Best Birdwatching Sites in Norfolk

by Neil Glenn (pub. Buckingham Press)

Price £13.50 plus p&p

What, another Norfolk site guide? Already in the last 12 months we've had Norfolk: A Birdwatcher's Site Guide (Benstead, Rowland and Thomas) from Shoebill books, an updated version of Where to Watch Birds in East Anglia by Peter and Margaret Clarke and a complete directory of sites on our Norfolk page www.birdguides.com/norfolk so surely there’s nothing new to add by having yet another book on the subject.

Well, that’s what I thought until I actually studied this new book. I think it’s brilliant. Both the author and the publishers need a big pat on the back for taking an old format (site-by-site accounts) and putting so much thought into exactly what information is wanted by birdwatchers and how it should be presented. The end product is so clever that it makes you wonder why site guides haven’t always been done this way. Here are just a few of the ideas that I particularly like:

1. The maps are excellent, one showing exactly what is at each site and another to show where it is in relation to nearby roads etc. Every footpath, reedbed, marsh, pool, wood, high hedge, hide, vantage point, etc., is shown clearly for every site. This is a vast improvement on some other site guides.
2. At the beginning of each site account are a few sentences putting the site into context of just how good it is and what the main attractions are. Statements like ‘The best place in Norfolk to see Mediterranean Gull’ and ‘a site for the all-round naturalist’ tell the reader straight away whether each site is likely to be of interest to them.
3. These sentences are immediately followed by a list of ‘target birds’ for each site in big, bold text that stands out clearly. What’s more, next to each ‘target species’ is a percentage telling you how likely you are to find that bird at that site at the given time of year. Oh wow. You don’t just get to know where Snow Buntings occur, you also learn that you have a 30% chance at Snettisham but they’re only occasional at Hunstanton. Some will argue over the actual figures Neil has given but this is a brilliant way of indicating which are the best sites for each bird.
4. Each site also has lists of other species likely to be found there at different times of year, but to make these more manageable he’s used phrases like ‘common waders’ and ‘common woodland birds’ to cover whole groups of species, each defined at the back of the book.
5. The sites are arranged alphabetically and each one usually occupies a double-page spread. These might seem trivial points but they make it so easy to find any site – another vast improvement on earlier models. This format means that adjacent sites are no longer together, but that doesn’t matter because each description finishes with a panel listing nearby sites.
6. An intelligent use of coloured panels and clear paragraphs makes it really easy to find out when to go, who to contact, whether it’s free, whether there’s wheelchair access, etc.

In short, the whole package is so well thought out that it makes this guide easier to use than any other site guide I’ve ever come across.

It would be a real shame if this superb format was let down by inadequate content but there’s no sign of that here. Neil Glenn might roost (and breed?) in Nottinghamshire, but he obviously migrates to Norfolk on a regular basis and is ideally suited to write a guide for other visitors. His style is light, enthusiastic and clear, telling you what is useful without filling it with excessive detail. The work is further enhanced by a lovely colour painting on the cover by Jan Wilczur and lots of line drawings by Alan Harris. If I could request any further improvements I’d suggest it would be even better if the county map, showing all the sites, could be more easily accessible (eg on the inside cover) and I’d also prefer Alan Harris’s artwork without the ‘soft-focus’ effect on some plates ( I don’t know whether this is deliberate or due to imperfect reproduction).

If you want to find out lots more about some of the sites in this book you might still need Peter Clarke’s version which, for example, has 11 closely typed pages devoted to Cley. However, you might not want to read through 11 dense pages to decide whether this is a site that interests you. Instead you might prefer a book that is easy to use, points you quickly to the places that are most relevant to you and provides wonderfully clear instructions for when you get there. If so, then this book is just about perfect. The site guide of the future? I hope so.