I wish I could say this was part of a larger, international publication series, so I could urge my other bird loving friends to find their locals edition, but it’s published by CSIRO, which stands for The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation; it’s an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research, so unlikely to part of a greater publishing series. But if anyone reading this is ever in Australia and intends to add some birds to their lists, you can’t go wrong picking this book up beforehand.… (més)

Where to See Birds in Victoria features the very best places in Victoria for seeing birds. Despite being Australia's smallest mainland state, Victoria's varied landscapes provide habitat for more than 500 bird species. Compiled, written, and photographed by a dedicated team from Birds Australia, this guide features over 40 destinations throughout Victoria, including such classic birding spots as Wyperfeld, Hattah-Kulkyne, Little Desert, Chiltern, Mount Pilot, Terrick Terrick, The Grampians, Croajingolong, Bellarine Peninsula, Otway Ranges, Wilsons Promontory, You Yangs and Mount Buffalo, as well as many places in and around Melbourne and along the coast. Where to See Birds in Victoria provides information on how to get to each destination, what facilities and accommodation to expect and, importantly, precisely where to look for unusual or rare birds. The book also provides a comprehensive and up-to-date list of birds, with the degree of rarity and possible locations noted for each species.… (més)