Hawks and Owls of Eastern North America
Donald S. Heintzelman
2004. 203 pages. ISBN 0-8135-3350-3
Review by Paul Hess for the
International Hawkwatcher Magazine
Recent publications about North American raptors have rarely covered well the wide middle-ground between specialized ornithological treatises and overly superficial introductions to the subject. This book by a distinguished raptor expert, author, conservation leader (and the editor of International Hawkwatcher) spans the large gap successfully.
The opening chapter provides an excellent introduction to raptor ecology, focusing primarily and appropriately on raptors' role as predators at the top of the food chain.
Chapter two captures the drama of hawk migrations in spring and fall, explaining the landforms, weather conditions and other factors influencing where and when hawks migrate. Data are interpreted to illustrate patterns and trends in numbers at major migration routes throughout the eastern United States and Canada. These, it should be noted, are topics in which the author's vast knowledge has led to two of the foremost publications of their kind: A Guide to Hawk Watching in North America in 1979 and The Migrations of Hawks in 1986.
Chapter three describes the nearly invisible migratory movements by some owl species and the sometimes spectacular irruptions by others from the tundra and boreal forest of Canada far south into the United States. The emphasis given to raptor conservation in chapter four is particularly gratifying. Topics include infuriating and heartbreaking cases of raptor-killing, natural causes of raptor mortality, the many human-related threats, and most importantly an explanation of crucial raptor conservation and management efforts in the past, the present, and essential in the future for protection of many species.
Chapter five and six deal with two strongly linked subjects: "citizen science," involving ways in which amateur ornithologists can help to collect data important in scientific study, and recreational raptor watching, which has exploded in recent decades to become one of the most popular aspects of ecotourism.
Next come six chapters of species accounts for eastern North America's 22 regular breeding diurnal raptors, each described in terms of habitat, geographic distribution, food habits, nesting and life cycle, behavior, migration, and population. One small but interesting nugget worth special mention is a note on the oldest recorded age of each species, when known, which is a bit of information not otherwise easily obtainable for most people. Five western hawks that are accidental, with only one or a few records in the east, also receive at least a sentence or two about their out-of-range occurrences. The last two chapters cover 12 owl species in similar depth.
This book is sufficiently nontechnical to appeal to the general reader, yet it offers an abundance of information useful to the scientific community. The up-to-date 27-page bibliography is convincing evidence of the book's value to the latter group. It contains more than 700 listings of books, monographs, journal papers, and popular accounts, approximately 140 of which were published since 2000. Overall, Donald Heintzelman has distilled a half-century of intensive study of raptors into a single volume that is not only informative but a pleasure to read as well as to relish its beauty and dramatic array of photographs including many by legendary photographer Ron Austing and some by the author. High school biology teachers as well as college instructors in ecology and other life sciences should consider this book for use as a supplemental text. Hawks and owls are exciting "poster birds," as the cliché goes, for creating awareness of wildlife conservation. As a means of enhancing both the excitement and the awareness, Hawks and Owls of Eastern North America is especially recommended to those in the fast-growing populations that include outdoor enthusiasts, casual birdwatchers, and active birders.
Reviewed by Paul Hess
From International Hawkwatcher, 2004, 9: 21-22.
