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Poyser Monographs
Greenshanks
Desmond Nethersole-Thompson has been studying his favourite bird, the greenshank Tringa nebularia, since May 1932.
This book, published in 1976, owes much to the interest, almost an obsession, of the Nethersole-Thompson family. The two girls and four boys, as well as both parents, now work as a team in the wild and beautiful north-west Highlands of Scotland. Greenshanks has drawn heavily on the team's field notebooks.
In the gneiss country of Sutherland, so different from the forest bogs of Spey Valley, Fennoscandia and the Soviet Union, they have particularly concentrated on the greenshank's displays and breeding, food and feeding behaviour and its remarkable voice.
There can be few long-term projects on waders to equal this made by the Nethersole-Thompsons, and there are valuable specialist contributions by other eminent ornithologists. Greenshanks is a major contribution to bird studies and takes its place beside Desmond Nethersole-Thompson's four earlier monographs.
The illustrations in colour and monochrome by Donald Watson have all the veracity and atmosphere that one has come to expect of this gifted artist.
This book, published in 1976, owes much to the interest, almost an obsession, of the Nethersole-Thompson family. The two girls and four boys, as well as both parents, now work as a team in the wild and beautiful north-west Highlands of Scotland. Greenshanks has drawn heavily on the team's field notebooks.
In the gneiss country of Sutherland, so different from the forest bogs of Spey Valley, Fennoscandia and the Soviet Union, they have particularly concentrated on the greenshank's displays and breeding, food and feeding behaviour and its remarkable voice.
There can be few long-term projects on waders to equal this made by the Nethersole-Thompsons, and there are valuable specialist contributions by other eminent ornithologists. Greenshanks is a major contribution to bird studies and takes its place beside Desmond Nethersole-Thompson's four earlier monographs.
The illustrations in colour and monochrome by Donald Watson have all the veracity and atmosphere that one has come to expect of this gifted artist.
276 pages, Hardcover
First published May 28, 1979
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 9, 2012
If ever there was an effective contradiction to the notion that nerdism is always a negative thing, this book is it.
Not too long ago I read Mark Cockers "Twitchers - Tales of a Tribe", which for me put the negative side of the scale of that argument into overdrive. I could not appreciate the outlook of people obsessed, not with the birds themselves, but in tick-listing rarities, and making it a competitive sport.
However, this couple were refreshing obsessives who I could only admire. They made their nerdism into a complete positive, being genuinely fascinated by the birds they watched. Fascinated enough to go back year after year to monitor and observe and record the lives of these beautiful creatures in great and fascinating detail for prolonged periods of time, and with their children in tow and usually fully involved in their work. Then to turn that into an entertaining as well as a very informative piece.
The book was a delight. It had one disadvantage - the copy I read was a public library book and has to be returned. I feel an urgent purchase coming on.
Not too long ago I read Mark Cockers "Twitchers - Tales of a Tribe", which for me put the negative side of the scale of that argument into overdrive. I could not appreciate the outlook of people obsessed, not with the birds themselves, but in tick-listing rarities, and making it a competitive sport.
However, this couple were refreshing obsessives who I could only admire. They made their nerdism into a complete positive, being genuinely fascinated by the birds they watched. Fascinated enough to go back year after year to monitor and observe and record the lives of these beautiful creatures in great and fascinating detail for prolonged periods of time, and with their children in tow and usually fully involved in their work. Then to turn that into an entertaining as well as a very informative piece.
The book was a delight. It had one disadvantage - the copy I read was a public library book and has to be returned. I feel an urgent purchase coming on.
April 4, 2022
A classic work showing a top quality field naturalist living for weeks in Greenshank territory with his family to monitor and discover more about the birds. Pioneering work in the Scottish Highlands.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews