An Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia

This is a monumental piece of work, ten years in the making and well worth the wait. The authors have distilled an enormous amount of information on 90 species of waders across this region and presented it in an authoritative yet readable manner.

After a detailed introduction, the bulk of the book is made up by the species accounts. These range in size from one page (for the extinct Canarian Black Oystercatcher) to nine pages (such as for Dunlin). Accompanied by very clear maps, the texts concentrate on the evidence behind the delineation of species into separate populations, essential for effective conservation of each species. Extensive information is provided on population size, population limits, movements, networks of key sites and conservation status.

The book ends with a country-by-country list of key sites for waders, along with up-to-date data on average peak counts of each of the important waders at each site. Unsurprisingly, the Wash is identified as the most important site in the UK, although 12 sites elsewhere in the region support higher numbers; the Banc d’Arguin in Mauritania comes in top with an astonishing 2.3 million birds.

Book reviewed by Andy Musgrove