Minsmere. Portrait of a Bird Reserve. By Herbert Axell. Hutchinson, London, 1977. 256 pages; 45 colour and 71 black-and-white photographs; many line-drawings and maps. £7.50
The Minsmere reserve of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was created in 1948, after Avocets had been found breeding there on shallow pools formed when coastal grazing marshes were flooded as a wartime defence measure. The reserve also includes reed-beds, woodland, heathland and dunes, each carrying a wealth of bird and other life. The Avocets, ungratefully, failed to return at first, but plenty of other species needed protection and careful management. When Bert Axell arrived as warden in 1959, it had become necessary to halt the encroachment of reeds, which threatened to engulf the remaining open water, and to reverse the trend by creating permanent shallow water and mudflats. To aid the birdwatchers, the reserve has several observation towers and hides, signposted footpaths, and stringent but courteous wardening, all of which go to make a visit to Minsmere the highlight of anyone's birdwatching year. The construction of'the Scrape' over a period of years, the meticulous control of water level and salinity, its rapid colonisation by a wide variety of birds, and its immense attraction to migrants, is one of the great ornithological success stories of recent years and makes fascinating reading. The Scrape is only one aspect of the reserve, forming one chapter in the first part of the book, following a short combined historical introduction and author's preface. Subsequent chapters in part one describe the other principal habitats—shore and dunes, reed-marsh, woodland, and heathland—and their birds. The second part is divided into four chapters, each covering a season of the year.
