Red-Tails in Love tells the epic tale of birdwatchers in NewYork City

It was a cold January morning in Petersburg, Pennsylvania, abnd I was receivinga crash course in common winter birdfeeder birds. Although it was not until 3 months later that I became enthralled with ornithology and the joys of bird-watching, I will never forget the excitement of watching a white-breasted nuthatch flying back and forth between a feeder and a tree on that bugar-freezing day. At the time, I pondered why the nuthatch ate that way when other birds chose to eat their seeds right at the feeder. Why did the nuthatch use up all that energy going back and forth? Since then I have become a birder, I find the august song of a winter wren or a sneak-in visit by a hermit thrush to be tantamount to or exceed any experience I have had at a zoo or circus. In agreement with me would likely be Marie Winn.

Marie Winn's "Red-Tails in Love" documents multiple years of bird-watching in New York City's Central Park. This story tells the tale of a group of multi-generation birdwatchers whose paths become entangled when two red-tailed hawks begin nesting in the heart of New York City. This book is a fluently written piece that documents bird behavior and diveristy in Central Park. Winn takes us not only through the nesting trials of a pale male red-tailed hawk, she also introduces us to the lives of many other Central Park birds. Winn succeeds where a field guide fails. Red-Tails in Love gives us an opportunity to get to know birds on a more intimate level. Winn doesn't always mention color, family, song, habitat, range, ect.; rather she writes about specific accounts of birds and their behavior.

Other features of this book include detailed maps of Central Park, species lists of birds, butterflies, and dragonflies, and excerpts from the official Central Park bird register. Red-Tails also touches on laws protecting wildlife and the need for citizens to take action if these laws (i.e. the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act) are going to be enforced. As a new birder, I would reccommend this book to anyone with an interest in birds or that is looking for a new hobby. As the summer is coming to a close, I am excited to observe the inflow and outflow of fall migrants through Southern Minnesota. My wishlist bird this winter is a snow bunting, or as I like to call it: thetoasted marshmallow bird.