Top 100 Birding Sites of the World
Dominic Couzens talks exclusively to Surfbirds about his new book
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Dominic Couzens is based in Britain and has been a freelance writer and birding tour leader for more than 20 years. He has travelled widely in search of birds and his many publications includes Bird Migration and The Complete Back Garden Birdwatcher; he is also a regular contributor to a wide range of natural history magazines. |
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Surfbirds: Dominic, you've authored a number of bird books, how does this one compare with the others?
Dominic: It's right up there near the top, mainly because I learnt so much while writing it. And if you think about it, it's a pretty enjoyable subject for any keen birder to work on.
Surfbirds: What was the objective of writing Top 100 Birding Sites of the World? How long did it take to research?
Dominic: The book is really a celebration of world bird diversity, so the objective is simply to enthuse people about what's out there and get them birding. I was also keen to include a wide selection of different habitats, and include some natural history of the local birds.
It was a logistical nightmare to research, simply because there was so much stuff to go through (or not enough, for some places). It took a year and a half, on and off.
Surfbirds: How did you go about selecting which sites should be included/excluded from the Top 100? Any ranking is a bit of a hostage to fortune - have you had any kickback from world birders wondering why their favourite place was not included?
Dominic: There is no simple answer to this. To begin with, my original commissioning editor, James Parry, and I simply sat in his office over a beer or two and reminisced about what sites we had visited or heard of. We had to start somewhere.
What we didn't do then was select the sites with the highest species totals otherwise we would never have left South America. We deliberately went for a wide geographical spread (a certain number of entries from each continent), and for a good mix of habitats not just forests. We were also keen to include speciality sites e.g. for migration, birds of prey, even gulls.
Many sites chose themselves e.g. Cape May or Coto Donana. We also found out where the tour companies were going, and checked the various "Where to Watch" books. Then I suppose it was down to my own preferences, sites with a good "story" (e.g. Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania, the Galapagos Islands etc) were often included.
The ranking system was just a bit of fun, and deliberately provocative. I would be delighted to get some kickback. Actually, so far a few places have just been grateful to have been included. I should have taken bribes!
Surfbirds: Which is your favourite of the Top 100 sites, and why?
Dominic: My favourite, by miles, is the Spiny Forest in south-west Madagascar. I don't think anywhere else has a combination of unearthly (and very rare) birds and totally unearthly surroundings to match it.
Surfbirds: Of the sites you have yet to visit, which is top of your list and why?
Dominic: I think Beidaihe in China. Migration sites have a particular thrill. Why? Does anyone want to give me a free trip there?
Surfbirds: This book is lavishly illustrated with some stunning images. How did you source and select these images?
Dominic: All the work was done by my commissioning editor, Simon Papps, at New Holland. He deserves all the credit for the visually stunning side of the book.
Surfbirds: In your view what's the best bird book on the planet!?
Dominic: Handbook of the Birds of the World, without a doubt. Stunning, authoritative, complete, a goldmine of information.
Surfbirds: What advice do you have for aspiring young authors reading this....
Dominic: If you love communicating about birds or wildlife, do it. It is much easier than ever before to reach an audience, and even to make money out of it.
Surfbirds: Who do you most admire on the birding scene today and why?
Dominic: I hugely admire Bill Oddie. Without him, many of today's birders wouldn't be birders; he has popularised the subject better than anyone else. Only recently I met him for the first time and thanked him for my job!
There are lots of good birders out there, but the one who has most impressed me is David Sibley, in the USA. He is awesome in the field.
Surfbirds: How did you get started in birding and who were your early mentors?
Dominic: I think for many of us being interested in wildlife is innate, and I can always remember being more fascinated by birds than anything else, even from early childhood. My mother was a great encouragement for this.
My most important later mentor was Ron Kettle, who ran the local YOC group. He also happened to be the curator of the (then) British Library of Wildlife Sounds, and encouraged me to learn bird calls and songs.
Surfbirds: When you're not researching/writing what are you doing? Away from the Top 100, what are your favourite local birding sites?
Dominic: I also run commercial birding days and weekends in Britain, which is a bit like a hobby compared to writing.
I have a beloved local patch, Longham Lakes in Dorset, where I go whenever I possibly can. Close at hand there is also the New Forest, which is a great birding site, and Portland Bill isn't far away.
Surfbirds: What's your next project?
Dominic: A big change. It's a travel book about a year of looking for British mammals, taking wife and children along. It's called, perhaps not surprisingly, "My Family and 50 Other Animals".
After that, I'm doing a book on remarkable birds of the world that have teetered on the brink of extinction.
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