I thought I would mention a some of the bird and plant identification books that I use all the time. There are many books on the market and each has its own pluses and minuses. In my opinion the books I describe should be useful to beginners and experts alike.

Clicking on the link in the book’s title will take you to the Amazon page for that book.

Birds of Europe. This has very good illustrations with birds in different plumage and positions. There are about 2,500 illustrations.

Collins Bird Guide This book is available as two separate editions. There is a not quite pocketable version and a large coffee table edition. Both editions have exactly the same content and differ only in the size of the pages.

There are over 3,500 original paintings showing all the major plumages for each of the birds illustrated. The text covers size, habitat, range, identification and voice. Distribution maps provide information on migration and breeding.

Collins Field Guide to Mammals of Britain and Europe. This book covers every mammal found in Europe, more than 230 species. As you would expect the book provides taxonomic details and much additional information to help you to identify mammals. It also provides an insight on how the various mammals live. Details are given for mating seasons, gestation periods and feeding habits.

The centre of the book contains a series of colour plates, which also show skulls, tracks and spoors. More detailed drawings of skulls and teeth would be nice, as these are frequently the only way of identifying many small mammals.

Animal Tracks and Signs. I have had a couple of earlier editions of this book on my bookshelf for more than 20 years. This edition was produced in 2001 and helps to fill in the gaps in the Collins Field Guide. Animal Tracks and Signs is geared towards helping you identify mammals by the signs they leave behind them. The tracks of all the mammmals described are reproduced life size. There are detailed drawings and dimensions for the skulls and other bones that can be used in identification.

There is an interesting section on Owl pellets and how to identify their contents. Other sections dscribe feeding signs on seeds fruits and herbaceous plants.

This book is great for dipping in to, or for trying to work out what might have caused that hole in the ground.

The Wild Flower Key If like me you are a complete botanical dunce, this book will help you to identify any wild flowers you may find. Don’t worry if the plant you want to identify isn’t in flower, the guide will still help you to identify it.

The guide covers wild flowers in Great Britain and Northern Europe. It also includes the common grasses, sedges and rushes. There are more than 1,000 colour illustrations, each placed opposite the relevant text description.

The Key is the most useful feature of the guide. If you find a flower and have no idea of its name you start with the habitat key. For example if you are in a wood you start at the Woodlands key. You then work through each level in the key e.g. Trees and taller shrubs, leaves rounded-obovate and as if cut across at the tip. This in turn leads you onto the relevant page in the key with the description and picture of the tree or shrub.

If you have some idea of the plants identity, but are not sure of its precise classification you can jump in at any intermediate point in the key. This identification system makes the book useful to both beginners and experts.