Birders' Notebooks

[forktail]

Hi there

As someone who makes a fair few notes and sketches and logs just about everything going past on the sea most mornings, I get through notebooks quite quickly. I've been using a real hotch-potch lately, picking them up whenever I see something that might be useful. If anyone has seen, or uses, any that they find ideal for birding, please drop a note in this thread. I'm keen to buy a few if I can find one I like.

I prefer A6 or similar with plain pages for sketching, and spiral bound for ease of use but find this combo hard to come by. I've recently found a great hardback, plain-paged notebook in Lidl but foolishly only bought one.

So, anyone out there have any recommendations?

F.

[Colin Key]

Hi F,

I have always used "Chartwell" (Google it) survey books (Item code 2026) which harks back to my days as a field geologist taking notes in sometimes horrendous weather conditions. These books are "top-hinged" and, although not spiral bound, the covers can be folded back 360º. The paper is "high rag", can literally be written on with a pencil underwater, and the books are virtually indestructible. Of course, they are expensive (about £8 a time for an 80 leaf book).

Colin