A History of Cornish Ornithology The Path to Conservation

Few counties have a book to catalogue their ornithological history, and in creating this work the author has completed a task first started by the late Roger Penhallurick – to which it is dedicated. Although based in the USA, Colin Rees took on the huge challenge of putting into one place the history of Cornwall’s birds – from the writings of Richard Carew and others from the 1600s to the online reports of today. In many ways, this book is also a catalogue of the early history of British ornithology, and it charts the major events that led to the growth of recording of natural history. This includes the publication of early bird books, the development of systematic recording and ringing, advances in conservation and the formation of organisations such as the Cornwall Bird Watching and Preservation Society in 1931. Apart from the details of people and places in Cornwall, there are also many reflections on the changes that have affected bird populations both locally and nationally. The final chapter looks at the possible future for our birds – and draws on personal experiences of the author and others both in the UK and USA. There are illustrations throughout, some of which would have benefitted from enlargement.

Given that there are a lot of people and places mentioned, an index to those would have been of value. A bibliography of national and local works is given, although the latter excludes some Cornish works noted by David Ballance for his Birds in Counties bibliography (2000).

In a book such as this, the amount of detail is immense. However, a more detailed proofing process would hopefully have detected some errors – such as spelling mistakes for Derek Ratcliffe and Nick Baker (who appear as Radcliffe and Barker), Allan Octavian Hume (who appears as Allen), and years for the birth and death of B. H. Ryves which change between two pages.

Few counties have tried to create an account of their ornithological history that reaches back much before the early 1900s. This book may inspire others to dig a little deeper in future.