Winter's Hawk: Red-tails on the Southern Plains

Description

Every autumn, thousands of migrating Red-tailed Hawks arrive on the southern Great Plains to spend the winter, and Oklahoma is one of the best places to observe this amazing phenomenon. Above the prairie, as Oscar Hammerstein wrote, they make “lazy circles in the sky,” but not for entertainment, theirs or ours. Author Jim Lish draws on more than forty years’ experience as a professional biologist and ornithologist to present almost two hundred color photographs of Red-tails and relate important lessons in southern Great Plains biodiversity, underscoring the place of the Red-tailed Hawk in Oklahoma’s tallgrass prairie ecology. Winter’s Hawk introduces the reader to the hawk’s biology, social behavior, and useful role in limiting destructive rodent populations. In sharing many anecdotes from his long experience in the field, Lish describes the hunting techniques of Red-tails, their competition with other raptors, and their behavior in the presence of human observers. He describes the subtle differences in plumage, and other characteristics between the various subspecies of Red-tailed Hawks that winter here. His account of their behavior includes intergenerational warfare, in which young Red-tails are frequently the losers. Detailed and scientifically accurate, this informal, jargon-free account will appeal to birders, sportsmen, naturalists, and falconers, as well as biologists. Red-tails can see ultraviolet light, which enables them to easily locate trails left by rodents. Cotton rats are by far their most important winter food, but they also eat carrion, large snakes, medium-sized mammals, and smaller birds. The main motive for the birds’ behavior, Lish reminds us, is survival, and he includes birds’-eye views of the hazards Red-tails face: foot injuries, damage to feathers, starvation, electrocution, and illegal shooting. A treasure trove of rich descriptive writing and astonishing photographs, Winter’s Hawk inspires readers to help preserve these magnificent birds of prey so that future generations may see a Red-tail standing sentinel over a field or circling above it.

Get the book

Amazon.com

Search the book

eBay.com

Search the book

Similar books

• 

  Winter Hawk

  By Craig Thomas

  A trapped double-agent, an impending world war and a race to space... Winter Hawk is Craig Thomas at the height of his powers.

• 

  Winter Hawk: A Raptor Holiday

  By Rachel Grant

  Hollis nodded, and Nate figured she was up to the task. She was smart, and Leah said they could trust her. She proved herself when she reached into her briefcase and pulled out a laptop. “How long will this take you?

• 

  Winter Hawk Star

  By Sigmund Brouwer

  Tyler is a good, solid hockey player, but not a great one.

• 

  Winter Hawk's Legend

  By Aimée Thurlo

  “I'm the better climber, but you're the one who has a bond with Winter Hawk,” Daniel said, choosing his route and footholds carefully. “I'd get my face torn off if I got too close to that ledge.” “What canl say? Hawk likes me better ...

• 

  Winter Hawk's Legend

  By Aimée Thurlo

  If Holly Gates must hide out in a snowbound New Mexico cabin, she's glad it's with Daniel Hawk.

• 

  Ghost Hawk

  By Susan Cooper

  At the end of a winter-long journey into manhood, Little Hawk returns to find his village decimated by a white man's plague and soon, despite a fresh start, Little Hawk dies violently but his spirit remains trapped, seeing how his world ...

• 

  How to Spot Hawks and Eagles

  By Clay Sutton, Patricia Sutton

  Here, try Forsythe (Brigantine) NWR or the end of Leeds Point Road, just north of the refuge, on winter days with a northwest wind. Mornings are best for eagle sightings (both bald and golden) there. Eastern winter goldens select ...