Review by Martin Garner
Having made good use of the double VHS cassette Waders that was released by Bird Images in 2001, I was keen to see if this DVD set was just old product repackaged into a new format. In fact, a new market standard has already been set.

In terms of quality of image and amazing value, Bird Images’ six-DVD set of Western Palearctic birds has shown how quickly Paul Doherty has responded to the rapid decline of video and equally rapid rise of DVD. Would this new DVD devoted exclusively to waders match its predecessor?

Compared to the VHS version, this compilation scores almost immediately. As we have come to expect from DVDs, the sound quality is much better and the picture is sharper than any VHS could produce. I was also impressed by the full menu at the beginning which makes it possible to navigate quickly to any species. A pleasing innovation is that you can choose to listen either to natural sounds on their own or to the sounds dubbed over by Doherty’s commentary.

There is also a very helpful subtitle track, which can be turned on or off and which shows where and when the bird was filmed. Photographs and moving images are an extremely useful resource when you are faced with a challenging identification conundrum, but research is severely hampered when there is data attached to the images. In this regard Doherty has clearly been responsive to modern expectations.

The 107 species, which range from Eurasian Oystercatcher to Grey Phalarope, are presented on two discs. Usually I skip over introductory sections, but this one is helpful and informative, taking viewers through the content and giving a simple overview of the subject matter. Indeed, I found its explanation for the differences in summer and winter plumages much more effective at eliciting interested responses from my wife and daughters than my usual efforts! I also thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of trying to identify the species that are presented over the flow of the introductory section but remain unnamed.

The birds are divided into their most obvious family groups, with a short and helpful introductory section. Doherty’s narrative is packed with simple but incisive comment and I learned many gems of identification information, although I must admit, I did find his voice somewhat monotonous.

Highlights include footage of American Woodcock, a species that has entered our Western Palearctic list in the past few months. Even in North America this species is not an easy one to see, but Doherty has captured excellent daylight footage as well as the woodcock’s evening roding flight, complete with peculiar calls.

There are too many other examples of amazing footage to mention in detail, but also one or two disappointments. Some enigmatic species, such as Asian Dowitcher, are rather poorly represented, but these are exceptions to the rule.

The occasional use of a split screen and annotation is effective, for example when illustrating differences in tail and wing-tip ratios in Collared and Black-winged Pratincoles. Pioneering identification issues are bang up to date, as exemplified in the treatment of the two populations of Lesser and Mongolian Plover as incipient species.

When I compared the VHS and DVD versions, I found that the only new species on the latter is Crab Plover. The DVDs do, however, show significant new footage for many birds, including Creamcoloured Courser, Sociable Lapwing and Broad-billed Sandpiper, as well as for American Woodcock, as mentioned above.

One clip that was personally satisfying for me was the replacement of a still photograph of juvenile Baird’s Sandpiper on the VHS with stunning footage of a bird creeping around in gorgeous light on a seaweed-strewn muddy beach that looks like … Flamborough South Landing! Just a minute ... I hit the button of the remote and the data tag came up. This is a bird that I’ve seen! Only now it looks even better, with a full-frame shot of it calling.

Incidentally, with a new era of learning bird calls recently ushered in by ‘boys’ toys’ technology, there is no better way to memorise calls than by means of a DVD like this.

Is this DVD set value for money? Again, I compare it with the VHS edition, which retailed for £24.95 when it was released six years ago. The new compilation presents some of the most stunning moving images of shorebirds I have come across and has 35 per cent longer running time than the VHS version. Yet despite the additions, changes and new features, the price has actually dropped by 20 per cent for the new release.

Whether you’re a wader buff like me or you’re just interested in having an amazing resource that shows shorebirds of the Holarctic, I can’t recommend this DVD too highly. A small but much appreciated touch is the personal attention that the company promises. It says that it welcomes feedback and comments, and even gives a telephone number to call if you have any problems.

There is just one question that I would like to put to Paul Doherty and the Bird Images team. Which group of birds are they going to tackle next?

First published in Birdwatch 177: 51 (March 2007). To order a copy of this issue please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . For details of our full range of bird books please click here.