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Rostherne Mere, in north Cheshire, has long been renowned for its birdlife. Observations made since the 1880s are brought together here in a richly illustrated account exploring the What? When? How? and Why? of its birds. Learn, for example:
- What connects Pochard with Salford Docks, Chorlton and Rostherne.
- When to look out for an Osprey.
- How have Pintail yo-yoed in line with the Mersey and Dee.
- Why sea-ducks like Common Scoters keep appearing here.
Read too about ‘continental’ Cormorants, gulls, ‘guanotrophy', bird-strikes at Manchester Airport, the effects of cold and warmer winters and much more.
Written by birders who have watched Rostherne since the 1970s, the book updates accounts published in 1914 and 1955 by two greats of Cheshire natural history, Thomas Coward and Arnold Boyd, and that of 1977 by Ron Harrison of Altrincham and warden David Rogers. Paintings, photos and charts make this thorough account of the birdlife of Cheshire's most celebrated mere a highly attractive one too.
"[...] These twin publications represent a huge achievement – a marshalling of a vast archive of information and its presentation in a highly attractive product. At their best, such local books can be important documents, not just a valuable source of scientific data but also a real celebration of place. In the hands of this team of authors and editors, these twin volumes succeed in being both."
– Andy Stoddart, British Birds 113, May 2020
"[...] Rostherne Mere, in Cheshire, is the largest, deepest and most northerly of Cheshire’s meres (natural lakes formed in the hollows left by the Ice Age). It is also one of the most thoroughly researched lakes in Britain, and probably the world. [...] The [...] volume is a similarly detailed look at the fortunes of the lake’s birds over the past 120 years. There cannot be many places with so long a record of monitoring and study [...] Tom and Gisele have done us all proud in editing and publishing both volumes to such a high standard."
– Peter Marren, British Wildlife 31(5), June 2020
