Book Review: Hawks at a Distance

Book Review time!
(required disclaimer:  Princeton graciously provided a copy for this review!)

Hawks at a Distance
By: Jerry Liguori
Price on the back cover: $19.95
~190 pages
~29 species


The Skinny: It's a superb book that teaches you to ID hawks from GISS (general impression size shape), and not just field marks, and it's only ~$20 so it's 100% a great buy. The extended version below:

Well the book starts off right with a spectacular topside shot of a Red-shouldered Hawk. Doesn't get much better than that, does it? I'm not sure what they've done in the printing process, but it really is spectacularly sharp... And just looks great... As a photographer, it doesn't start any better than this.

Breaking down the guide, it's organised as one would expect: 

Foreward

How to use the book

general AnatomyTips/hawkwatching etc

Species accounts

A fun section on "shapes" (more later) 

and credits/biblo

Sounds like a pretty generic field guide, right? Well, yes it sounds like it, but it isn't! 

Jerry is one of the best hawkwatchers ever. (Yes, ever). Hawkwatching is definitely one of the most unique/stand alone/different (couldn't choose a word) aspects of birding. (Don't believe me? Go to a hawkwatch and talk to the people who never even look at "dickey birds") ... Anyways... Jerry isn't one of those people, but is a master at the unique craft of hawkwatching... And now, in his two recent books (Hawks from every angle, and this one) he has done a great job in providing a teaching tool to pass along the things he's learned.

Hawkwatching often involves trying to identify migrant raptors passing a specific location at every height and behaviour. Sometimes, you'll have birds several kilometer's up, so they just appear as tiny spec's. Rather than use visual marks, sometimes you must rely on GISS (general impression size shape) and behavioural clues if you're going to have any hope of an ID! 

Anyways, before I ramble too much ... Have a look for yourself at some sample pages and you'll see where I'm goin with this:

Right away you can tell that they aren't frame-filling detail photos, and you're going to be learning about factor X of hawkwatching (I just made that name up). 

Now I'm sure some of you are saying "But Brandon, I don't want to identify hawks that are 8km's away".. And I'll say "but you don't have to!" Learning the skills provided in this book aren't only applicable to tiny microspecs, but will improve your ID of flying raptors in any situations. It's like going into battle with multiple weapons.. Or if you're the peaceful type (Hi Jenn!) It's like going to an ice cream shop that has several extra flavours. You'll just get better and better at getting those hawks. I might even stretch it far enough to say you'll then learn how to apply those skills to other families of birds on your own (I do it with fall warblers all the time). 

( Heck, you can read half the book online! )

For ~$20 the book is absolutely a steal. Most of the specie accounts start off with a spectacular full frame photo, that is a recent trend in field guides I really like... The book ends off with a neat series of pages on "shapes" - focusing on each of the main species with dozens and dozens of small images. I won't go into too much detail (build suspense?) but you'll have to take a look for yourself if you see the book on the shelves! 

Who should buy it: if you spend time at hawkwatches, I'd say you MUST get it. If you are a "general birder", i'd still highly recommend it. 

Who shouldn't: buy it: Similar to my last review, I'd say this isn't a "first time" birder book. If you'd call yourself a "beginner birder", then yes, it's a good book. Just don't buy it for your young cousin who's never been birding in his life. 

Biggest concern: Although I love everything about the book, I wish there was a bit more attention to Mississippi Kites. Jerry did a neat thing here where he made a section in the last pages for "Uncommon Migrants and Others" - which is great - but I don't think Mississippi Kite should have been included here. It occurs in hawkwatches as far north as Duluth and Whitefish Point! (Along with most in Ontario/NY etc) .... It deserves more!

So there you have it..  Hawks at a Distance! Similar to last time, I'll update the post if there's anything else that comes to light after I publish this!