"My Family and 50 Other Animals"

Many of you will have heard of my mad project last year (2008): to show my children - Emily (5) and Samuel (3) fifty species of wild mammals in Britain in a single year.

Well, now it's a book...  

I am very excited to announce the publication of this, my first travel book. It documents all the dramas and hassle, as well as delight, that the project to see the fifty mammals involved. It's a combination of travel, animals and family - ideal for summertime light reading.

Chapters include: "Dining out on Dormice", "Going Batty", "Chasing Princesses" and "Whale-ing at Hayling", which should give you some idea that it's not all serious and heavy.

There are lots of wonderful places, unusual characters and implausible situations detailed in the narrative, told in what I hope is a fun and amusing style.

A short extract is available at: http://www.birdwords.co.uk/mountains_out_of_molehills.htm

Please do buy a copy...and tell your friends about it!

Signed copies at reduced rate

I'm delighted to be offering signed copies at a big discount. Instead of the RRP of £17.99, you can get them for only £14.99 if you collect them from me, say on a field trip. Otherwise postage is £2.50 for one copy and £3.00 for 2 or 3 copies.   

There is no wildlife closer to us than that found in our gardens — or indeed, in our houses — so it follows that many of those creatures we love, such as foxes and ladybirds, are literally household names. However, despite this familiarity, many of the characters reveal surprising lifestyles if you take a closer look, and there is more going on in our precious backyards that we might imagine. Did you know that slugs and snails have spine-tingly good sex; that mosquitoes can dodge raindrops and that Grey Squirrels have regular sleepovers with their neighbours? Did you realise that unemployment causes the breakdown of society in wasps, or that it takes the average spider only one hour to build a web from scratch?

Paperback, 160 pages, 297 x 210mm.

“Written with considerable charm and abundant wit, it is an extraordinary journey of discovery.” Good Book Guide.

“With so many books on garden wildlife on the market, it takes something special to stand out in the crowd – and this certainly does!”  BTO News

“This is nature writing at its very best.”   BBC Countryfile.
 

by Nick Baker (Foreword), David Chandler (Author), Dominic Couzens (Author)

If you’ve ever wondered what the most glamorous, exciting and sought-after birds in the world might be, this book is for you. Ranking from the 100^th most exciting to the most exciting bird to see in the world, each species has a double page spread with a picture and an account of what makes it a special species. Find out how many you have seen!

by Dominic Couzens

A sumptuous coffee-table book detailing birds that have extreme claims to fame – not just ordinary superlatives (fastest, largest), but unusual curiosities of family life, breeding and migration. Packed with some of the most stunning bird images you are ever likely to see.

by Dominic Couzens

Another coffee-table book, this time celebrating the world’s great bird sites. There is a 1000-word description of each site and its birds, and fantastic photographs depicting both. Mouthwatering armchair birding.

“I defy anyone not to flick through it for 15 minutes and not go straight off looking for information on travelling to the destinations featured”  Bird Watching

“This book’s combination of dynamic photography and scope of coverage makes for a truly compelling exploration of world bird diversity” John T. Rotenberry, University of California
 

Following hard on the heels of The Secret Lives of Garden Birds, this book takes 12 British habitats as its basis, and describes how our birds fit into the landscape. There are plenty of unusual and surprising stories: learn the secrets of romance from Mute Swans, read about the odd relationship between male and female Chiffchaffs, and discover that there is, after all, a monster in Scotland (but not at Loch Ness).

176 pages, original colour illustrations by Peter Partington.

This book takes us, month by month, into the secret lives of our most familiar garden birds, revealing inspiring, intriguing and scandalous real-life dramas. You will never look at the birds in your garden in the same way again!

160 pages, original colour illustrations by Peter Partington.

“I have rarely read anything that brings one closer to understanding what it must be like to be a bird.”  Peter Marren, British Wildlife.

“Sex, drugs and rock and roll is going on in your garden all year round and this is the book that exposes the secrets.” Bird Watching

“Witty and full of amazing revelations.” The Guardian

“Dismiss it and you’ll miss a treat. The book is fun, fast-moving and fact-packed”.  British Birds

“A real under-the-feather exposé.”  Sunday Express

“Dominic Couzens’s lively style makes for a very entertaining read.”  Gardening Telegraph.
 

This book is a summary of information about British birds and their migration, from the journeys they undertake to the fuel that they need and their mechanisms for orientation. It is written in plain English, and thus is an antidote to the many technical treatises available on the subject. Includes a chart to summarise the migratory journeys and appearance of every British bird.

136 pages, colour illustrations and photographs.
 

“This is a single topic book that is simply the best introductory volume I’ve ever come across…”  Fatbirder

“The text tackles the complicated issues of navigation and orientation with great ease and understanding…It removes the technical jargon and presents the migration story in a readable way.”  BBC Wildlife
 

£12.99

This book is, professionally, my pride and joy. It is the culmination of two years research into every bird in Europe, and it is gloriously illustrated by photographs by the esteemed photographer Dave Cottridge.

It is a reference guide to the birds of Britain and Europe, 420 species in all. Every family and every species has its own entry, giving details of behaviour that are well beyond the scope of a field guide. It outlines many bizarre facts and revelations not easily found elsewhere.

336 pages, colour illustrations and photographs.

“Masterfully concise accounts full of fascinating detail.”  The Guardian

“A beautifully illustrated, large format, glossy book, it has a well informed, educated text.”  Birds
 

£30.00

A handbook to your garden birds, full of tips on identification, what to look out for, what can be seen at various seasons of the year and how you can encourage birds to visit your garden.

176 pages, some original artworks, plus many photographs by Steve Young.

“A fantastic garden bird book with plenty of useful comment”. The Garden

“There are some wonderful facts to muse over, and plenty of tips to help with identification.”  Gardens Monthly.
 

 £16.99

This beautifully illustrated field guide allows you to identify birds by the way they fly, feed and flock, as well as by their physical features. Plumage details are ignored to allow you to concentrate on behaviour and shape alone. This is the only guide available of its kind, and it covers all the birds of Europe.

256 pages; 1000 original colour illustrations by Philip Snow, Tony Disley, Dave Nurney, Richard Jarvis and Michael Webb.

(Originally published in 2003 as Birds by Behaviour). 
 

“A new book that promises to revolutionise the way we birdwatch.” Sunday Express.

“This is a field guide with a difference”.  Bird Watching.
 

£16.99

A comprehensive guide that is uniquely a mixture of field guide and . The pages alternate between straight identification spreads and “notebook” spreads that might cover more advanced identification, behaviour, habitat or conservation. Ideal for someone who is interested in more than just identification.

252 pages, with artworks and photographs.

£12.99

My first book; it seems a lot longer than 10 years ago that it was published. This is a compact and inexpensive guide to help you identify your garden birds and gives tips on how to attract them to your patch. Terrific artworks by Mike Langman throughout.

160 pages, illustrated with original artworks by Mike Langman.