Book Reviews
Hawks of North America Second Edition
William S. Clark/Brian K. Wheeler
316 pages | softcover
Hawk Watching is just another aspect of birding only with a focus on one group of birds. Like any other complex and difficult to identify species, most raptors can usually be named if one has the patience to develop the skills to work it out. Up until the early 1980′s the only material available were the standard Field Guides. They showed the markings for perched and flying typical adult of imm. plumage. Unfortunately raptors have many different plumages in between as well as different colour morphs or forms. These fortunately do not change during the life of the bird. Light conditions, winds, distance all add to the challenge. In 1987 William S. Clark/Brian K. Wheeler produced a very in-depth field guide to raptors under the Peterson Field Guide Series — Hawks of North America. They used detailed colour plates showing the variations in plumage for the many age classes and colour morphs. Arrows ponted to the key ID features separating similar species and a detailed written text was also provided. To make full use of this info one must become familiar with the names for the various parts of the bird described. This guide took Hawk ID to a whole new dimension and allowed birders to finally start to sort out this difficult group.
Clark and Wheeler have revised and improved on this guide with the Second Edition in 2001. Gone are the B&W photos at the back now replaced with high quality colour plates with a page devoted to a single species. This allows showing a lot more of the various plumages of both perched and flying raptors, a real asset. The accompanying text is short but provides the key info one needs to age and identify the birds quickly. Now that you are hooked on Hawk ID as your primary birding challenge you may still have more questions than answers.
Raptors of Western North America
Brian K. Wheeler
544 pages | hardcover
In 2003 Brian K. Wheeler produced a set of two very detailed books: Raptors (Eastern and Western North America) which are more reference books than Field Guides as we know them. The Western one devoted 48 pages of text and photos to the Red-tailed Hawks alone. They are a study on their own with more variations in the west than anywhere else in North America! The larger size of the book has allowed for many more photos to depict the complex subspecies and colour morphs. It requires that you study small sections of the text as it applies to the related part of the bird as the text is very detailed and one can’t comprehend all the markings presented for the entire bird at one time. (Example: study say the markings on the breast of the bird and read the corresponding text, then look at another part of the bird and repeat.) It may seem like a lot of work but hawks are a very complex group and require this kind of attention to detail. For someone like myself who is very interested in the raptors this book is a very valuable asset right up there with good optics. It is a jewel not meant to replace the field guide but to take you to the next level and beyond. It is the most comprehensive guide to raptors for this area that I am aware of and I use it constantly with my hawk monitoring at Misty Ridge.
Hawks From Every Angle: How To Identify Raptors In Flight
Jerry Liguori
130 pages | softcover
Reviewed by Jim Lange, 2008
For those people who may be doing monitoring or observation along a migration route another high quality guide was produced in 2005. Hawks From Every Angle — How to Identify Raptors In Flight, by Jerry Liguori is strictly flight profiles. Using colour photos and new technology he has placed photos of problem ID challenges side/side on the same page to make for easy comparisons. Another wonderful feature not seen in other guides are the pages of small B&W photos showing up to 5-6 different profiles of a species. As anyone who has looked at hawks in flight you soon realize they don’t always stay in perfect field guide profile. Their appearance can change with speed, wind, diving, soaring or gliding making the species profile change drastically. I am really impressed with this feature. Another is the descriptions of some of the pitfalls associated with various light conditions (fresh snow, cloud or bright sun, overcast, same coloured background as the head or body of the bird). All these can challenge even the best of birders with ID. The reality is that hawks don’t always fly by under the ideal distance or conditions and so the more information provided the better. This guide certainly goes to great lengths to try and help the observer with these problems. With its very in-depth and realistic approach to the problems associated with trying to ID flying raptors it is a wonderful addition to the subject.
All of these guides are highly recommended and a must have for anyone seriously interested in Hawk ID. It can be very frustrating at times when you can’t see all the features needed or the bird does not stay in one position to allow for an accurate ID. However with the advanced and sometimes highly technical books available today it sure increases the percentages and enjoyment. With the experience and the aid of these guides it proves that hawks do not all look alike and can be sorted out with confidence.
Which one of these you choose depends on your interest, where you are birding and whether you want a field guide to carry in your pack, a reference for areas where you will be only observing flying raptors or a very detailed reference for home or vehicle.
National Geographic Complete Guide to Birds of North America
Edited by Jonathan Alderfer
664 pages | hardcover $48.00
Reviewed by Jim Lange, 2007
You’re probably asking why you need another field guide if you already have a Peterson, Kaufman, National Geographic or Sibley. However, this book is not set up or designed to be a field guide as we know them. Where it really shines is as a very detailed and comprehensive reference book. The cover jacket states it is perfect for novices or veterans. I feel it would be far too detailed for beginners. On the other hand, advanced or veteran birders will find this book especially useful. It goes to great lengths in providing comprehensive and subtle differences between similar species: Blue Wing Teal vs. Cinnamon Teal (female); 4 Buteo hawk species (imm.) using wing & head shape; Sharp-shinned vs. Cooper’s Hawk; Lesser vs. Greater Scaup (males). These are done using color photos of the plumage which is causing the confusion.
Maps:
Some are the typical field guide range maps, however look again for this book has some of the most detailed, comprehensive color maps ever produced. Using different shades of color they outline the breeding/wintering destinies for numerous species. They cover North America and in the case of Shearwaters and Petrels most of the world is shown. This is complimented by the use of colored lines and arrows showing migration routes. It is this feature which intrigues me the most. Other good examples are the Swainson’s & Broad-winged Hawk or Bicknell’s & Gray-cheeked Thrush maps.
The text and photos of different species ID combined with the new maps does indeed make this book an invaluable resource for ones collection. Don’t get rid of your field guides, you still need them for their intended purpose. The Complete Guide to Birds of North America is for you to study on your return home!
Featured Books:
Identify Yourself
by Bill Thompson III, illustrated by Julie Zickefoose
392 pages | softcover $28.95
Identify Yourself Written by the experts at Bird Watcher’s Digest, Identify Yourself gives beginning and intermediate birdwatchers a helping hand with some of the most confounding identification challenges — birds that are commonly encountered but difficult to tell apart. Combining clear, easy-to-understand text with beautiful illustrations that show key field marks, Identify Yourself is the solution to identifying many of North America’s hard-to-distinguish birds.
“As avid birders, Rosalynn and I know how difficult it is to identify birds. Bill, Julie, and the folks from Bird Watcher’s Digest have helped solve this problem with Identify Yourself.”
—Jimmy Carter
“Anyone who has been birding more than a few times will find this book a tremendous help, both technically and psychologically.”
—John Acorn, naturalist, author, and TV personality
The Buffalo Wolf: Predators, Prey and the Politics of Nature
By: Lu Carbyn
This is the adventurous first-person narrative of a scientist who travels to one of the most remote places on Earth — Wood Buffalo National Park in northwestern Canada — to study the predator-prey relationship of wolves and bison. The park is the only place in North America where wolves and bison have continued their predator-prey relationship since before the time of Columbus; elsewhere the bison were exterminated, or the wolves, or both. Lu Carbyn takes us with him on his journeys to the north, sometimes with students. The result is a rare glimpse into the ecology of these mammals as their life-and-death struggles play out in the open delta of Wood Buffalo National Park.
Winner of the 2004 Canadian Geographical Award, “Pick of the Year for Wildlife”
Cost: $35.00
The Swift Fox: Ecology and Conservation of Swift Foxes in a Changing World
Editors: Marsha A. Sovoda and Ludwig Carbyn
In 1998, biologists and endangered species experts from fifteen states, three provinces, and seven countries met at an Internation Symposium on Swift Foxes, held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to exchange information and identify the “state-of-the-science” of swift fox ecology and status in North America. Papers presented at the symposium, together with others written afterwards, are brought together in this peer-reviewed volume, which is divided into five major sections: Part I – Setting the Stage; Part II – Distribution and Population Status; Part III – Censusing and Techniques; Part IV – Population Ecology; Part V – Taxonomy/Physiology/Disease.
Cost: $39.95
