Winter S Hawk

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.

Raptors of the World (Helm, 2001) is the definitive handbook to this most popular group of birds. This new field guide uses all of the plates from Raptors of the World, with a concise, revised text on facing pages, to create a conveniently-sized, lightweight field reference covering all 340 raptor species. Several of the plates have been reworked and repainted for this guide. The book also has an updated colour distribution map for each species. Much of the extensive introductory material has been retained in this guide, with the addition of a complete species list containing all subspecies and brief details of their ranges. Armed with this guide, birders will be able to identify with confidence any raptor encountered anywhere in the world.

The Golden Crescent of South Texas, a fifteen-county region along and inland from the middle Gulf Coast, is often called "the Crossroads" because of its natural diversity. Located in the heart of the Gulf Coast Prairie and Marshes, the area also encompasses the trailing edges of the South Texas Plains, Post Oak Savannah, and Blackland Prairie. This confluence of ecological zones makes it a wonderful place for birding and for observing the changing face of nature, especially during seasonal transitions. In this book, Ro Wauer describes a typical year in the natural life of South Texas. Using selected entries from his weekly column in the Victoria Advocate newspaper, he discusses numerous topics for each month, from the first appearance of butterflies in January, to alligators making a comeback in July, to the Christmas bird count in December. His observations are filled with intriguing natural history lore, from what sounds mockingbirds will imitate (almost any noise in their neighborhood) to how armadillos swim (by inflating themselves to increase their buoyancy).

Reprint of the original, first published in 1876.

As initially planned in 1939 by Owen J. Gromme, then curator of birds at the Milwaukee Public Museum, Wisconsin Birdlife would not only describe and document every species of bird known to have visited this state, but would also depict each species with his own original paintings. During the next two decades, Gromme concentrated primarily on the latter, resulting in the separate publication in 1963 of his now classic Birds of Wisconsin. Work on the present volume was assumed in the late 1960s by Samuel D. Robbins, whose labors of more than 20 years give us a veritable encyclopedia of the state's ornithological knowledge. A complement and supplement to field guides, picture books, and recordings, the book is designed to enlarge the reader's understanding and appreciation of statewide history, abundance, and habitat preference of every species reliably recorded in Wisconsin. The volume opens with a summary of the ornithological history of the state and an exposition of its ecological setting. The heart of Wisconsin Birdlife ensues: detailed accounts of nearly 400 species, with information on status (population and distribution), habitat, migration dates, breeding data, and wintering presence, followed by extensive discussion and commentary. Dr. James Hall Zimmerman, Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provides a special discussion of bird habitats for the book. In addition, Wisconsin Birdlife features a comprehensive status and seasonal distribution chart, a detailed habitat preference chart, and an exhaustive bibliography. The ultimate resource, Wisconsin Birdlife belongs within easy reach of everyone from armchair appreciators and casual birdwatchers to ardent birders and professional ornithologists.

A trapped double-agent, an impending world war and a race to space... Winter Hawk is Craig Thomas at the height of his powers. With the Nuclear Arms Reduction Treaty set to be ratified by the US and the USSR in Geneva, it seems that international relations have finally stabilised. But when a double agent reveals that the Soviets are preparing to launch a series of laser weapons into space, the West is suddenly defenceless and vulnerable. A panic-stricken US President puts pilot Mitchell Gant at the head of a mission, code-named “Winter Hawk”. The operation is clear: a covert dash in and out of the Soviet Union to retrieve the double agent before the weapons can be launched. But with the clock ticking and the Russian “Hinds” on his tail, Gant’s voyage across the snowy Russian border is far from simple... Set against a background of Cold War tension and nuclear threat, Winter Hawk is another icy Craig Thomas thriller, perfect for fans of Desmond Bagley and Frederick Forsyth.

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.