Red-Tails in Love

a Wildlife Drama in Central Park 

by Marie Winn

    In 1991, a rather light-colored red-tailed hawk was spotted by some regular bird-watchers in NYC's Central Park. Observers were excited to see the hawk engage in courtship display and win a mate. Their first nesting attempt was foiled by mobbing crows, but the next year the pair built a new nest on the side of a building, an unusual site for red-tailed hawks to choose. They laid eggs which failed to hatch, but later on had success- and eager bird-watchers counted the chicks, watched the parents going to and fro to feed them, witnessed the young hawks' first flight. Meanwhile they also did all they could to protect the birds without disturbing them- stepping in when the city poisoned rats and pigeons, or when maintenance workers attempted to remove the nest. The notably pale hawk is a mainstay through the story, but had several different mates in a row- and one that apparently returned to him later on- because some of them met with misfortune. The book isn't all about the hawks though- in fact I'd say it's more about birds of all kinds in Central Park and the people- from dedicated scientists and locals to visiting tourists who never took an interest before. There are downy woodpeckers, saw-whet owls, flickers, green herons, killdeer and one rare seagull escaped from a zoo mentioned in particular, and many many more species mentioned just as sightings. The account as a whole is really engaging and lovely to read, although I felt the title and jacket description a bit misleading since the hawks aren't the entire focus of it. The hawk pair became pretty famous for thriving and raising so many young year after year in the heart of New York City; if you just do a search for Pale Male you can find plenty of websites with photos or video and more books about him. 

Rating: 3/5                   333 pages, 1998

More opinions: Living 2 Read

anyone else?