NORFOLK BIRD & MAMMAL REPORT 2017 REVIEW!

Now published and available from

The Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society 

http://norfolknaturalists.org.uk/wp/shop/#main

OR this report can be purchased from Wildsounds (also see RBA) or at several of the nature reserve shops along the coast, including Cley Visitor Centre NWT and Titchwell RSPB.

Sadly I don't have any pictures published in this fabulous report, as I didn't get round to submitting anything, due to bereavement and illness of both parents, but hope to have some in the 2018 report, fingers crossed!

This is the best report I have seen so far and is now full colour throughout. I love the fact that pictures are now placed with the relevant species within the systematic list and not clumped together in batches, which was obviously done for cost reasons in previous reports. Overall the quality and layout is very good, although as an ex-typesetter of twenty years and so therefore incredibly critical😀, there are a several spacing issues between picture captions and main body of text, but this certainly doesn't affect the overall standard of the report. I was very impressed by the quality of printing and was delighted to see that it was Lavenham Press, whom I worked for over nine years and put together many of their books in my time there! They are based in Water Street Lavenham, Suffolk, where I also lived for a few years – a very happy time in my life. I started off working for them as an Editorial Assistant for famed maritime author 'Robert Malster' and then moved across to work in the Production Department as a Paste-up-Artist alongside Billy Byford, Henry Haggar, Malcolm ?, Mike? and then as technology progressed, became a Typesetter. Neither of those job roles exist now, currently I would be a 'Mac Operator' or 'Art Worker'!

Anyway, back to the report! I was fascinated to read Peter Allard's wonderful article at the front of the report titled "Norfolk birdwatching: the changing scene", where he mentions my father starting up the NOA etc, which brought a smile to my face, thank you – this article is illustrated with some old twitching scenes and is worth buying the report, for this article alone! The report also has wonderful drawings by Julie Curl, Phil Jones and Gary Wright besides all the wonderful photographs. There are several articles, but also of note also is Stuart White's finder's account of the Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler at Burnham Overy Staithe, which I frustratingly dipped on😞!

My top five favourite photographs are:

1. Male Blue-headed Wagtail at Happisburgh – by James Appleton
2. Swallow – by Rob Holmes
3. Waxwing – a classic portrait – by Steve Gantlett
4. Juvenile Cuckoo – by Neil Bowman
5. Short-eared Owl – by Andrew Bloomfield

My congratulations to all involved with this report, a mammoth task involved collecting all the data, and putting together the best report I have seen to date.