A NEW book exploring Hampshire’s rich ornithological history has been released.

The county has a lengthy record of observing and studying birds, which can be traced back to the late 18th century when Gilbert White wrote the Natural History of Selborne.

John Clark, former county recorder at Hampshire Ornithological Society, has researched the records of rare birds from White’s time to the present day. Many unpublished accounts of the discovery of rarities - as well as several amusing anecdotes - are included in the publication, titled Rare Birds of Hampshire.

An unrivalled collection of photos can also be found, complemented by a unique series of paintings and sketches of Hampshire’s seldomly spotted birds as seen through artist Dan Powell’s eyes.

The opening chapter, ‘Rare Birds of Hampshire – a brief’ history, traces the early years of bird recording in the county and particularly the influence of Edward Hart who made an extensive collection of birds in the Christchurch and New Forest area in the second half of the 19th century.

The early 1950s saw the emergence of the Portsmouth Group, to whose members the book is dedicated, which provided the springboard for the establishment of systematic bird recording in Hampshire.

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This led to a series of exciting discoveries including the recording of many new species. The chapter goes on to highlight the subsequent development of a network of important nature reserves, gives a resumé of some of the noteworthy new birds found up to 2020, and mentions many of the observers who contributed their observations.

The species accounts cover 186 birds and seven distinctive sub-species from a county list of 389.

Most include an account of the discovery of the first county record, many of which are previously unpublished, and a narrative of the records including details of the finders where known.

Records of all but the rarest species are analysed by year and by month or week and the results presented in clear charts.

The book concludes with a series of appendices which includes an interesting selection ‘of the ones that got away’, details of birds recorded in parts of Hampshire that were transferred to Dorset in 1974, and significant post-1974 records in that area.

Keith Betton, county recorder and chairman of the Hampshire Ornithological Society, said: “There are more bird watchers around now than in the old days. We have at least 2,000 people in the Hampshire Ornithological Society, and I suspect there are a few more out there with an interest in birds, too. So, some of these old records are really quite notable and we have spent a lot of time digging them up and getting people to open the archives. We produced it ourselves – it has taken around three years, but it is completely a Hampshire product.”

Copies are priced at £35 with an additional £3 charge for posting and packaging, and can be ordered from www.hos.org.uk/book/

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