The Wind Masters by Peter Dunne
This is a different kind of a raptor book. It is not a dry scientific account of all the species currently breeding in North America although you learn a lot about raptors and their life. What's different about this book is the writing style by Pete Dunne. For every raptor regularly breeding in North America the author has written a chapter covering some aspects of it's life. Dunne writes from the standpoint of a raptors, how the bird see it's environment and how it thinks. This may sound strange but it is actually a great way to transfer knowledge about raptors from the writer to the reader. I found it easier to remember many facts about North American raptors from this book than from many scientific book about them. Dunne writes about a female Peregrine who waits at the nest for her male and has to defend the nest against a wolverine while the male is still absent. He writes about a Crested Caracara waiting for carrion, about a female Ferruginous Hawk scanning her territory and what she might think and feel about the things she sees or about a male Bald Eagle masterfully capturing a duck. One clearly notices that the author is fond of the flight of raptors (hence the title "Wind Masters"). He describes so eloquently the flight of Swallow-tailed kites, White-tailed Hawks and others that the reader almost has the fellow to see the birds himself. Dunne is also a master of words when it comes to describing the hunting of raptors like a Merlin chasing a Dunlin or a Northern Goshawk going after a hare. Some chapters also tell sad stories like the one of a Golden Eagle dying from lead poisoning.During all the chapters the reader learns a lot about the individual species and also about raptors in general.
The book does not cover some rare visitors to North America like Eurasian Hobby or the White-tailed Eagle. Because the book was already published in 1995 the recently reintroduced Aplomado Falcon is not covered, either.
Pete Dunne's fascinating book is not a substitute for a more scientific book about raptors but a wonderful addition to your bird books library if you already own those scientific book. I read the book in two days (and would have in one day if I hadn't spent the daylight hours of those days watching raptors in Spain) and could hardly put it down. Highly recommended for everyone interested in raptors!
Book details:The Wind Masters The Lives of North American Birds of Prey Pete Dunne, Illustrations by David Allen Sibley Mariner Books 288 pages ISBN-10: 0618340726 ISBN-13: 978-0618340729 |