Kit Reviews
We're not experts, just users. We have compared various different brands and types to see what suits our needs the most, as wildlife watchers.
Different situations require different solutions. If you are walking through the Himalayas, weight and size (or lack thereof) is very important; however if you are driving round the Kruger National Park in a large car, the larger the binoculars and lens the better. Children may not be so interested in latin names, and someone who occasionally looks out at their bird-table doesn't need a scientific guide to the birds of Europe.
Click here for a review of A complete guide to Antarctic Wildlife.
The Crossley ID Guide - Raptors
Crossley ID guides are a breath of fresh air in the bird guide department.Read full review »
The World’s Rarest Birds
The World's Rarest Birds is a fascinating, and simultaneously terrifying, book, providing as it does in depth details of the rarest birds in the world. There are 197 species considered Critically Endangered, and another 389 Endangered species that are considered at risk of extinction, as well as 4 species that only exist in captivity.Read full review »
Penguins: Spy in the Huddle
Surely the last word in filming penguins, the BBC, forever looking to go one step beyond, attempts to outdo ‘March of the Penguins', the 2005 feature film about the Emperor penguins, and succeeds.Read full review »
The Snowy Owl
There is always a frisson of excitement whenever a Snowy owl is spotted in the UK, and for anyone wanting to know more about this most spectacular of birds, this book is a must.Read full review »
Kenya - A Natural History
Kenya is best known for its big wildlife, its mega fauna, but behind that image lies one of the world's most diverse range of habitats, with savannah, high plateau, dry and wet forests, wetlands, coastal woodlands, semi-arid desert, alpine peaks, the lakes of the Great Rift and a coast littered with coral reefs.Read full review »
Rutland Water Ospreys
This is the story about the project, a joint effort between Anglian Water and the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, how it was hatched, who was involved, the setbacks and the huge successes.
Read full review »
The Wildlife Pond Handbook
A practical guide to creating and maintaining your own wetland for wildlife.Read full review »
Buyer’s guide to binoculars
You've booked that wildlife watching trip of a lifetime, but to make the most of it you're going to need a decent set of binoculars. Michaela Leeb from Swarovski Optik explains what you need to consider first.Read full review »
A Naturalist's Guide to the Mammals of South-East Asia
Covering the larger and more obvious mammals of Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam & Brunei, this is a handy field guide to all the mammals you are likely to see including cetaceans & dugong.
Read full review »
Mammals of South Asia - Volume 1
This is not a pocket field guide, but much more a scientific work, and this volume covers primates, carnivores, bats, insectivores and chiroptera (tree shrews).
Read full review »
Once and Future Giants
A compelling read. Levy makes a strong case for humans being the main reason for the extinction of mammoths and mastodons across North America, and the lessons, that we are not learning, relevant to our persecution and destruction of wildlife and habitats today.Read full review »
Birds of the Masai Mara
A photographic guide to all the birds of the Masai Mara. Some lucky sod has taken the trouble to photograph every bird that you are likely to see on the Mara and a few that you are not likely to see too.Read full review »
Birds of Central Asia
Helm Guides often set the standard, and this new book is no exception.Read full review »
A visitors guide to South Georgia - 2nd Edition
This is an excellent guide for anyone visiting South Georgia; well written, concise and packed with the right sort of information.Read full review »
Animals of the Masai Mara
On the plus side, there is a lot of information included about a wide range of species, including mammals & reptiles (with plenty of the lesser seen animals covered), plenty of background information and dozens of photos. If you are making a quick visit, or it is your first time on the Mara, this book will do fine.Read full review »
Richard Hammond’s Miracles of Nature
Join the little one from Top Gear, Richard Hammond, as he observes mind-blowing adaptations in action using ultra high-speed, supermicroscopic, and ultra-violet photography, revealing exactly how animals ‘work' like never before.
Read full review »
Britain's Sea Mammals
A comprehensive guide to all the marine mammals that you are likely, and unlikely, so around the coast of the UK. There are a dozen or so cetaceans that appear regularly around the UK, and another 30 or so that appear occasionally or in deep waters off shore - including Blue whales, narwhal (Not since 1949) and even Belugas (half a dozen sightings since 1980.Read full review »
Owls
The first half of this book is a general appreciation of the owls of the northen hemisphere, with some fantastic photography. The second half of the book is a guide to the owls, with photos and in depth descriptions of all aspects of their ecology and habits.Read full review »
Serengeti Spy - Views from a hidden camera
Lenses are getting bigger, cameras faster and photographers more adventurous, so it is very difficult for a wildlife photographer to come up with something new. Anup Shah was already a very well known photographer and author and with this book he has managed to come up with something new.Read full review »
Owls of the World
If you are serious about owls, you will get on well with this book. Covering all the world's 250 known species of owl, including photos of every species, when and where to see them and how to recognise them, this is a major opus that will satisfy all ardent 'Owlaholics'.Read full review »
Insects of Britain and Western Europe - Revised
Now you can tell the difference between a bed bug and a pine cone bug. Over 2300 illustrations and an instant guide as to whether you might see them in the UK or not.Read full review »
Bradt Congo - Written by Sean Rorison
Known as the heart of Africa, the Congos are one of the last bastions in Africa for the seriously adventurous traveler.Read full review »
Bradt Ethiopia - Written by Philip Briggs
Philip Briggs has the sort of job I would very much like - "Philip, go to Ethiopia for 6 months for us and check how good it is."Read full review »
Extinct Boids
Ralph was asked to produce a painting of an extinct bird for an exhibition (Ghosts of Gone Birds), but got carried away and created some 100 paintings of birds extinct and imaginary (Lesser blotted bitwing, Wizened twit daftus inextremis,nasty tern, once bittern....).Read full review »
Richmond Park
This book contains a fine collection of photographs that illustrate the rich and surprising diversity of Richmond Park throughout the seasons, taken by award-winning photographer Alex Saberi.Read full review »
Bradt Madagascar Highlights - Written by Daniel Austin & Hilary Bradt
This is not a guide to cheap hotels and cafes, and nothing else. Bradt have been wise in that you should read this book before you go, before you book even, to see what and where the options are, but this is also a book you should take with you to read while you are there, a travel companion.Read full review »
Swimming with dolphins - Tracking gorillas
The when, where, and how to see them all, as well as tips to help, and things to avoid for various reasons (NB Don't go looking for Komodo dragons if you have an open wound, or are menstruating. I hate to think...............).Read full review »
A field guide to the wildlife of South Georgia
Known best for vast colonies of penguins and elephant seals, South Georgia is also home to some 8 species of albatross, and dozens of other sea birds as well as the endemic South Georgia pipit.Read full review »
Ivory, Apes and Peacocks.
Alan Root almost invented modern day wildlife filming, working with the Legendary Armand Denis, David Attenborough, Survival and the BBC.Read full review »
Fujifilm Finepix HS30
The camera that bridges the gap between bridges and SLRs. As part of our drive to prove that you don't have to spend £1000+ to be able to take decent wildlife photos, (and in fact for beginners, we would recommend that they don't) we have tried out several ‘bridge' cameras in the past.Read full review »
Bradt Ethiopia Highlights - Written by Philip Briggs
This is not a guide to cheap hotels and cafes, and nothing else. Bradt have been wise in that you should read this book before you go, before you book even, to see what and where the options are, but this is also a book you should take with you to read while you are there, a travel companion.Read full review »
The Northwest Passage
Once a mythical route that some of the most intrepid explorers searched for for centuries (Many didn't make it back), the Northwest Passage is now, thanks to climate change, becoming more accessible.Read full review »
Slow Cornwall & Slow Dorset
Perhaps if Jerome K Jerome had published guidebooks instead of novels, he might have written books like these.Read full review »
Somerset's Coast
Nigel Phillips must have spent a long time on the coast of Somerset, and a long time studying wildlife, as this is a very detailed book. It seems like he has visited almost every sqaure foot of the coast of Somerset in person, and recorded every living thing (and even interviewed much of it!).Read full review »
Gardens: Their hidden life
What's lurking in your garden? More than you think probably, at least according to Sir Colin; though not everyone will have such a large or wild garden as he does.Read full review »
New Holland Concise nature guides - Reader offer - 15% off and free P & P
A new series of beautifully illustrated mini field guides, packed with information for nature enthusiasts, published by New Holland in association with The Wildlife Trusts, is out now.Read full review »
New Holland Concise nature guides - Reader offer - 15% off and free P & P
A new series of beautifully illustrated mini field guides, packed with information for nature enthusiasts, published by New Holland in association with The Wildlife Trusts, is out now.Read full review »
Studying butterflies
As the weather (eventually) warms up in spring, and the butterflies start to appear, how do we get youngsters more interested in the wildlife around us?Read full review »
Wildflower Meadows
In the 19th Century, before internal combustion and oil, much of the British economy was hay driven, and some 4.5 million tons were produced each year. Now, with mechanisation, fertiliser, insecticide and industrial farming, we are forced to legislate to proyect the few remaining wildflower meadows. Top book - We really like this book, and recommend it to anyone interested in the UKs wildlife.Read full review »
Marsh Lions
A bestseller when first published in 1982, The Marsh Lions portrays a vivid picture of life and death on the African savannah through the world-famous Marsh Pride of lions, as featured on Big Cat Diary.Read full review »
Wildlife and conservation Volunteering - Second edition
But how do you choose which project to go for? Or, even more importantly, how do you know that the 'elephant faeces sampling' in Sri Lanka or the 'snake weighing project' in Guyana are bona fide, well run, worthwhile and safe pastimes for young Johnty & Jemima to undertake?Read full review »
Snakes
Some 3,300 species of cake have been recognised to date, ranging from 4 inch long burrowing thread snakes to some of the huge pythons & anacondas that can measure more than 23 feet long (The largest fossil snake known was found in Colomdia and measured more than 40 feet long, and weighed more than 1 ton!).Read full review »
Butterfly & moth detective handbook
In today's wired world this book is just about as interactive as a book can be. Aimed at the under 10 age group, this book has plenty of ideas to get your children interested in butterflies and moths.Read full review »
Underdogs
There are so many more interesting things to watch, and look for, in Africa and yet, in retrospect, perhaps it is a benefit that so many poor misguided fools are happy with a quick glimpse of each of the 5 before returning to their hotel for a sundowner.Read full review »
Bradt South Africa Highlights - Written by Philip Briggs
This is not a guide to cheap hotels and cafes, and nothing else. Bradt have been wise in that you should read this book before you go, before you book even, to see what and where the options are, but this is also a book you should take with you to read while you are there, a travel companion.Read full review »
The Breeding Birds of North-East Scotland
If you live in the North East of Scotland, and you like your birds, you probably already have this book. If not, you should get it.Read full review »
Wildlife Photographer - Chris Gomersall
Gomersall is best known for his photographs of British birds, but he has travelled all over the world and photographed mammals, butterflies, sea life and landscapes too.Read full review »
Olympus SP-810UZ
Olympus inc. is having some interesting board meetings at the moment, but they can still make some very good cameras.Read full review »
Jacobi Jayne ringpull bird feeder - Easy to clean
There isn't much new that comes along in the world of bird feeders - The occasional new mix, or a slightly different shape of widget. However Jacobi Jayne have released a new 'Ring pull' feeder, which, in todays disease concerned world with the recent spread of Trichomonosis is much easier to clean that most feeders.Read full review »
Lemurs of Madagascar
Amazingly, when the first edition of this book was written, in 1994, only 50 species were known, but since then another 43 species and subspecies have been identified, and this book recognises a further 8 as a result of greater understanding of their systematics!Anyone visiting Madagascar should take a copy of this book with them.
Read full review »
100 Alien Invaders
Invasive species pose on of the greatest threats to biodiversity today in many parts of the world. Often introduced by man on pupose, for hunting, pest control, sport or by mistake, these alien species are known to be directly responsible for hundreds, or even thousands of extinctions.Read full review »
Primates of West Africa
With just 60 species covered in more than 500 pages, this is just about the most comprehensive field guide I have ever seen!Read full review »
British Insects
This is not a field guide, but more of a scientific work that will appeal to anyone who studies insects, or takes more interest than just collecting sightings. The RES is the formost authority in this field, and this book is their latest major opus.Read full review »
Carnivores of the World
This book is worth just flicking through occasionally to look at stuff you didn't know, like;
- Lesser Grison live in southern South America and eat small mammals, birds and reptiles.
- Palawan stink badgers are slightly smaller than Sunda stink badgers
- Not much is known about Humboldt's Hog-nosed skunks
- Fishing cats can swim underwater
Read full review »
Wildflower Wonders of the World
I am not really into wild flowers, but this book got the juices flowing and made me want to start visiting some of these places. This is not a field guide to the wildflowers of the world, but a guide to the wildflower fields of the world.Read full review »
Canon SX30 IS, Nikon P500 & Olympus Sp800UZ
The Olympus can also be used one handed (right probably) which is very useful if you are holding onto the side of a jeep, a dog, a small child, or if you only have 1 hand.Read full review »
Birdman Abroad & Tales of a Tabloid Twitcher
Stuart is a serious writer, and a serious birder, but he does occasionally introduce a touch of red top style with stories of crawling through the grass with a camera to find it pointed at a couple in flagrante delicto.Read full review »
The Urban Birder
The clue is in the name of the book. David Lindo is the self styled ‘Urban Birder' and specialises in birding in towns and cities, and especially in London.Read full review »
Butterflies
This isn't just a guide to British butterflies, it is a lot more. Matthew Oates is the National Trust's, and one of Britain's, leading experts. He fell in love with butterflies, and particularly the purple emperor, at an early age, and has been following them all around Britain ever since.
Highly recommended.
Read full review »
Marine Protected Areas
This is not a field guide, but a book for wildlife and conservation professionals, students and keen enthusiasts, and also mariners, sailors and seamen.Read full review »
Slow Sussex
Perhaps if Jerome K Jerome had published guidebooks instead of novels, he might have written books like these.Read full review »
Primates of the World - 15% discount and free postage and packing
"What do a 120 gram pygmy marmoset, a 250 kilogram gorilla, a bushbaby and us humans have in common?" - Well done, we are all primates. Look back just 90 million years ago, and we all shared the same ancestor (Sorry Creationistas, Darwin, Linnaeus et al were right.).Read full review »
Bristol Safari
The Great Plains of East Africa? Yellowstone National Park perhaps? Kakadu? Not for wildlife photographer Ian Wade, and not even the downs or the coast either. Ian Wade has photographed the wildlife of urban Bristol, and in particular the foxes, and few people will get as close to wild foxes as Ian has managed.Read full review »
Britain's Butterflies
The latest in a flurry of new butterfly books, this 2nd edition rates very well. Photos of all 59 species that are known to currently breed in Britain & Ireland, as well as 4 that used to, 9 migrants and 1 other species.Read full review »
Magnaloux binoculars - Wildlife Extra reader offer - 10% off
Magnaloux binoculars reader offer - 10% off all Magnaloux binoculars and digiscopes.Read full review »
Antarctic Wildlife
Lowen's guide to the wildlife of the Antarctic Peninsula is specifically designed for anyone travelling from Ushuaia to the Antarctic and who has even the slightest interest in wildlife.Read full review »
Cabinet of Natural Curiosities
Imagine you live in Europe in the early 18th century. As far as you know there are probably just half a dozen species of snake in the world, and certainly nothing more than 2 metres long. Then along comes Albertus Seba and publishes his book with pictures of dozens of varieties of snake, including reticulated pythons that can grow up to eight metres.Read full review »
Olympus Tough TG810
The Olympus tough tg-810 is shockproof, waterproof, freezeproof and crushproof, and now has GPS to keep you on the map.Read full review »
401 Amazing Animal Facts
Ideal loo reading material; lots of paragraphs and snippets to interest and educate wildlife lovers, and others too. This is a worthwhile book as it will actually grab the interest of youngstersRead full review »
Butterflies of Britain and Europe: A Photographic Guide
Good photos and maps make this book easy to use, you will struggle with caterpillar ID though.Read full review »
Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book
Written by a birdwatcher, for birdwatchers about birdwatchers, Oddie is adhering to the maxim that only Jewish comedians can make Jewish jokes by being a birder/twitcher laughing at birders & twitcher.Read full review »
Creative Nature Photography - 15% off and free postage and packing
There are lots of books about how to take better photos, but in this book Coster focuses on some of the more arty techniques rather than just the purely technical side of things. Misty mornings, backlit cacti, flocks at dawn, waterfalls, unusual perspectives and some of those tricky situations involving too much snow or beach are all covered. Anyone can take some of these shots, but to take them all, and well, takes some sound preparation and a good understanding of your environment.
Read full review »
Great British Marine Animals - 3rd Edition
Many people think of the waters around Great Britain as cold, grey and fairly lifeless. This book will put you right (though noone can argue about the water temperature).Read full review »
Where to Watch Birds in Britain - Second edition
The familiar format contains 34 new sites, giving a total of 454, now including 5 sites on the Isle of Wight. Each site now has a grid reference to aid those of you who are GPS dependent, and there is also a list of 100 birds you might want to see and the best places to see them.Read full review »
Where to watch birds in Dorset, Hampshire & the Isle of Wight. 4th Edition
This is an updated guide to the best birding spots in the areaRead full review »
Birds of Ghana
The one thing that always puzzled me about Ghana is that so few people visit. For the average traveller I would rate Ghana as one of the best places to visit in the world; for a birder it is an absolute must.Read full review »
Kenya Highlights - A guide to escorted tours in Kenya
There are dozens of guide books to Kenya, but this one has a different slant. Not so much a guide book to take with you (Take it anyway), but a guide for before you go.Read full review »
Natural Kingdom
Reader Offer - 25% off RRP.
The keynote TV series documentaries about the wildlife of Canada.
Read full review »
Where to watch birds in Ethiopia
I once took a trekking group to the Bale Mountains and the keen birders in the group had recorded some 350 species f bird after 1 week. We then had a week visiting other areas of Ethiopia, and I remember very clearly sitting outside our hotel in Lalibela (Home of the world famous rock hewn churches) as around 2 dozen Lammergeiers circled around our heads.Read full review »
Silent Summer - The State of Britain and Ireland's wildlife
In 1962, Rachel Carson, an American writer, noticed that the wildlife around her was disappearing, and she alerted the world to the dangers of pesticides, and DDT in particular.Silent Summer highlights the current problems for wildlife in Britain and Ireland, and contains contributions from dozens of leading scientists and conservationists about the current drastic declines in Britain's wildlife.
Read full review »
Birds in your Garden
If you are already a birder, probably not much here for you, but this is an ideal book for starters or first timers, or people who occasionally glance out of their window at their bird table.Read full review »
The Book of Shells
We've all picked up a shell or two on the beach, but outside the very most common ones, we have no idea what we are handling. The glorious 652 page book will be able to answer that question for you, no matter where in the world you are.Read full review »
Book of Palms: Carl Friedrich von Martius
Everything about the book is impressive, from the custom made box it arrives in, to the size (32 x 44 cms) and the gorgeous illustrations contained in more than 400 pages.Read full review »
The Natural History Book
Every school should have one - One of the best books of the yearRead full review »
Birds of Colombia
Colombia is top of the premier league when it comes to bird biodiversity; currently has 1880 different bird species recorded, and the number is going up every year. Creating a field guide for such a huge number and breadth of species is quite an undertaking. The first thing the writers did was to go and ask people who know Colombia what they wanted from a field guide, and this is the answer.Read full review »
Bob Books - Your wildlife in a Bob Books photobook - Wildlife Extra reader offer - 10% off
The rapidly increasing use of digital cameras has meant that the age-old delights of family photo albums is declining. Our photographs are now stored on computers, yet the desire for the emotive, tactile experience of photographs remains.Read full review »
Wildlife photography - Uwe Skrzypczak
Uwe spends a lot of time in East Africa, especially following the great migration, and a lot of this book is based around that extraordinary event. This is a very detailed book covering all aspects of DSLR photography.Read full review »
Britain's Dragonflies - 2nd edition
There are some good guides to the insects of the Britain, but if you want to have a more detailed insight into the dragonflies of the UK, this is by far the best book.Read full review »
Australian Wildlife - Bradt
Australia must rank alongside Madagascar for the quantity of endemic and weird species. It is a vast country with huge variations; best known for its deserts and Great Barrier Reef, it also has tropical rainforests, several ranges of snowy mountains, wetlands, swamps, mangroves and great marine ecosystems.Read full review »
Tropical Fishes of the East Indies
These beautiful, elaborately detailed and brilliantly coloured drawings provide an extraordinary description of marine fish fauna of the East Indies and are proving useful to modern day scientists in comparisons with present-day scientific knowledge. From an artistic and historical viewpoint, these drawings are among the finest natural history illustrations ever made.Read full review »
Seashore safaris
Best activity book of the year
Summer is here, we have warm weather, and the beach is beckoning. A swim, build a couple of sandcastles, a bit of beach cricket, but what to do next?
Read full review »
Lost World - The marine realm of Aldabra & the Seychelles
Best known for his underwater images, and rightly so, this book also displays some fantastic bird images and a wide variety of superb shots.Read full review »
Olympus SP-800UZ
Scaling new heights in the compact market, Olympus proudly presents the latest from their ultra-zoom camera series.Read full review »
AA/BTO Birds of Britain and Europe
Covering more than 500 species, and using a mix of photos and illustrations, there is plenty here for all bird enthusiasts.Read full review »
Collins Bird Guide - 2nd edition
The long awaited second edition of Collins Bird Guide is now here. Covering Britain and Europe, the second edition has been update and revamped. Distribution maps have been updated allowing for recent bird movements; the text has been expanded and new illustrations have been included - There are now 3500 illustrations!Read full review »
Bats – Of Britain, Europe and North Africa
More than 400 colour photographs is an achievement in itself, considering the subjectRead full review »
Planet Ape
This is one of the best books we have seen this year, a step up from the usual "Wildlife is lovely, we must be nicer to it" sort of book.Read full review »
Why the Cheetah Cheats - And other mysteries of the animal world. By Lewis Smith
Strange and quirky facts, new discoveries and unusual facts about the animal world.Read full review »
Life in the Wild
This book has no pretensions. It is a celebration of wildlife photographs, and I say photographs rather than photography. The book contains some 200 stunning wildlife images and virtually nothing else.Read full review »
Wildlife Garden - By Martyn Cox in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society.
This is a top book for youngsters with any sort of interest in wildlife & conservation.Read full review »
Pettersson D 240x Bat Detector
The automatic playback of the Time Expansion gave us a real thrill; listening to the previously silent Pipistrelles as they flitted around our heads.Read full review »
Stars of Big Cat Diary
Nowadays it regularly pulls in some 7 million viewers, and has launched a series of ‘diaries' and copy cat (excuse me) programmes across the airwaves (bears, elephants, meerkats.), but Big Cat was the original and is still the best.Read full review »
Wildlife and conservation Volunteering
But how do you chose which project to go for? Or, even more importantly, how do you know that the 'elephant faeces sampling' in Sri Lanka or the 'snake weighing project' in Guyana are bona fide, well run, worthwhile and safe pastimes for young Johnty & Jemima to undertake?Read full review »
Sparrow nest box
According to the BTO, House Sparrows are social birds, they, roost and breed colonially and need space to live together.Read full review »
Olympus SP-590UZ teleconverter and adapter
We think that the Olympus SP-590UZ is the best camera in its class, with a very good 26X built-in zoom (click Olympus SP-590UZ to read the full review). However, if that isn't enough, Olympus also make a 1.7 Tele Conversion Lens.Read full review »
Access Africa – A guide to safaris for people with limited mobility
Gordon Rattray is a quadriplegic who had visited 300 hotels, lodges and safari camps across East and Southern Africa. Before his diving accident, he drove overland trucks across Africa, so few will know the continents whims better.Read full review »
Wild Kew
The birdlife is the most visible of the wildlife, but Angel has captured the squirrels, foxes, and even the rats amongst the mammals. More dramatically, the insects, especially the butterflies, wasps, dragonflies and beetles are all resplendent.Read full review »
Quill garden bird drinker and feeder
It has been very popular in the Wildife Extra garden. It did take the birds a few weeks to work out where to find the water (There has been plenty lying about in puddles for them recently) and they aren't particularly concerned that it isn't a great masterpiece of sculpture.Read full review »
Orchids of Britain & Ireland – A field and site guide
Personally, I am not really into orchids, or flowers of any kind. But if I had any interest in orchids, this book would be the first in the bookcase.Read full review »
Britain's reptiles and amphibians
There are several ways provided of identifying the various species, from quick ID charts that will help you discern those similar species from each other (I still struggle with smooth and palmate newts). Additionally each species is described in great details, with illustrations to match that show male and females, immature, larvae (tadpoles) and even eggs & frogspawn.Read full review »
Kingfisher - Tales from the Halcyon River
This book raises the bar with some extraordinary photographs.Read full review »
Paramo Pájaro Jacket
I don't know if this is the first jacket specifically designed for wildlife watching, but it is definitely the best.Read full review »
Nature's Great Events - BBC
Nature's Great Events was the BBC's latest wildlife spectacular, following the great wildlife spectacles driven by nature.Read full review »
Snow Monkeys
This book covers all aspects of the Japanese macaque's lives, but concentrates heavily on the snow monkeys. They are very photogenic, with bright pink faces and backsides - especially when set against the snow. And images of them chilling out in the thermal pools surrounded by snow, even with snow on their heads while immersed in the hot water, have become amongst the most iconic in the world.Read full review »
New Zealand Wildlife
Wildlife Extra has just launched a guide to where to see wildlife in New Zealand, and this book provides the perfect companion with detailed descriptions of all the wildlife and birds that you are likely to see, including birds, whales, dolphins, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, insects, trees and shrubs, and even some fish.
Click here to see the full review
Read full review »
Flight of the Wild Geese
I picked it up expecting a reasonably dull monologue on how clever geese are to fly from Svarlbard to Scotland and back, but the book surprised me.Read full review »
Rare Birds Yearbook 2009
Rare Birds Yearbook 2009 updates the status of the 190 rarest birds in the world. For anyone with an interest in the conservation of the world's rarest birds, this book is a must. The book also helps the conservation of the species as £4 from each sale is donated towards saving the birds included.Read full review »
Bird Ringing
The BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) started bird ringing 100 years ago, in 1909. To date some 36 million birds have been ringed.Read full review »
Sunagor all weather binoculars
The first question I asked myself was "Why would I want binoculars designed to work in the rain?" Just stay indoors. Then I thought about it.Read full review »
The Encyclopaedia of Sharks
There are some weird and wonderful shapes and sizes. The Hammerhead we all know, but the extraordinary Goblin shark, with its hugely elongated nose (and even more unusually, with a liver that accounts for 25% of its bodyweight.), the prehistoric looking Frilled shark with trident teeth, to the tiny pygmy shark, which checks in at less than a foot long.Read full review »
A Life of Ospreys
Written by Roy Dennis. What Diane Fossey is to gorillas and David Shepherd is to Elephants, Roy Dennis is to ospreys.Read full review »
The Atlas of Endangered Species
120 pages of information about the who, what, where, how long and why of the worlds endangered species.Read full review »
Fruit - Edible, Inedible, Incredible
Available to readers of Wildlife Extra at £30 post-free (RRP £35). To order, telephone 01635 248833 or email info@papadakis.net and quote 'Wildlife Extra'.
This book is truly gobsmacking. The photography is truly spectacular, mostly very close up and set against black backgrounds which brings out the colours wonderfully.
Read full review »
Wild Amazon - Nick Gordon
This is an important book. One of its kind, and although it is always easy to be pessimistic about this rainforest - his sentence about the Brazilian government's claim about timber production is truly frightening - Gordon eschews this doom mongering and remains upbeat.Read full review »
Daring to Fly - The wildlife paintings of Colin Woolf
Colin Woolf is one of Britain's best know wildlife artists, and the new book, written by his wife Jo, is a showcase of his work.Read full review »
Creatures Of The Deep Blue
Jonathan Bird is a professional underwater photographer who specialises in large marine mammals, Creatures of the Deep Blue is an underwater safari with Jonathan.
Read full review »
The definitive field guide to the world's marine mammals.
Photos, illustrations, maps, hotspots and plenty of information, the best book in its field. Includes whales, dolphins, seals, sea-lions, Polar bears, sea otters, dugong and manatees.
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Mobile mapping and GPS review
In our guide to UK nature reserves, we provide the grid location for all the reserves we list. However knowing that you need to get to TQ226768 isn't that straightforward for everyone, and especially with those reserves (most of them it seems) that are ½ mile off the road or in the back of beyond.Read full review »
Rare Birds Year Book 2008
If this book weren't so depressing, it would be one of the best books of the year.Read full review »
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Mammals of Madagascar, by Nick Garbutt
Madagascar is unique in many ways, but none more so than the mammals that are found there. Of the 123 species, at least 103 are found nowhere else.
This book is the most comprehensive guide that you need if visiting Madagascar.
10% off the RRP.Click here to buy this book.
This book is the most comprehensive guide that you need if visiting Madagascar.
10% off the RRP.Click here to buy this book.
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Safari in wildest Africa - Michael and Christine Denis-Huot
Michel and Christine Denis Huot spend at least six months a year in East Africa. They have produced several books in the past, and the latest, Safari in Wildest Africa , is a fantastic photographic record of the big game of East Africa.Read full review »
Crossbill Guide - Eastern Rhodopes
The wild & rugged Eastern Rhodope Mountains lie on the border of Bulgaria and Greece, and this guide covers the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains as well as, on the Greek side of the border, Dadia National Park, the Evros and Nestos Deltas.Read full review »
Crossbill Guide - North-east Poland
The wild & rugged Eastern Rhodope Mountains lie on the border of Bulgaria and Greece, and this guide covers the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains as well as, on the Greek side of the border, Dadia National Park, the Evros and Nestos Deltas.Read full review »
Paramo Halcon Traveller Jacket
Paramo have designed a new jacket aimed at travellers, wildlife watchers, photographers and outdoor workers. I was a little worried when this jacket first arrived, as with all the pockets, it looked a little like one of those desperate waistcoats that Americans wear on safari.Read full review »
Ethno-Ornitholgy
This is a scholarly work, and isn't light reading, but for anyone with a deep interest in the role that birds have, and do, play in cultures across the world, such as the Maya, Maori, Aboriginals, Polynesians and many many more.Read full review »
Field guide to the wildlife of New Zealand
This book covers all the different families and species that you are likely to see, including trees and shrubs. Most species have a smallish image, a brief description and an idea of where you might see them. It isn't an in depth guide, but covers the widest range in the smallest space!Read full review »
Wild Sabah
Critically endangered Bornean rhinos, elephants, Orang-utan, Sun bear, clouded leopard, giant flying squirrels, huge pythons and hundreds of species of birds live amongst some of the world's largest trees, the swamps and mangroves, and on the slopes of Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South East Asia.Read full review »
Garden birds and wildlife - The book that money can't buy.
Although it has an RRP of £14.99, this book is only available to new participants in the BTO Garden Birdwatch survey. As well as very detailed descriptions of garden birds, their distribution, lifestyle, habits etc, there is also photos and details of many common trees, flowers, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, bees, moths, butterflies, mammals, molluscs and other bugs.Read full review »
Tiger, Lord of the Jungle
This is a no holds barred, all you need to know about tigers. There is plenty of fine photography of tigers in their natural habitats, from steamy jungle to the frozen taiga via high altitude in the Himalaya, but there is also a sad reflection on man's continuing persecution and treatment of this great cat.Read full review »
Olympus 12x50 EXPS1 binoculars
Olympus designed these for wildlife watching, and they do the job brilliantlyRead full review »
Olympus SP-600UZ
Scaling new heights in the compact market, Olympus proudly presents the latest from their ultra-zoom camera series.Read full review »
Raptors - Second edition
Covering all birds of prey which occur regularly in Britain & Ireland, this is a very specialist book (and CD covering all the various raptor calls).Read full review »
Mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East
There is a wider range of mammals alive an well in Europe than you might imagine, with some 400 species listed.Read full review »
Canals of Britain- A comprehensive guide
Dragonflies, bats, water birds, water voles, fish and many others have all benefitted from the canal age, and possibly even more so from the railways superseding the canals, leaving miles and miles of ideal habitat unused, with just a few shopping trolleys to contend with.Read full review »
Living Dinosaurs
There are considered to be 4 living groups of reptiles that have been around since the times of the dinosaurs, crocodilians; Turtles and tortoises,; Snakes, lizards and worm lizards; and tuatara.Read full review »
Bat detectors Magenta 4 & Magenta 5
I have never had a bat detector before but I was excited to have a go with one for the first time. I was hoping that it would be as simple turn the machine on, wave it around a little and be given a short print out as to how many of what sort of bats are flying around my head. That's not quite how it works though.Read full review »
Puffins - By Heather Angel
Puffins, along with guillemots, auklets and razorbills, make up the auk family of seabirds; and there are four species of puffins, Atlantic, Tufted and Horned, as well as the Rhinoceros auklet.Read full review »
Steiner vs Swarovski binoculars
We tried two pairs of Steiner binoculars, and used our own Swarovski bins at the same time for comparison purposes.Read full review »
Gorillas – The gentle giants
The book starts with a little history about the discovery of the gorilla; probably by a Carthaginian called Hanno the Navigator in the 5th Century BC. No further news came out of Africa for 2000 years until the 16th centuryRead full review »
Where To Go Wild In Britain
Jointly produced by the RSPB and Dorling Kindersley, Where To Go Wild In Britain provides a month by month guide to the UK's best wildlife experiences.Read full review »
Hugo Van Lawick. "Addo - The African King" & "Playing in savage paradise"
These films, shot in 2002, are good honest wildlife films. None of the new tricks of cameras disguises as ants, or rather sanctimonious footage of water flowing over grains of sand, and 10 minutes on how they managed to shoot such an interesting subject.Read full review »
Vanishing Animals
This coffee table book is a pictorial journey through the world's most spectacular endangered animals.Read full review »
Birds of Gambia
Gambia is one of the smallest countries in the world, at just 11,000 KMS2, yet some 550 species of bird have been recorded there, with another 120 or so in neighbouring Senegal.Read full review »
British Moths and Butterflies - A photographic guide
The book covers 1420 species of moth, 850 macros and 500 micros, as well as 314 caterpillars, pupae and eggs and 74 butterflies.Read full review »
Advanced Bird ID The Western Palearctic - 15% off and free p&p
This is not for first timers, or probably even second timers. A very specialist book for those birders and twitchers that want to get deep into their hobby, pastime or job. There are no maps or pictures, no description of habits or habitats; If you are buying this book, it is assumed you will already own the relevant field guides.Read full review »
Wildlife of the Jurassic Coast
If you are visiting the southern coast of England, anywhere between Exmouth and Swanage, and you are vaguely interested in wildlife, you should get your hands on this book.Read full review »
Albatross - Their world, their ways.
The albatross has to be the world's most photogenic bird species. Theri size, their plumage, their eyes and the locations that they are found in make them wonderful subjects, and yet some of the hardest and most inaccessible birds to capture on camera.Read full review »
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Birds of Trinidad & Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago provides some of the richest bird watching anywhere in the world. Despite having a combined area of just 4500 Kms, 470 bird species are found on the islands. A wide variety of habitats provides a very diverse setting for the spectalar birdlife.Read full review »
Woodland Trust 'Exploring Woodland' guides
Woodland Trust 'Exploring Woodland' guides
All of the following books can be bought online at the Woodlands Trust online shop.
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A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North East Asia
Quite unusual amongst bird guides in that it relies on photos, not illustrations, for all the birds. In fact most species merit 3 photos, and there are small distribution maps as well as brief notes giving a description, range, status in Japan, voice and similar species.Read full review »
