From left – right: Ptarmigan © Ed Duthie, Ptarmigan nest © Stuart Rae, Ptarmigan chick © Paul Bingham

Apologies - this is now completely sold out

SOC members can borrow a copy of the Atlas from the library, subject to availability and terms and conditions. The authors are looking into whether it can be made available as a free digital download and will post more news about this as soon as they can. Meantime copies may still be available at NHBS.

Read the reviews:

Click here to read what reviewers have been saying about The Breeding Birds of North-East Scotland

View a sample page:

Click here to view a sample page from the Atlas

About the Atlas...

North-East Scotland is very important for breeding birds, holding over one-fifth of the UK population of Scottish Crossbill, Parrot Crossbill, Ptarmigan, Dotterel, Crested Tit, Snow Bunting and Goldeneye and more than a third of Scotland's Sandwich Terns, Goshawks, Tree Sparrows and Corn Buntings. This new breeding bird atlas presents the results of five years of survey work in Moray, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City and includes almost half of the Cairngorms National Park. It maps the distributions of all breeding birds during 2002-06, and as the first repeated local breeding bird atlas for any area in Scotland, makes comparisons with earlier atlases, both local (1981-84) and national (1968-72 and 1988-91). Where possible, information on breeding birds has been updated to 2009. The maps use the familiar 2x2km 'tetrad' and the 2,340 surveyed make this the largest of its kind ever undertaken, covering almost 4% of the UK land area and 11% of Scotland. Species accounts have been written by sixty local authors, and many photographers from North-East Scotland contributed a wide range of images illustrating breeding activity, a distinctive feature of this atlas. For each species, its habitat, breeding biology, local breeding status and distribution are summarised. An estimate of breeding population is provided, along with evidence for changes in distribution and numbers. The geography and habitat context in which our breeding birds are found is described in some detail, as are the main influences on their distribution and trends in numbers – issues that are critical to bird conservation. The atlas, with a foreword by Adam Watson, is 528 pages in length and full colour throughout.

Useful links

Find out more about the North East Scotland recording area and the Moray and Nairn recording area.

Visit North-East Scotland branch page