The Top Wildlife and Natural History Titles of 2009 – Plus Customer Favourites

First up, our Editor’s Choice of the Top 10 Best Wildlife and Natural History Books of the year, followed by Customer Favourites – the most popular books of 2009.

Editor’s Top 10 Books of 2009

1. Vegetative Key to the British Flora
Nothing short of a revolution in plant identification

2. Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil
The first serious field guide to Brazil’s avifauna

3. Bats of Britain, Europe and Northwest Africa
Comprehensive and beautifully illustrated

4. Colour Identification Edition of Moths of the British Isles
Welcome new edition of Skinner’s classic

5. Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Volume 1: Carnivores
The first volume in a stunning series… can’t wait for the next instalment

6. On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition
The best of too many Darwin books published for the double anniversary

7. Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland
A colossal undertaking – keys to 1873 species

8. Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia
Essential conservation info (for Ramsar/CMS) in a format accessible to serious birders

9. Sustainable Energy without the Hot Air
Clearly written and clearly costed solutions to our energy/climate conundrum

10. Biology of Coral Reefs
Brilliant academic overview of this threatened habitat

Customer Favourites
These are the most popular books of 2009 at NHBS by subject, as chosen by our customers: Birding, Bird Conservation, Botany, Mammals, Natural History and Zoology (including Entomology bestsellers). You’ll find an eclectic mix of geographic and taxonomic interest, with books from publishers all over the world. We’ve also included the Top 10 wildlife equipment from our rapidly expanding range of field kit.

Enjoy browsing, and please feel free to add your own recommendations for Top Titles in the comments section at the end of this post.

Birding
1. Wildfowl – New Naturalist Volume 110
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 14
3. Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil
4. Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia
5. Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere
6. Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo
7. Field Guide to the Birds of the Horn of Africa
8. Field Guide to the Birds of South America: Passerines
9. Birdwatching Guide to Oman
10. History of Ornithology

Bird Conservation
1. Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia
2. Bird Ringing
3. Best Practice Guide for Wild Bird Monitoring Schemes
4. Ultimate Site Guide to Scarcer British Birds
5. Raptors: A Field Guide for Surveys and Monitoring
6. Status of Birds in Britain and Ireland
7. Bird Conservation and Agriculture
8. Rare Birds Where and When, Volume 1: Sandgrouse to New World Orioles
9. Important Bird Areas in the Caribbean
10. Avian Invasions

Mammals
1. Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Volume 1: Carnivores
2. Bats of Britain, Europe and Northwest Africa
3. Mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East
4. Field Guide to the Mammals of South-East Asia
5. Guide to British Bats
6. British Mammals (Audio CD)
7. Lesser Horseshoe Bat
8. Field Guide to Indian Mammals
9. Mammals of the British Isles
10. Living with Dormice

Zoology
1. Field Guide to the Larvae and Exuviae of British Dragonflies, Volume 2 (Volume 1 also available)
2. Key to the Identification of British Centipedes
3. Collins Butterfly Guide
4. Britain’s Reptiles and Amphibians
5. RES Handbook Volume 4 Part 2: The Carabidae
6. New Holland European Reptile and Amphibian Guide
7. Insects of Britain and Western Europe
8. SBF Volume 58: Centipedes
9. Dangerous Marine Animals
10. Diversity of Fishes

Botany
1. Vegetative Key to the British Flora
2. Grasses of the British Isles
3. Collins Flower Guide
4. Lichens of Great Britain and Ireland
5. Sedges of the British Isles
6. Montane Heathland Lichen Guide
7. Water-Starworts Callitriche of Europe
8. Funga Nordica
9. Orchids of Britain and Ireland
10. Mountain Flowers and Trees of Caucasia

Natural History
1. Dartmoor: New Naturalist Volume 111
2. Art of Peter Scott
3. Art of the New Naturalists
4. Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Portfolio 19
5. Living Britain DVD
6. On the Origin of Species: The Illustrated Edition
7. Wild France
8. Nature’s Great Events – DVD
9. Wild Life
10. Life – DVD (David Attenborough)

Top 10 Equipment
1. Opticron Hand lens, 18mm, 20x magnification
2. Crushable Pocket Butterfly Net
3. Magenta Bat 5
4. WeatherWriter A4 Portrait
5. Bug Box Magnifying Pot
6. Batbox Baton
7. Collecting Pot (Bundle of 5)
8. Pooter
9. 5-Hole Small Bird Ringing (Banding) Pliers
10. One-Man Wildlife Photography Hide

The Moonlander Moth Trap touches down at NHBS


183298The Moonlander Moth Trap & Goodden Light
The Moonlander is a lightweight, portable trap well suited to remote fieldworkers and travelling entomologists. Its relatively low price compared with other traps has also given it a popular following with first-time moth trappers.  The trap packs flat and weighs only 1.47 kg (including light and electrics but not battery). The Moonlander comes paired with the revolutionary Goodden Light – in field trials in remote areas this has shown itself to be more effective than other portable lights. With no need for mains supplies, weighty cables or generators this trap is super versatile and super portable.

The Moonlander design is somewhat different from many of the other traps on the market. It features a ground floor entrance that increases retention as moths cannot fly up and out of the trap.

We offer the Moonlander & Goodden Light together as a set (battery not included) or you can fit your own MV electrics or actinic electrics in the Moonlander. You can also buy the Goodden light separately to add to an existing trap.

More about the Goodden Light
The Goodden Light runs off a 12 v battery (not included), has a light sensor to turn itself off in daylight and generates more ultraviolet than an actinic bulb whilst using less power.

Buying Options

Buy the Moonlander Trap & Goodden Light (most popular option) –  £269.99

Buy the Moonlander Trap and add your own electrics – £109

Buy the Goodden light to add to an existing trap – £169.99

Accessories

12 v Battery

Battery Charger

Status of the Birds of Britain and Ireland – NHBS Special Offer

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We are pleased to announce the impending publication of The Status of Birds in Britain and Ireland. This important new bird conservation title gives a detailed assessment of the status and distribution of every species on the British and Irish lists for the first time since 1971. This book will be available in late December 2009 – Preorder your copy today and save £7!

Also new at NHBS is the latest Important Bird Areas directory featuring Mainland China. This book is now in stock at NHBS – Get your copy today

Browse other recent Bird Conservation titles

Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil – Now at NHBS

Brazil’s bird diversity is one of the richest in the world. The recently published Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil is the first comprehensive field guide to this splendid and elusive avifauna, with more than 1800 up-to-date accounts treat the Yellow-nosed Albatross to the Sombre Hummingbird, the Ash-throated Gnat-eater to the Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Nighthawks and Jacamars to Motmots, Puffbirds, and Peppershrikes. They are all here – every species and many subspecies found in each region of Brazil – with special attention given to the 218 Brazilian endemics.

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View internal images from this book

This book is currently on special offer; get your copy today – and save £3! (this special offer must end 31/12/2009)

Night Vision Scopes at NHBS

Night vision scopes work by collecting available light, normally from the moon and stars, and amplifying this to generate a meaningful image. The main component of any scope is the Image Intensifier, a vacuum tube that differs in design depending on the generation of scope (more info on generations later!). The image intensifier collects particles of light (photons) and focuses them onto a photocathode. The photocathode absorbs these photons and converts them to electrons, which are subsequently amplified and projected onto a green phosphor screen at the rear of the tube. To do this the photocathode needs a power supply, normally from commercially available batteries.

When the electrons hit the phosphor screen, the screen emits visible green light that the user can see. Therefore, you do not look through a night vision scope, but rather look at an amplified electronic image on a phosphor screen. As the phosphor screen emits light in exactly the same pattern and intensity as the light collected by the objective lens, the screen image corresponds to the actual scene in front of the scope. The phosphor screen is coloured green because the human eye can differentiate more shades of green than any other phosphor colour.

There is a bewildering array of night vision scopes available for amateur, commercial and military purposes. NHBS has selected a range of scopes and accessories that match the needs of amateur and commercial users so we hope there is no chance you are going to get shot at whilst using them! All our scopes have been tried and tested by wildlife and land management professionals and so provide versatile and durable solutions to seeing at night. However, even amongst our range there are subtle differences that make some scopes more suitable than others for certain uses. Below is a list of criteria to consider when making your choice. If you are still unsure, then please contact us as we would be happy to provide further advice.

For more on this blog, see the NHBS Quick Guide: Night Vision Scopes

Art of the New Naturalists – Now at NHBS

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This new book features the history of the highly distinctive cover designs of the legendary British natural history series – now 112 volumes and counting!

Early New Naturalist cover designs were created by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis, with more recent covers by Robert Gillmor. Browse Art of the New Naturalists and learn more about the creation of the cover designs for this series – from concept to creation.

Art of the New Naturalists is currently on special offer – get your copy today and save 25%

See sample pages from this book

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Save 22% on the latest New Naturalist volumes – Dartmoor (Volume 111, now available from NHBS) and Nature Publishing in Britain (Volume 112, due to be published in November 2009).

Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Portfolio Nineteen and other Volumes On Special Offer

The winners have now been announced for the 2009 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition – the most prestigious event of its kind. The overall winner is Jose Luis Rodriguez of Spain with his spectacular photograph The Storybook Wolf.

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View some of the winning images from this year’s competition

The companion book Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Portfolio Nineteen will be published this month. Get your copy today – and save £4!

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Complete your collection – Volumes 18, 13, 11, 9, 8, 6 and 2 are currently on special offer!

Browse Wildlife Photographer of the Year Special Offers

The Art of Nature: New Titles at NHBS

The glories of the world’s flora and fauna are captured in this autumn’s new art and photography titles, including Picturing Plants, Art of the New Naturalists, and Living Landscapes.

182590Capturing the Moment is the latest title in the Wildlife Art Series from Langford Press, featuring the work of Raymond Sheppard – a superb wildlife artist and draughtsman.

View internal images from this book

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Don’t miss Perry’s Arcana – a rare gem of botanical illustration, first published as a lavishly illustrated magazine series in 1810-1811 and now revived for your browsing pleasure.

View internal images from this book

Browse this autumn’s New Art & Photography Titles

New Second Edition of Raptors

176125The long-awaited second edition of the classic Raptors: A Field Guide to Survey and Monitoring has now arrived at NHBS.  

At a time when many raptors in Britain and Ireland are recovering from low population in the mid to late 20th Century (or earlier), there is a growing demand for high quality information on numbers, distribution, and population trends of these birds. This publication, written by experienced professionals, is aimed at people who watch, survey or monitor raptors. It provides detailed descriptions of survey methods for all species of raptor (Accipitriformes, Falconiformes, and Strigiformes), which regularly occur in the United Kingdom.

Written and edited by members of the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Group, this book draws on the knowledge and experience of over 300 raptor specialists. This book includes a CD-ROM containing raptor calls, sets out to promote best practice for the survey and monitoring of raptors. It is hoped that it will provide a starting point for anyone wanting to begin a raptor study, and indeed to encourage a new generation of raptor ecologists.

Get your copy of Raptors: A Field Guide to Survey and Monitoring today!

Browse other recent Raptors & Owls titles

New at NHBS: Mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East

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Mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East is the hot new bestseller at NHBS this month.

Covering over 400 species, this work presents all of the terrestrial mammal species of the Western Palearctic, serving as an excellent guide to the great wealth of fauna in this region. Species accounts are concise and authoritative, giving information on size, distribution, habitat, behaviour, reproduction and feeding. Each account is supported by distribution maps and superb illustrations. The book features over 100 plates, comprising of over 600 colour species artworks. Variation between the sexes is illustrated and anatomical diagrams are provided to assist identification. See sample pages and illustrations from this book

Get your copy todayand save 15%!