Hoopoe – A blog by nhbs

It’s that time of year again – Backlist Bargains 2009 is here! Our popular annual sale includes key books from all environment subjects, as well as top birdwatching and wildlife titles. This year we are pleased to offer a wide range of special offers on books from major publishers – over 2600 titles at up to 60% off.

This is the ideal opportunity to purchase major reference titles, get extra copies of heavily-used textbooks, or fill gaps on your wildlife bookshelf. The NHBS Backlist Bargains sale ends March 31st 2009.

Take advantage of these great discounts – Order Now

Happy reading and buying!

2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first look through a telescope and the birth of modern astronomy. To celebrate this anniversary we’ll add more new astronomy books to our database this year and bring you regular book selections and special offers.

In related news, Scotland is planning to establish Europe’s first official Dark Sky Park in Galloway. Find out more at Dark Sky Scotland or get yourself a copy of the Dark Sky Map of the British Isles.

Check out these special offers on astronomy titles, including Mars, A Cosmic Stepping Stone by Kevin Nolan and New Theories of Everything by John D. Barrow.

Browse our full range of astronomy titles in Astronomy and Cosmology

The latest volume from the classic Collins New Naturalist series will be here soon!

In his fourth New Naturalist volume, Professor R. J. Berry takes a broad look at the islands that lie off the shore of Britain and Ireland, exploring their biology, geography, geology and climate, and examining changes that have occurred in the past and how these become relevant for future developments.

Laced throughout with Professor Berry’s expertise and enthusiasm, this all-encompassing, engrossing volume is a lyrical journey of the islands that shape our imagination and our awareness.

Islands will be published in early February 2009. Order now and save 22% (special offer until 30/04/2009).

The next volume in the series will be Wildfowl of Britain and Ireland, which is due to be published in May 2009. This book is also on special offer – Order now

Zoo Animals is a major new text for all keepers and researchers in the zoo environment and those in training. The authors have extensive experience and tie together both theoretical and practical aspects of behaviour, management and welfare. Just published and in stock now.

Browse our other New Zoo Biology Titles

Browse Zoo Biology Bestsellers

For our full range of zoo biology titles, browse Species Conservation and Care

Browse our wide selection of zoology titles in Botany and Zoology

New birding titles at NHBS this month include Collins Field Guides for the Birds of Southern Africa and for the Birds of Eastern Africa (both on special offer until March 31), as well as the fully updated Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America.

 

 

Also check out Harriers, an in-depth study of the world’s harriers by Don Scott, illustrated with watercolors by Philip Snow. Bestselling bird art books include The Art of Peter Scott and Lars Jonsson’s Birds.

For more new birding titles, browse Birding Highlights

Browse Collins Field Guides

To browse our full selection of birding books, see Ornithology

Here are the most popular books of 2008 at NHBS: the Top 10 overall and the Top 10 in each of our major subject areas. You’ll find an eclectic mix of geographic and taxonomic interest, with books from publishers all over the world. We’ve also included bestselling wildlife equipment from our new range of field kit.

Enjoy browsing, and please feel free to add your own recommendations for this year’s Top Titles at the bottom of this post.

Top 10
1. Dragonflies
2. Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds
3. Sedges of the British Isles
4. Mammals of the British Isles
5. Life in Cold Blood – DVD
6. Mabberley’s Plant-Book
7. Which Bat Is It?
8. RES Handbook Volume 4 Part 2: The Carabidae
9. Wild China – DVD
10. Guia de Campo: Birds of Amazonian Brazil

Top Birding
1. Grouse
2. Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 13: Penduline Tits to Shrikes
4. All the Birds of Brazil
5. Ornithologist’s Dictionary
6. Owls of the World
7. Collins Bird Guide
8. Frontiers in Birding
9. The Migration Ecology of Birds
10. Guia de Campo: Birds of Amazonian Brazil

Top Zoology
1. Dragonflies
2. Mammals of the British Isles
3. Which Bat Is It?
4. RES Handbook Volume 4 Part 2: The Carabidae
5. Tiger: Spy in the Jungle – DVD
6. Guide to the Mammals of China
7. Primates of the World
8. Wolf
9. Field Guide to the Mammals of South East Asia
10. Guide to British Bats

Top Equipment
1. Opticron Hand lens, 18mm, 20x magnification
2. WeatherWriter A4 Portrait
3. Vista Organiser
4. Schwegler 1B Nest Box
5. Schwegler 2F Bat Box
6. Batbox Baton Bat Detector
7. Garmin GPS Map60Cx
8. 125W MV Robinson Moth Trap
9. Professional Hand Net (Standard 250mm Wide Frame)
10. Pooter

Top Ecology and Conservation
1. Primer of Ecological Statistics
2. Behavioural Ecology
3. Introduction to Molecular Ecology
4. Analysis of Ecological Communities
5. Management Planning for Nature Conservation
6. Sustaining Life
7. Handbook of Biodiversity Methods
8. Atlas of Endangered Species
9. Conservation and Sustainable Use
10. Scaling Biodiversity

Top Botany
1. Sedges of the British Isles
2. Mabberley’s Plant-Book
3. The Wild Flower Key
4. New Cactus Lexicon, Volumes I and II
5. Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean
6. Secret Lives of Garden Wildlife
7. Lichens: An Illustrated Guide to the British and Irish Species
8. Flowering Plant Families of the World
9. British Orchids
10. BRYOATT: Attributes of British and Irish Mosses, Liverworts and Hornworts

Top Natural History
1. Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Portfolio Eighteen
2. Attenborough in Paradise and Other Personal Voyages – DVD
3. Birds and Light: The Art of Lars Jonsson
4. Lars Jonsson’s Birds
5. Seventy Great Mysteries of the Natural World
6. Lost Worlds of the Guiana Highlands
7. Guide to Garden Wildlife
8. Earth: The Power of the Planet – DVD
9. Vietnam: A Natural History
10. The Deep

Top Data Analysis and Modelling
1. Describing Species
2. OU Project Guide
3. Statistics for Terrified Biologists
4. Ecological Census Techniques
5. The R Book
6. Experimental Design and Data Analysis for Biologists
7. Spatial Analysis
8. Choosing and Using Statistics
9. Modelling for Field Biologists
10. Quantitative Methods for Conservation Biology

Don’t see your favourite title of 2008 here? Add your own recommendations for Top Titles at the bottom of this post.

To find a particular title, browse our full range of over 100,000 wildlife, science and conservation titles.

We are pleased to announce that the Vincent Wildlife Trust has appointed NHBS the official distributor for their publications, including the new and bestselling Lesser Horseshoe Bat Conservation Handbook.

Other Vincent Wildlife Trust publications distributed by NHBS include:

The Bats of Britain and Ireland (Bestseller)

The Polecat Survey of Britain 2004-2006 (New for 2008)

Distribution and Status of the Polecat in Britain in the 1990s

The Distribution of the Hazel Dormouse in Wales

The Vincent Wildlife Trust Review of 1997-2000

The Water Vole and Mink Survey of Britain 1996-1998

The Water Vole in Britain, 1989-1990

For more than 25 years The Vincent Wildlife Trust has been supporting wildlife conservation through research, surveys and the establishment and management of reserves for British mammals. Since 1996 the VWT has concentrated its resources on bat conservation, and particularly on the protection and enhancement of roosts for rare bats. It has also maintained its involvement with conservation-led research and survey work on pine martens, polecats, water voles and dormice.

See a complete listing of Vincent Wildlife Trust publications

Click here to find out more about the Vincent Wildlife Trust

NHBS recently attended the BTO annual conference in Swanick, Derbyshire, UK.

Bestsellers at the NHBS stand included The Migration Ecology of Birds by Ian Newton and How and Why Species Multiply by Peter Grant. Peter was a featured speaker at the conference, discussing the evolution of Darwin’s finches.

NHBS is pleased to be the official distributor for all BTO guides, including the two newest titles: Bird Ringing and Gardening for Birdwatchers.