The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1988-1991

This long-awaited new book is a significant advance over the first volume. The first text was a result of the first national survey of breeding birds, completed more than 20 years ago, with maps from data only on the confirmed or probable breeding of each species in a given grid square. This more detailed volume presents three maps for each species one showing breeding distribution as before; a second in full color showing relative abundance of the species throughout its range; and a third map highlighting changes in distribution between the current and original surveys. Text, tables, and vignette complete each double-page spread. A detailed introduction outlines the methods used in the survey work and explains the various analyses of the data gathered. Appendixes give details of rare breeders and a wealth of extra, tabular data. All-in-all, this is an indispensable reference for every ornithologist with an interest in British birds.Key Features* Provides a detailed summary of the last BTO Survey methods and data analysis* Offers full accounts for species of birds breeding in Britain and Ireland. Each account * Concise text summarizing current status and distribution* A map showing the occurrence of confirmed and suspected breeding records* A map showing changes in distribution between this survey and the previous one completed in 1968-1972* A full-color map showing the relative abundance of species within its range* An estimate of the current total populationTabular information and references* Line illustrations of the species* Summary of accounts of rare and occasional breeding species

The publication in 1976 of The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland on behalf of the British Trust for Ornithology and the Irish Wildbird Conservancy hearlded a new era in ornithology. This was the first attempt to map the distributions of an entire breeding avifauna at a national level in an objective manner. It presented the results of a field survey which recorded the presence or absence of all breeding bird species within each 10-km square of the national grid over the five year period from 1968-72. Twenty years on, the BTO and the IWC, this time in association with the Scottish Ornithologists' Club, repeated the survey using similar methods, albeit with one important difference; by visiting tetrads (2-km squares) within each 10-km square an estimate of the abundance of each species in each 10-km square was also obtained. The results of this survey are presented here in The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1988-1991.

The extent of the fieldwork coverage for the New Atlas was impressive and produced a total of 1,262,231 tetrad records from 42,736 tetrads in 3,858 10-km squares. Such coverage was only possible because, as for the earlier Atlas, the great majority of fieldwork was undertaken by volunteer members of the BTO, SOC, IWC and others. This volume differs from its predecessor in that instead of presenting a single distribution map for each species, most species accounts include three maps: one of distribution, one of abundance - represented using innovative colour cartography techniques - and one of the change in distribution since 1968-72. The change maps, in particular, serve to highlight species whose populations may be under threat.

An introductory chapter describing the methods used, and rationale behind their adoption, is followed by 208 full species accounts, and 13 brief accounts of rare breeders. A series of chapters then discuss ways in which methodological biases were dealt with, the manner in which population sizes were estimated, and recent changes in the status of British and Irish breeding birds.

While the results of the New Atlas certainly make very interesting reading, it is in their value to science and conservation that their true importance lies. As Humphrey Sitters, Chairman of the New Atlas Working Group, writes in his foreward to the New Atlas: "All who study this book will be led to a deeper understanding of the rich and varied avifauna of these islands. This must have profound effects which, though quite unmeasurable, will influence the way birds are valued by society."

"Whatever your interest The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland is a monumental work in the long and fine tradition of the contribution made by amateur observers to the vital understanding of bird populations in Britain...Fascinating as the maps and the written pages are, the value of the New Atlas fieldwork runs far beyond the publication of the book, providing the basis for the conservation of breeding birds in Britain and Ireland for the coming decades."
—Tony Fox, WILDFOWL & WETLANDS