Behind the Binoculars

Like all the best ideas, it just looks too simple. You get hold of many of the best and best-known birdwatchers in the country, then ask them a broadly similar set of questions and see what happens.

What in fact results is a series of thoroughly entertaining and often very enlightening interviews with some of the names that have made British birding what it is. As with any selection of that sort, you can quibble about inclusions and omissions, but I daresay further volumes might put some of those arguments to bed.

Their inclusion of themselves might raise a few eyebrows, too, but both merit it on their birding and ornithological achievements, and their answers also throw new light on why they’ve asked the questions they have.

Although each interview begins from the same set of questions, Avery and Betton do a great job of following up on each person’s interests, making each piece a highly individual profile, and they also get to the heart of what made each one a birdwatcher – not just the initial spark, but the ongoing passions. I thought I knew a few of the interviewees reasonably well, but I was wrong!

There’s plenty of interesting trivia, too. Which Bird Watching contributor, for example, would pick Zulu as his favourite film? Which one would avoid jazz and blues? It all adds up to a great book for dipping into one interview at a time – enjoy!

-- Matt Merritt * Birdwatching Magazine *

Collecting together interviews with 20 birders of renown - including the two authors - this engaging volume provides a unique insight into what makes birders 'tick'. Interviewees span individuals born in the 1930s through to those born in the 1970s, making the book a valuable reflection on the development of birdwatching over the best part of the last century.

Without following the same set of questions slavishly, each of the interviews manages to cover some common ground, including: first memories of an interest in birds; first pair of binoculars; early education and influences; career development; and thoughts on the likely future of birdwatching. Interviewees are, however, given sufficient latitude to wax lyrical about their own personal experiences and viewpoints. This means that whilst the book holds together well as a whole, each of the individual interviews can also be enjoyed in its own right.

Reading the book as a whole, some notable unities become apparent within the diversity of contributions. The Observer's Book of Birds,The AA Reader's Digest Book of British Birds, and the Peterson, Mountfort and Hollom field guide are all cited frequently as having informed early adventures in birding. Almost all the interviewees acknowledge the significance of a mentor figure; someone who encouraged and nurtured their passion for birds at a young age. And many recognize the importance of the freedom they enjoyed as youngsters to get out and about in search of birds; though they also observe that it is a freedom now denied many children in the West.

There is less agreement when it comes to the question of twitching, with attitudes ranging from enthusiastic championing of the cause to a complete lack of interest, and everything in between! The interviewees have different ideas about how the future of birding will develop, but all apparently expect that human fascination with birds will be undiminished. Behind the Binoculars is a thoroughly charming celebration and affirmation of that fascination.

-- Nigel Hopper * IBIS *

Behind the Binoculars: Interviews with Acclaimed Birdwatchers interviews many well-known personalities and wildlife experts with a simple purpose in mind: to find out why birdwatchers took up birding as a hobby. The authors, themselves avid birdwatchers and conservationists, gather many startling answers in the course of considering the birdwatching community's members and motivations,  examining birdwatching methods, organizations, challenges, and conservation issues alike.

There are many how-to books about birding on the market; but Behind the Binoculars adopts a much wider-ranging approach to the subject with such queries as the best birding locations in the world, the worst places, birders' first bird books and binoculars, rare bird sightings, and personal lives.

These queries draw readers not only into the art and science of birding, but its political, ecological and personal aspects, as well, making for a lively set of insights especially recommended for any reader with a prior avian affinity.

-- Diane Donovan * Midwest Book Review *

Whether spotting golden eagles in Idaho or long-tailed tits in London, professional birdwatchers are a rare breed — observational dynamos wedded to their craft. Wildlife campaigner Mark Avery and birdwatcher Keith Betton have captured 20 stories (including their own) from British luminaries such as wagtail expert Stephanie Tyler and birder extraordinaire Lee Evans. This is both a serious overview of the field and a flock of delights, from the shot of a youthful Betton with three young song thrushes balancing on his forearm to fond memories of first binoculars, whether Leica Ultravids or Swarovskis.

-- Barbara Kiser * Nature *

This book is the record of a series of interviews with some of the best-known names in British birdwatching. Of course this country has no shortage of ‘acclaimed birdwatchers’ and any choice is necessarily somewhat arbitrary but the twenty featured here represent as good a cross-section as any. Somewhat incestuously perhaps, the two authors interview each other!

The interviewees come from a wide variety of backgrounds and disciplines and include twitchers, artists, writers, broadcasters, journalists, scientists and conservationists. The age range is similarly broad, ranging from the oldest, the late Phil Hollom, to the youngest, Rebecca Nason.

The interviews I warmed to most were those with Ian Wallace and Ian Newton. The former has always been a birdwatching hero and I was astounded to read that he produced ‘Discover Birds’ (his ‘creed for joyous birdwatching’) in just three weeks! I was also pleased to see redpolls cited as his favourite bird group! The interview with Ian Newton is similarly enlightening. His views on raptor persecution will have chimed well with those of his interviewer (Mark Avery) whilst it was fascinating to read the background to the writing of what is, to me, his best book, ‘The Speciation and Biogeography of Birds’ - a masterpiece of accessible but intelligent science writing.

The interviews are greatly enhanced by the inclusion of a block of photographs showing the interviewees at various stages in their career. These include some memorable ‘older’ images - Ian Wallace releasing a Leach’s Petrel on St. Kilda in 1956 and Stephanie Tyler and her children in Eritrea in 1976 - as well as some striking contemporary portraits - Chris Packham wading chest-deep in an African swamp in 2011 and a rain-soaked Mark Avery at the 2014 Hen Harrier Day.

Given the varied backgrounds of the interviewees it is no surprise that the content is similarly varied, indeed the lack of a uniform set of questions ensures that the interviews (just like a real conversation) adapt to the interests of the interviewee and allow for expansions and digressions as appropriate. We read therefore about serious issues (raptor persecution on grouse moors) and moments of personal crisis (Stephanie Tyler’s abduction in Ethiopia) as well as more lightweight and ephemeral concerns (the colour of Chris Packham’s hair and Lee Evans’s musical preferences).

Nevertheless, certain common threads are quickly evident. Most notable perhaps is the early age at which all our interviewees first became engaged with birds. Many report the influence of another adult (often a teacher) and also the freedom to wander at will in the countryside. Sadly, in these more paranoid and politically correct times such opportunities have all but disappeared. Equally influential are bird books, with three titles cited again and again - ‘The Observer’s Book of Birds’, the ‘Peterson Field Guide’ and the ‘AA/Reader’s Digest Book of British Birds’. Just as inspirational are some of the great figures of birdwatching and conservation, notably Peter Scott, David Attenborough, Max Nicholson and Guy Mountfort. Certain birds and places are prominent too, with Sparrowhawks and Bullfinches featuring particularly frequently in the lists of favourite species and, unsurprisingly, Fair Isle, Scilly and north Norfolk being the most oft-mentioned inspirational locations.

The real common thread, however, is a love of birds and a determination to make a life devoted in some way to their enjoyment, study or conservation. All the interviewees have found the same early fascination but have then moulded it according to their talents, circumstances and opportunities to make a genuine and lasting contribution. Birds, it would seem, can take you anywhere.

-- Andy Stoddart * Rare Bird Alert *

Sceptical at first with the concept of these books, I was won over after reading the first few interviews. There is an essential honesty at work here – one that binds together these different generations of people. Overall we get a gentle insight into some of the birding characters we may have occasionally met or heard in the media or in person, across this small world of devotees. These two volumes are a bit of a field guide themselves.

-- Barry Larking * ECOS *

The variety of personalities interviewed in this book demonstrates nicely that there are many different kinds of birdwatcher, each engaging with our birds in a different way - and so there’s bound to be something that chimes with anyone reading it. I was fascinated by what initially sparked each person's interest in birds and lit a fire that lasted a lifetime - it seemed to me that in all cases they were young and, like us all at that age, had very dry tinder!

-- Debbie Todd * BTO About Birds *

The passion of each voice in the book permeates the air. The joy of the initial discovery of birds for each subject is a wonder to read and every contributor has a point to make about the welfare of our birds or the state of conservation or the pleasure and passion derived from being in, and therefore a part of, nature. Conservation often takes the fiery enthusiasm out of its arguments and cold scientific statements about the state of the world can leave a non-conservationist audience unmoved. This passionate book does more for conservation in one reading than many dry academic papers on the dangers that surround our birds today; for passion energises a reader, passion makes us want to engage, passion makes us desire and want to bring about change. Those in positions of conservation power, some of whom are sharing their own passion within this very book, should read this book and feel the buzz that is created by the unbridled joy of connection with nature. Harness this and then offer people a cause to support and work with and we can change the grim picture that is the state of our world’s bird life.

-- Ceri Levy * Caught by the River *

For me this was a nostalgic book. I related closely to many of the stories, particularly by the older people. It was a fun book to read and should appeal to all avid birdwatchers. So take it to the cottage and curl up by the fire when the rain is heavy and enjoy.

-- Roy John * Canadian Field-Naturali