Liz Snell tells me that Arthur Chater’s recently completed Flora of Cardiganshire is flying off the shelves in the Ystwyth bookshop. 930 pages long, this is a must have for those interested in plants and habitats as well (or instead of) birds. Examples of what excited me are the atmospheric cover and frontispiece photo of a BSBI meeting on Cors Caron; the OS, altitude, town and river maps; the introduction to Cardiganshire; Arthur’s picture on page 28 that cries out for a humorous caption; the arable field SSSI at Mwnt; the list of SSSI’s and reserves on pages 47- 50; sections on geology, plant habitats, plantations, heaths, lakes etc; the botanical tree tour up the Ystwyth; comparisons with neighbouring counties; Fig 6 which shows that the tip of the shingle spit at Patch is now in Pembrokeshire and of course the fascinating species accounts.
From the bird point of view, might the hornbeams and cherries in Cardiganshire be good places to look for Hawfinch, described in Birds of Ceredigion as an enigmatic species which possibly is being overlooked?
One warning: the book is heavier than my telescope and tripod so if you are going to buy, park somewhere near!