What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hummingbirds' Gift #2
The Hawk's Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty
A splendid and luminous celebration of one of nature’s most perfect and mysterious creatures—the hawk—from the New York Times bestselling author of the “astoundingly beautiful” (NPR) The Soul of an Octopus .
When Sy Montgomery went to spend a day at falconer Nancy Cowan’s farm, home to a dozen magnificent birds of prey, it was the start of a deep love affair. Nancy allowed her to work with Jazz, a feisty, four-year-old, female Harris’s hawk with a wingspan of more than four feet. Not a pet, Jazz was a fierce predator with talons that could pierce skin and bone and yet, she was willing to work with a human to hunt. From the first moment Jazz swept down from a tree and landed on Sy’s leather gloved fist, Sy fell under the hawk’s magnetic spell.
Over the next few years, Sy spent more time with these magnificent creatures, getting to know their extraordinary abilities and instincts. They are deeply emotional animals, quick to show anger and frustration, and can hold a grudge for years. But they are also loyal and intensely aware of their surroundings. In this mesmerizing account, featuring sixteen pages of gorgeous color photographs, Sy passionately and vividly reveals the wonderous world of hawks and what they can teach us about nature, life, and love.
When Sy Montgomery went to spend a day at falconer Nancy Cowan’s farm, home to a dozen magnificent birds of prey, it was the start of a deep love affair. Nancy allowed her to work with Jazz, a feisty, four-year-old, female Harris’s hawk with a wingspan of more than four feet. Not a pet, Jazz was a fierce predator with talons that could pierce skin and bone and yet, she was willing to work with a human to hunt. From the first moment Jazz swept down from a tree and landed on Sy’s leather gloved fist, Sy fell under the hawk’s magnetic spell.
Over the next few years, Sy spent more time with these magnificent creatures, getting to know their extraordinary abilities and instincts. They are deeply emotional animals, quick to show anger and frustration, and can hold a grudge for years. But they are also loyal and intensely aware of their surroundings. In this mesmerizing account, featuring sixteen pages of gorgeous color photographs, Sy passionately and vividly reveals the wonderous world of hawks and what they can teach us about nature, life, and love.
96 pages, Hardcover
Published May 3, 2022
54 people are currently reading
3733 people want to read
About the author
Sy Montgomery
63 books2,044 followersPart Indiana Jones, part Emily Dickinson, as the Boston Globe describes her, Sy Montgomery is an author, naturalist, documentary scriptwriter, and radio commentator who has traveled to some of the worlds most remote wildernesses for her work. She has worked in a pit crawling with 18,000 snakes in Manitoba, been hunted by a tiger in India, swum with pink dolphins in the Amazon, and been undressed by an orangutan in Borneo. She is the author of 13 award-winning books, including her national best-selling memoir, The Good Good Pig. Montgomery lives in Hancock, New Hampshire.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews
June 5, 2022
Until the last several years, I've always had a bird or birds. Small ones though and freely admit to being fascinated but intimidated by the larger and fiercer of the species. One day last year, parking to access our riverwalk, I encountered right next to my car, a hawk about 18 inches or talker. Quite scary looking, my first encounter with a hawk up front and center, in the wild. I didn't leave my car until it left.
In this book Sy takes the reader into the addicting, though not for me, world of falconry. Quite complicated, the birds rule not the person. She has such a great way of writing, as if she was speaking to a person in a personal manner. A short book but one I felt covered the subject, with a few side roads into her own life, extremely well. Fascinating subject and fascinating birds.
In this book Sy takes the reader into the addicting, though not for me, world of falconry. Quite complicated, the birds rule not the person. She has such a great way of writing, as if she was speaking to a person in a personal manner. A short book but one I felt covered the subject, with a few side roads into her own life, extremely well. Fascinating subject and fascinating birds.
April 2, 2025
"Birds of prey are exclusively predatory. They are also known as raptors. Sometimes they are just called hawks. They include some three-hundred species that go by various names: hawks, eagles, falcons, harriers, kestrels, and kites. They live all over the world. They are the tigers of the air. They hunt like no other predator." -- the author's movie tagline-worthy subject description, on page 24
I complete author Montgomery's avian-related trilogy (which also includes The Hummingbirds' Gift and What the Chicken Knows, both recommended) with the darker, dangerous and considerably more serious-seeming The Hawk's Way. (To peculiarly compare them to the original Star Wars films, this book is definitely The Empire Strikes Back of the group.) In Ms Montgomery's on-going quest to learn more about animals she shadows a neighboring woman in rural New Hampshire who practices the responsibility of falconry, or the practice of keeping / training of said wild birds. Readers will quickly learn that this bird species is often not that far removed from their dinosauric ancestors - they primarily live to hunt, and procreation is at best the runner-up. They do not bond well with humans - folks engaging in the pursuit of falconry must remember that they are the 'junior partner' in this odd relationship - and the threat of danger (there seems to be a running list of various wounds and scars suffered) is ALWAYS ever-present if there is any deviance in the day-to-day procedure. However, there is a certain majestic quality about these creatures amidst that danger factor - peregrine falcons may be one of the fastest animals, clocking in at an amazing top speed of 61 m.p.h.; and a hawk's extraordinary eyesight / vision is better than even the most cutting edge microscope, and they likely experience colors and details that are beyond the human scope of understanding. 🦅
I complete author Montgomery's avian-related trilogy (which also includes The Hummingbirds' Gift and What the Chicken Knows, both recommended) with the darker, dangerous and considerably more serious-seeming The Hawk's Way. (To peculiarly compare them to the original Star Wars films, this book is definitely The Empire Strikes Back of the group.) In Ms Montgomery's on-going quest to learn more about animals she shadows a neighboring woman in rural New Hampshire who practices the responsibility of falconry, or the practice of keeping / training of said wild birds. Readers will quickly learn that this bird species is often not that far removed from their dinosauric ancestors - they primarily live to hunt, and procreation is at best the runner-up. They do not bond well with humans - folks engaging in the pursuit of falconry must remember that they are the 'junior partner' in this odd relationship - and the threat of danger (there seems to be a running list of various wounds and scars suffered) is ALWAYS ever-present if there is any deviance in the day-to-day procedure. However, there is a certain majestic quality about these creatures amidst that danger factor - peregrine falcons may be one of the fastest animals, clocking in at an amazing top speed of 61 m.p.h.; and a hawk's extraordinary eyesight / vision is better than even the most cutting edge microscope, and they likely experience colors and details that are beyond the human scope of understanding. 🦅
February 18, 2022
Similar to her previous The Hummingbird's Gift, Montgomery has repackaged a chapter from her 2010 collection Birdology into a small, separate book. I'm thinking the audience for this one might be a bit different. I definitely wouldn't buy it for my elderly hummingbird-loving mother.
In birdwatching, people tend to pick out certain groups of birds they especially love, study, seek out, and admire - or even get a little obsessed by. For me, it's woodpeckers. And sparrows. And nice big wading birds that stand out there in the open and let me stare at them. Some people go nuts for gulls, in their endless and subtle gradations of plumages; others wait all year for the spring warblers to cavort through the upper branches, where first you can't see them and then they disappear. And for a lot of people, it's raptors: hawks, falcons, ospreys, eagles. And among those are the falconers, the people who keep these mighty killing machines in sheds or pens, and escort them out on hunts with pocketfuls of dismembered pigeons or chicks to lure them back with. Some birders say these folks have "gone over to the dark side." One woman who had worked with a Red-Tailed Hawk for a year or so said to me, "It's like the most pathological of relationships: you adore, love, and serve that bird with all your heart, and they don't give a shit about you."
In this book, Montgomery explores this relationship (such as it is) through her fascinated, primal, bewildering desire to hunt with hawks. Herself a vegetarian and thoughtful observer and lover of animals wild and domestic, she is utterly hooked by the untameable ferity of these birds: "I wanted to touch these birds’ fine, ancient wildness, this pure savagery bereft of evil." She signs on for lessons with a local falconer, who reminds her: "“If you think in terms of rewards and punishments, you’re not thinking partnership. They don’t serve us. We serve them.” Another expert puts it this way: "You train a hawk to accept you as her servant.” Montgomery goes on to muse about this special kind of love she chooses to label agape: "For a human to love without expecting love in return is hugely liberating. To leave the self out of love is like escaping the grip of gravity. It is to grow wings. It opens up the sky." To which I would reply: does this selfless love include taking a wild bird out of its natural environment, shutting it up in a small building, wearing a hood that blinds it and jesses to tether it? So that you may take it out at your pleasure, when you're sure it's hungry enough, in order to admire its killing power as a spectator? When I can grow those same emotional wings under that same open sky while simply watching the iridescent sheen and graceful curves of a flock of ibis rising above a marsh? "Oddly," says Montgomery's mentor, "[some] birdwatchers consider [falconry] a form of slavery." Um, yes.
Hawks are glorious, beautiful, regal creatures, soaring overhead, perusing the horizon from a tree or a telephone pole, tilting and gliding over an open field on the hunt. The book gives us a vivid look at several of them: their power, their speed, their incredible vision, their minds that are barely minds at all, they are such perfectly instinctual creatures. They are also dangerous and unpredictable, even in the hands of a talented falconer - shrieking, flapping, biting, drawing blood and slashing tendon and bone. Montgomery makes much of their tempers: they seem to evince much anger, fury, rage, violence. But how do we know? Are they naturally angry animals? Or is it their captivity and the thwarting of their deep and irresistible natural urges and needs that make them so?
What troubles me most about the allure of raptors, especially in the form of falconry, is how easily it seems to rouse a bloodlust in the people around them. Montgomery does struggle with this: "I’m sorry that Nancy has been bitten and I’m distressed that the woodcock has been killed, somehow, in the presence of these birds, blood and death are not repulsive. I feel myself being drawn to a mind wholly unlike my own. What is happening to me?" A chicken drumstick on her plate would make her feel sick; and ultimately, she decides not to acquire her own hawk - partly the demands of work and care, and partly because the hawk would unquestionably kill all her chickens, whom she loves (and does not eat).
This book may make some readers uncomfortable, and perhaps that is its best value. It stirs up ambivalence, and she is honest. She suggests that hunting - done ethically - is preferable to the horrors of factory farming. Hawks are hawks. They have every right to be on this earth, and to make their living as hawks do. What disturbs me is the way humans are driven to capture, possess, and control these wild creatures because of their killing power, their apparently violent characters, and their deadliness. They may say they are the servant to the hawk, but it seems that the human's deliberately cultivated "servitude" is ultimately twisted into - yet again - the dominance of human over wild creature.
* I thank NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review *
In birdwatching, people tend to pick out certain groups of birds they especially love, study, seek out, and admire - or even get a little obsessed by. For me, it's woodpeckers. And sparrows. And nice big wading birds that stand out there in the open and let me stare at them. Some people go nuts for gulls, in their endless and subtle gradations of plumages; others wait all year for the spring warblers to cavort through the upper branches, where first you can't see them and then they disappear. And for a lot of people, it's raptors: hawks, falcons, ospreys, eagles. And among those are the falconers, the people who keep these mighty killing machines in sheds or pens, and escort them out on hunts with pocketfuls of dismembered pigeons or chicks to lure them back with. Some birders say these folks have "gone over to the dark side." One woman who had worked with a Red-Tailed Hawk for a year or so said to me, "It's like the most pathological of relationships: you adore, love, and serve that bird with all your heart, and they don't give a shit about you."
In this book, Montgomery explores this relationship (such as it is) through her fascinated, primal, bewildering desire to hunt with hawks. Herself a vegetarian and thoughtful observer and lover of animals wild and domestic, she is utterly hooked by the untameable ferity of these birds: "I wanted to touch these birds’ fine, ancient wildness, this pure savagery bereft of evil." She signs on for lessons with a local falconer, who reminds her: "“If you think in terms of rewards and punishments, you’re not thinking partnership. They don’t serve us. We serve them.” Another expert puts it this way: "You train a hawk to accept you as her servant.” Montgomery goes on to muse about this special kind of love she chooses to label agape: "For a human to love without expecting love in return is hugely liberating. To leave the self out of love is like escaping the grip of gravity. It is to grow wings. It opens up the sky." To which I would reply: does this selfless love include taking a wild bird out of its natural environment, shutting it up in a small building, wearing a hood that blinds it and jesses to tether it? So that you may take it out at your pleasure, when you're sure it's hungry enough, in order to admire its killing power as a spectator? When I can grow those same emotional wings under that same open sky while simply watching the iridescent sheen and graceful curves of a flock of ibis rising above a marsh? "Oddly," says Montgomery's mentor, "[some] birdwatchers consider [falconry] a form of slavery." Um, yes.
Hawks are glorious, beautiful, regal creatures, soaring overhead, perusing the horizon from a tree or a telephone pole, tilting and gliding over an open field on the hunt. The book gives us a vivid look at several of them: their power, their speed, their incredible vision, their minds that are barely minds at all, they are such perfectly instinctual creatures. They are also dangerous and unpredictable, even in the hands of a talented falconer - shrieking, flapping, biting, drawing blood and slashing tendon and bone. Montgomery makes much of their tempers: they seem to evince much anger, fury, rage, violence. But how do we know? Are they naturally angry animals? Or is it their captivity and the thwarting of their deep and irresistible natural urges and needs that make them so?
What troubles me most about the allure of raptors, especially in the form of falconry, is how easily it seems to rouse a bloodlust in the people around them. Montgomery does struggle with this: "I’m sorry that Nancy has been bitten and I’m distressed that the woodcock has been killed, somehow, in the presence of these birds, blood and death are not repulsive. I feel myself being drawn to a mind wholly unlike my own. What is happening to me?" A chicken drumstick on her plate would make her feel sick; and ultimately, she decides not to acquire her own hawk - partly the demands of work and care, and partly because the hawk would unquestionably kill all her chickens, whom she loves (and does not eat).
This book may make some readers uncomfortable, and perhaps that is its best value. It stirs up ambivalence, and she is honest. She suggests that hunting - done ethically - is preferable to the horrors of factory farming. Hawks are hawks. They have every right to be on this earth, and to make their living as hawks do. What disturbs me is the way humans are driven to capture, possess, and control these wild creatures because of their killing power, their apparently violent characters, and their deadliness. They may say they are the servant to the hawk, but it seems that the human's deliberately cultivated "servitude" is ultimately twisted into - yet again - the dominance of human over wild creature.
* I thank NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review *
June 26, 2022
"If you do everything right, a hawk will allow you to act as its servant."
In other words, hawks are basically cats that fly?
If you've read Sy Montgomery's book Birdology, there's no need to seek out this little book. It's just a long chapter from that book, repackaged with photographs.
Here are just a couple of things I found interesting:
"An eagle riding a thermal at one thousand feet can spot prey at a distance of nearly three square miles....A raptor's vision is the sharpest of all living creatures."
Three miles! (4.8 km) From 1,000 feet up! I find that fascinating but also hard to fathom. Not just being able to see that far, but being able to detect prey from that far. Although I have always wondered how scientists are able to determine such a thing.
"Eighty percent of wild hawks die in their first year; a falconer's might live to thirty."
Another remarkable statistic. Eighty percent is a lot of hawklets. Is it better to be in captivity if you get to live so much longer? I dunno. I'm not a bird.
May 2, 2022
This is the second of these short nature books by Sy Montgomery I've read, and like her hummingbird book, it was beautifully written, filled with fascinating details about the creatures she's focusing upon. But once again, I find myself not particularly loving Montgomery's narrative voice or the story she tells us about her own involvement with the creatures she obviously is passionate about. I can't fault her for feeling poetry in her soul as she watches a hawk hunt, but maybe she could dial it down a little bit. Find oneself identifying with a wild creature, and then worrying about but also glorifying in that identification, makes for an interesting approach, but a little of that goes a long way.
April 22, 2023
So, turns out this slim book is just an expansion (with photos) of a section in Montgomery's earlier and more substantial Birdology - which for me was just great, because while I don't really care about parrots or chickens or pigeons, the birds discussed here - falcons, hawks, eagles and their kin - are the last surviving "fierce dinosaurs;" and who doesn't love a good raptor?
As always, Montgomery absolutely shines when she focuses on the animals themselves, and so there is great stuff here on raptor biology (who knew a hawk's eyes weigh over twice as much as its brain?) and psychology (in short, they're violent but noble assholes). Unfortunately, however, the author - who is always as important a character in her books as the animals themselves - all-too-frequently veers into the touchy-feely, hippy-dippy persona I've griped about elsewhere; stressing over things like having to buy her own falconing glove because it's made of (gasp!) leather, and spouting such cringey non-essentials as "I am lost in her pleasure, lost in her beauty, drowning in my love of this bird," and "perhaps these gorgeous creatures - who I love like an Aztec loves the sun - will learn to trust me."
For that reason, I still prefer Montgomery's excellent books written for a younger audience in the "Scientists in the Field" series, where she discusses with much less (or at least more palatable) personal hoo-ha her adventures among such fascinating critters as New Guinea's tree kangaroos, Brazil's tapirs, Mongolia's snow leopards, and the Amazon's tiny tropical fish, which form the mainstay of the global exotic fish trade.
Anyway...despite my grumpiness, I'll begrudgingly continue my odd love/hate relationship with this outstanding naturalist, just because she truly is such a badass, if occasionally despite herself.
As always, Montgomery absolutely shines when she focuses on the animals themselves, and so there is great stuff here on raptor biology (who knew a hawk's eyes weigh over twice as much as its brain?) and psychology (in short, they're violent but noble assholes). Unfortunately, however, the author - who is always as important a character in her books as the animals themselves - all-too-frequently veers into the touchy-feely, hippy-dippy persona I've griped about elsewhere; stressing over things like having to buy her own falconing glove because it's made of (gasp!) leather, and spouting such cringey non-essentials as "I am lost in her pleasure, lost in her beauty, drowning in my love of this bird," and "perhaps these gorgeous creatures - who I love like an Aztec loves the sun - will learn to trust me."
For that reason, I still prefer Montgomery's excellent books written for a younger audience in the "Scientists in the Field" series, where she discusses with much less (or at least more palatable) personal hoo-ha her adventures among such fascinating critters as New Guinea's tree kangaroos, Brazil's tapirs, Mongolia's snow leopards, and the Amazon's tiny tropical fish, which form the mainstay of the global exotic fish trade.
Anyway...despite my grumpiness, I'll begrudgingly continue my odd love/hate relationship with this outstanding naturalist, just because she truly is such a badass, if occasionally despite herself.
May 17, 2022
Thank you, Sy Montgomery, NetGalley, and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this book! It was released on May 3rd, 2022.
“Our fellow animals teach us lessons about the delights of sameness and difference. They immerse us in wonder. They lead us to humilty; they inspire us to reverence. They teach us the many facets of love.”
THE HAWK’S WAY
The Hawk’s Way by Sy Montgomery is a book I would have shared with my Dad. My Dad’s favorite bird was a hawk. He would get so excited whenever he would see one. In fact, after he passed, we found an index card that my Dad wrote some notes about some local hawks. He wrote about how many were flying together, their flight patterns, and which direction they were flying in. He admired them. Now, whenever I see one, he just feels near.
When I saw that Sy Montgomery wrote this book, I knew I needed to read it. She wrote one of my favorite nature books, The Soul of an Octopus. Sy Montgomery has a beautiful connection with animals of all kinds. When she studies an animal, she puts all of her passion into it. That is the same for hawks. While hawks are not animals that can be kept as pets. They are intelligent but much more instinctual. The author often refers to hawks as dinosaurs. They are birds of prey, also called raptors.
I loved learning about these birds. While this book is only 90 pages, it is short and sweet. It also made me a little sad because these creatures require large amounts of territory in order to survive. The area where my family lives are being developed at an alarming speed and I do fear that it won’t be long before hawks are a rarity in our area. I rate this selection 5 out of 5 stars.
“Our fellow animals teach us lessons about the delights of sameness and difference. They immerse us in wonder. They lead us to humilty; they inspire us to reverence. They teach us the many facets of love.”
THE HAWK’S WAY
The Hawk’s Way by Sy Montgomery is a book I would have shared with my Dad. My Dad’s favorite bird was a hawk. He would get so excited whenever he would see one. In fact, after he passed, we found an index card that my Dad wrote some notes about some local hawks. He wrote about how many were flying together, their flight patterns, and which direction they were flying in. He admired them. Now, whenever I see one, he just feels near.
When I saw that Sy Montgomery wrote this book, I knew I needed to read it. She wrote one of my favorite nature books, The Soul of an Octopus. Sy Montgomery has a beautiful connection with animals of all kinds. When she studies an animal, she puts all of her passion into it. That is the same for hawks. While hawks are not animals that can be kept as pets. They are intelligent but much more instinctual. The author often refers to hawks as dinosaurs. They are birds of prey, also called raptors.
I loved learning about these birds. While this book is only 90 pages, it is short and sweet. It also made me a little sad because these creatures require large amounts of territory in order to survive. The area where my family lives are being developed at an alarming speed and I do fear that it won’t be long before hawks are a rarity in our area. I rate this selection 5 out of 5 stars.
April 29, 2022
Not really sure how to rate this. I didn't really learn much about hawks or falconry from this book. Read H Is For Hawk to get an interesting look at that. This read like a highly emotional memoir about a vegetarian who isn't sure how she feels about falconry. The writing is pretty, but I didn't learn anything about Agape love like this book promised I supposedly would. I think it's time I admit to myself that I don't particularly care for Montgomery's overly sentimental way of writing about animals.
January 2, 2024
Pint sized, but packs a punch! It was educational, in a passionate, interesting way. I truly am curious how some of these things get discovered about these creatures. We can learn a lot from observation, but to understand the psyche of non-human beings is hard to wrap my head around.
December 7, 2025
Sy Montgomery's, "The Hawk's Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty," is a short book of less than 100 pages. Even so, I had a difficult time sticking with it. I had read other books by Montgomery which I thoroughly enjoyed. This wasn't one of them.
Montgomery starts her journey by taking an introductory course in falconry from master falconer, Nancy Cowan. Here's an excerpt:
"We started walking down Nancy's gravel driveway, amazed that these majestic birds sit sedately on our fists. Then Banshee bites Nancy in the face. The attack comes without warning. It's a hell of a bite. Later Nancy explains to us that being bitten by a peregrine feels like being punctured by a staple gun....Blood gushes from the wound."
And the blood continued to flow for about half an hour. If I were in a class and that happened, I'd quit. There wouldn't be second lesson. (Except if I were writing a book about it.)
The photographs are exquisite. Montgomery's prose often makes readers feel like they are part of the action.
Where the book falls short is that Montgomery doesn't convince this reader that she ever really intended on becoming a falconer. She wanted to know the process, feel the savage wildness of a hawk, but she didn't seem fully committed to the endeavor.
The abrupt ending of the book is also anticlimactic. In one of the final scenes, a Harris Hawk named Scout has just caught a quail in mid-air. He has learned how to hunt. Let's celebrate! No wait. There are storm clouds on the horizon and a goshawk. Scout won't have a fair chance against a more experienced, wild hawk.
Montgomery then changes direction informing readers that Nancy has a knife in her pocket in case Scout is eating the quail while it's still alive. If so, she can cut off its head to prevent it from suffering any further. What?
First, Nancy was rushing off to rescue Scout. A sentence or two later, Montgomery switches gears to tell us about Nancy's knife and what she intends to do with it. It's quite a jolt. There's a disconnect in the sequence of events. One doesn't necessarily follow the other.
While this particular scene has all the elements of an exciting drama, Montgomery doesn't continue the thread. It's like there was a director in the wings who yelled, "Cut, that's it for today folks."
Readers never find out what happened to Scout. Did the goshawk attack him? Did it steal his prey?When an author gives readers this type of build up, they expect some form of resolution. It doesn't happen.
Instead, Montgomery shifts to, "I still visit Nancy's birds and fly them from time to time." Well, that's nice, but what happened to Scout. Why give readers a cliffhanger and then, don't tell them the outcome. Will there be a sequel?
I would have given this book a higher rating if Montgomery had paid more attention to the resolution of her book in that final scene.
Montgomery starts her journey by taking an introductory course in falconry from master falconer, Nancy Cowan. Here's an excerpt:
"We started walking down Nancy's gravel driveway, amazed that these majestic birds sit sedately on our fists. Then Banshee bites Nancy in the face. The attack comes without warning. It's a hell of a bite. Later Nancy explains to us that being bitten by a peregrine feels like being punctured by a staple gun....Blood gushes from the wound."
And the blood continued to flow for about half an hour. If I were in a class and that happened, I'd quit. There wouldn't be second lesson. (Except if I were writing a book about it.)
The photographs are exquisite. Montgomery's prose often makes readers feel like they are part of the action.
Where the book falls short is that Montgomery doesn't convince this reader that she ever really intended on becoming a falconer. She wanted to know the process, feel the savage wildness of a hawk, but she didn't seem fully committed to the endeavor.
The abrupt ending of the book is also anticlimactic. In one of the final scenes, a Harris Hawk named Scout has just caught a quail in mid-air. He has learned how to hunt. Let's celebrate! No wait. There are storm clouds on the horizon and a goshawk. Scout won't have a fair chance against a more experienced, wild hawk.
Montgomery then changes direction informing readers that Nancy has a knife in her pocket in case Scout is eating the quail while it's still alive. If so, she can cut off its head to prevent it from suffering any further. What?
First, Nancy was rushing off to rescue Scout. A sentence or two later, Montgomery switches gears to tell us about Nancy's knife and what she intends to do with it. It's quite a jolt. There's a disconnect in the sequence of events. One doesn't necessarily follow the other.
While this particular scene has all the elements of an exciting drama, Montgomery doesn't continue the thread. It's like there was a director in the wings who yelled, "Cut, that's it for today folks."
Readers never find out what happened to Scout. Did the goshawk attack him? Did it steal his prey?When an author gives readers this type of build up, they expect some form of resolution. It doesn't happen.
Instead, Montgomery shifts to, "I still visit Nancy's birds and fly them from time to time." Well, that's nice, but what happened to Scout. Why give readers a cliffhanger and then, don't tell them the outcome. Will there be a sequel?
I would have given this book a higher rating if Montgomery had paid more attention to the resolution of her book in that final scene.
May 2, 2022
Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this!
What a lovely and loving look into falconry. It was surprising to me to see a vegetarian and lover of animals reconcile that with the love of these wild hunters. I definitely wouldn’t be able to do it myself and I am not even a conservationist or vegetarian, but through the author’s eyes I could see the excitement and beauty of it all. This was extremely short, but didn’t feel like it was lacking in any way, as the author’s decision onto whether or not to pursue falconry more really decided the length and it was full of descriptions that felt like you were getting the whole story.
What a lovely and loving look into falconry. It was surprising to me to see a vegetarian and lover of animals reconcile that with the love of these wild hunters. I definitely wouldn’t be able to do it myself and I am not even a conservationist or vegetarian, but through the author’s eyes I could see the excitement and beauty of it all. This was extremely short, but didn’t feel like it was lacking in any way, as the author’s decision onto whether or not to pursue falconry more really decided the length and it was full of descriptions that felt like you were getting the whole story.
September 16, 2022
I think this lady is just not for me, just a little too out there. I picked up The Soul of an Octopus first, with super high hopes, and gave it up within a couple of pages. I picked up The Hawk's Way in the same way, high hopes and also following on the heels of a glowing recommendation, and was very dismayed to see it was by the same author. I read it all the way through, but was aware that I probably would've benched it if weren't so short. It was okay, I learned a couple interesting things, but we aren't a good match.
September 14, 2022
I’m always thrilled to find a slim work of nonfiction that nonetheless packs a big punch. New Hampshire author and naturalist Sy Montgomery provides just that in this concise but wondrous celebration of raptors and their impact on her life. Accompanied by the stunning photography of artist Tianne Strombeck, Montgomery’s story of her journey from hunting skeptic to passionate advocate for birds of prey will thrill any nature lover, or for that matter, any casual nonfiction reader.
It all begins with a visit to master falconer Nancy Cowan and a four-year-old Harris’s hawk named Jazz. Nancy warns Sy about Jazz – her unwillingness to cooperate, her feisty nature, and of course the fact that this easily provoked species can tear skin and pierce to the bones with their fierce talons – and yet, Sy is smitten: “I know I don’t matter to her at all. Yet, to me, she is everything” (16). As we see the progression of Sy’s work with Jazz and Cowan’s other raptors, we learn tidbits about the language, history, and specialized gear of falconry, all of which fascinates and contributes to our understanding of their bond. Yet, as interesting as these facts are, Montgomery confesses that, “From falconry I want only one thing: to get closer to birds of prey. Majestic, graceful, strong, big, brave, and smart: Who would not hunger for such company” (24)?
As Montgomery learns more about bird anatomy and vision, methods of catching a wild hawk to train, and even what it means for a hunting dog to “get birdy,” the reader is pulled along on her intellectual, ethical, and emotional journey. She questions whether she is really cut out to be a falconer; after all, she is told time and again by experts that the hawks will kill her precious domesticated chickens – no holds barred, no quarter given. The book is a compassionate, compelling, but stark look at the lives of these fierce creatures – sometimes bloody and violent, sometimes full of soaring elevation and elation, always and forever wild.
It all begins with a visit to master falconer Nancy Cowan and a four-year-old Harris’s hawk named Jazz. Nancy warns Sy about Jazz – her unwillingness to cooperate, her feisty nature, and of course the fact that this easily provoked species can tear skin and pierce to the bones with their fierce talons – and yet, Sy is smitten: “I know I don’t matter to her at all. Yet, to me, she is everything” (16). As we see the progression of Sy’s work with Jazz and Cowan’s other raptors, we learn tidbits about the language, history, and specialized gear of falconry, all of which fascinates and contributes to our understanding of their bond. Yet, as interesting as these facts are, Montgomery confesses that, “From falconry I want only one thing: to get closer to birds of prey. Majestic, graceful, strong, big, brave, and smart: Who would not hunger for such company” (24)?
As Montgomery learns more about bird anatomy and vision, methods of catching a wild hawk to train, and even what it means for a hunting dog to “get birdy,” the reader is pulled along on her intellectual, ethical, and emotional journey. She questions whether she is really cut out to be a falconer; after all, she is told time and again by experts that the hawks will kill her precious domesticated chickens – no holds barred, no quarter given. The book is a compassionate, compelling, but stark look at the lives of these fierce creatures – sometimes bloody and violent, sometimes full of soaring elevation and elation, always and forever wild.
May 28, 2022
If you have previously enjoyed Sy Montgomery's view on the other residents of our planet especially the tiny, delicate hummingbirds, here's the next in the series and it just as enchanting and informative.
The author - of course - gives some overview of the history of falconry as well as some of the distinctive terms while also telling of her fascination with these birds that even connected to their servants. You are not the primary player when dealing with a hawk, but in second place as a servant around only as long as you don't make a mistake. Cause if you make a mistake, you can easily be injured as the hawk will strike and some of their favorite spots is talon to the eyes to either blind or for the talon to pierce into the brain.
She was actually offered an apprenticeship with a friend who not only trained wild hawks but performed some rehabilitation after various injuries. But Sy - who admits her personal preference for vegetarianism was a temporary obstacle when dealing with feeding and training hawks (training to catch prey involves meaty pieces and eventually actual prey) - admits that a hawk would prioritize the easy dinner before going out to the forest to hunt. Namely, the "pet" chickens that roamed freely around her home. So no apprenticeship at this time. . . .
And the photos are gorgeous. We don't realize how often we are likely seeing a hawk of some breed as we travel about our own locale which isn't a surprise since I do see at least one nearly every day in the trees along my commute to or from work.
2022-115
The author - of course - gives some overview of the history of falconry as well as some of the distinctive terms while also telling of her fascination with these birds that even connected to their servants. You are not the primary player when dealing with a hawk, but in second place as a servant around only as long as you don't make a mistake. Cause if you make a mistake, you can easily be injured as the hawk will strike and some of their favorite spots is talon to the eyes to either blind or for the talon to pierce into the brain.
She was actually offered an apprenticeship with a friend who not only trained wild hawks but performed some rehabilitation after various injuries. But Sy - who admits her personal preference for vegetarianism was a temporary obstacle when dealing with feeding and training hawks (training to catch prey involves meaty pieces and eventually actual prey) - admits that a hawk would prioritize the easy dinner before going out to the forest to hunt. Namely, the "pet" chickens that roamed freely around her home. So no apprenticeship at this time. . . .
And the photos are gorgeous. We don't realize how often we are likely seeing a hawk of some breed as we travel about our own locale which isn't a surprise since I do see at least one nearly every day in the trees along my commute to or from work.
2022-115
Want to read
June 8, 2022“Our fellow animals teach us lessons about the delights of sameness and difference. They immerse us in wonder. They lead us to humility; they inspire us to reverence. They teach us the many facets of love.”
***************************
*The Hawk's Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty TBR
*The Octopus Scientists: Exploring the Mind of a Mollusk TBR
or the maybe better alternative:
Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousnessby Peter Godfrey-Smith
***************************
*The Hawk's Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty TBR
*The Octopus Scientists: Exploring the Mind of a Mollusk TBR
or the maybe better alternative:
Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousnessby Peter Godfrey-Smith
May 17, 2022
I consider myself an animal lover, but compared to me, Sy Montgomery is St. Francis of Assisi! She is amazing! Now, birds are no octopuses, and they don't hold the same place in my heart, but I have to admit that both the hawks and the Montgomerys were were fascinating creatures! This is a quick, one-sitting read, but it's a pure delight!
December 21, 2025
This is a book about the author trying on a few aspects of falconry. The book flows well and surrounds the experience of her falconry lessons/events but the narrative did not grip me enough.
May 18, 2022
My main takeaways were that hawks' eyeballs are heavier than their brains, and thus they are immensely stupid birds who operate primarily on instinct. Which made it a bit hard for me to understand the author's fascination with them. I also really don't understand the appeal of a creature that will try to rip your eyeballs out at the slightest provocation. I like my eyeballs right where they are, thanks.
September 28, 2025
Montgomery's writing manages to be at once incisive and enthusiastic, clever and grounded. This book didn't quite speak to me in the way that her other writing has done, but the writing itself and the topics conveyed here.. I think I'll need to come back to this one.
WIL
1) Lotta great info about hawks! I love learning from Sy!
2) Aday series of years in the life. I read because I want to know how others live, and this gave me so MUCH insight into a previously wholly unconsidered possibility of human life, i.e., a life centered on hawks. What a fascinating and unexpected story! The world of hawks! Who knew!
WIDL
1) Nothing; Sy, I love you, please keep doing exactly what you're doing: experiencing the world as you do and telling us about it.
NEUTRAL GROUND
1) Worldviews, Journalism Skills, and Worries About the Use of this Story: Sy's perspective makes a lot of sense to me. I just Get her worldview pretty immediately, when I more often have to make an effort to identify specific components of worldview similarities between myself and other authors. That is, where I make more of an effort to understand the perspective from which other writers write, I haven't done the same labor for Sy because I trust her so instinctively.
This, I think, is less to do with my worldview and more to do with Sy's superb writing technique. This has meant that my inclination is to read her work with a trust I more often reserve for those I already know well; I trust her implicitly because her writing *conveys* trust. This also means that anytime I come across something in her writing that seems to conflict with my own worldview, I'm forced to come to terms with the fact that I have placed a lot of trust in her, despite not knowing her exceptionally well or having good reason to do so.
This book made me grapple with that.
There's a reverence bestowed upon the hawks here, a reverence that I do think is due to the creatures, but that seems to characterize them in a way that I think does not serve humanity's storytelling canon at the moment. Sy emphasizes the, at once, fierce temperament and cold detachment of hawks and how this calculating nature makes them beautiful in their own way. Hawks truly are, in my limited experience and, clearly, in Sy's too, fierce yet detached and more beautiful for this uniquely majestic sort of demeanor. This assessment of their character is fair and valid. Fierce and beautiful indeed.
But.
What strikes me about this is the way Montgomery elevates this way of being onto a pedestal. This book is designed to honor these birds, and I think it's significant that the trait Sy has elected to honor is a fierce beauty. I understand why she did it, but philosophically, I struggle to agree with it as a human trait worth putting on a pedestal or otherwise aspiring towards/commenting on positively in writing.
Put more simply, I struggle with the idea of *wanting* fierce beauty as a human virtue. I struggle to find positive representations of it here in our societal structure. I can absolutely honor and respect that the hawk's way of being is a kind of fierce beauty, but I don't know that that's the lesson I want to take from the hawk here and now.
If we are story-ing the creatures, as Sy does, then I think the thing we should take from the hawk is something else. Maybe resource-mindfulness. Maybe peace in solitude. Maybe the honor of bonds with friends.
Fierce beauty is a virtue, but I worry that its representation here, in this kind of story, in this context, may make some people aspire towards it more than is right. The other virtues thus far extolled in this series (hummingbird: wonder, beauty, renewal, and chicken: socialization and connection) are difficult to overdo in societal structures at present. Fierce beauty is already so highly concentrated here and now, in my society; I worry about it being misinterpreted here as a virtue to pursue at the expense of others and thus becoming destructive.
Present society is one of extremes, and presenting this particular virtue in this particular way gives me pause.
I don't think this is something Sy is responsible for exactly, but I do wonder what this book is going to mean to people and for their sense of ideal virtues.
READING NOTES:
September 10, 2025 –
4.0% "Sy says Eros translates to modern (Wetsern) romantic love. That’s… not quite right. Sy does acknowledge its not exactly a perfect translation, but I think that doesn’t recognize the degree to which these concepts diverge. I think there’s a LOT More to be said on translating the “four” types of Greek love (6-8 is a better estimate imho, but I get why she went with 4), 1/2"
September 10, 2025 –
4.0% "but basically I just don’t love the misuse of Eros or the inaccurate “translation” of this concept I to modern western concepts of love. I don’t think that’s a fair or accurate translation."
September 10, 2025 –
4.0% "Ignore the typos please. ***western **into
Listen it’s late and I’m typing fast"
WIL
1) Lotta great info about hawks! I love learning from Sy!
2) A
WIDL
1) Nothing; Sy, I love you, please keep doing exactly what you're doing: experiencing the world as you do and telling us about it.
NEUTRAL GROUND
1) Worldviews, Journalism Skills, and Worries About the Use of this Story: Sy's perspective makes a lot of sense to me. I just Get her worldview pretty immediately, when I more often have to make an effort to identify specific components of worldview similarities between myself and other authors. That is, where I make more of an effort to understand the perspective from which other writers write, I haven't done the same labor for Sy because I trust her so instinctively.
This, I think, is less to do with my worldview and more to do with Sy's superb writing technique. This has meant that my inclination is to read her work with a trust I more often reserve for those I already know well; I trust her implicitly because her writing *conveys* trust. This also means that anytime I come across something in her writing that seems to conflict with my own worldview, I'm forced to come to terms with the fact that I have placed a lot of trust in her, despite not knowing her exceptionally well or having good reason to do so.
This book made me grapple with that.
There's a reverence bestowed upon the hawks here, a reverence that I do think is due to the creatures, but that seems to characterize them in a way that I think does not serve humanity's storytelling canon at the moment. Sy emphasizes the, at once, fierce temperament and cold detachment of hawks and how this calculating nature makes them beautiful in their own way. Hawks truly are, in my limited experience and, clearly, in Sy's too, fierce yet detached and more beautiful for this uniquely majestic sort of demeanor. This assessment of their character is fair and valid. Fierce and beautiful indeed.
But.
What strikes me about this is the way Montgomery elevates this way of being onto a pedestal. This book is designed to honor these birds, and I think it's significant that the trait Sy has elected to honor is a fierce beauty. I understand why she did it, but philosophically, I struggle to agree with it as a human trait worth putting on a pedestal or otherwise aspiring towards/commenting on positively in writing.
Put more simply, I struggle with the idea of *wanting* fierce beauty as a human virtue. I struggle to find positive representations of it here in our societal structure. I can absolutely honor and respect that the hawk's way of being is a kind of fierce beauty, but I don't know that that's the lesson I want to take from the hawk here and now.
If we are story-ing the creatures, as Sy does, then I think the thing we should take from the hawk is something else. Maybe resource-mindfulness. Maybe peace in solitude. Maybe the honor of bonds with friends.
Fierce beauty is a virtue, but I worry that its representation here, in this kind of story, in this context, may make some people aspire towards it more than is right. The other virtues thus far extolled in this series (hummingbird: wonder, beauty, renewal, and chicken: socialization and connection) are difficult to overdo in societal structures at present. Fierce beauty is already so highly concentrated here and now, in my society; I worry about it being misinterpreted here as a virtue to pursue at the expense of others and thus becoming destructive.
Present society is one of extremes, and presenting this particular virtue in this particular way gives me pause.
I don't think this is something Sy is responsible for exactly, but I do wonder what this book is going to mean to people and for their sense of ideal virtues.
READING NOTES:
September 10, 2025 –
4.0% "Sy says Eros translates to modern (Wetsern) romantic love. That’s… not quite right. Sy does acknowledge its not exactly a perfect translation, but I think that doesn’t recognize the degree to which these concepts diverge. I think there’s a LOT More to be said on translating the “four” types of Greek love (6-8 is a better estimate imho, but I get why she went with 4), 1/2"
September 10, 2025 –
4.0% "but basically I just don’t love the misuse of Eros or the inaccurate “translation” of this concept I to modern western concepts of love. I don’t think that’s a fair or accurate translation."
September 10, 2025 –
4.0% "Ignore the typos please. ***western **into
Listen it’s late and I’m typing fast"
December 18, 2025
Most of my Nature reading is about plants, fungi, and ecosystems, not animals, birds, or insects. As someone who does not provide my family's food as a hunter, "The Hawk's Way" was a challenging read in the sense that raptors are predators who consume what most would consider cute animals: small and baby birds, rabbits, etc. They are also highly sensitive and there are several mentions of violence against caretakers (intentional or not) in the book. Of Harris hawks, author Sy Montgomery writes, "Anger and frustration tend to be the emotions they most often show" (p. 48) and, "Without warning, the bird screamed at her and flew at her face with his talons... This attack made no sense to her" (p. 60). These are only a selection of such incidents in this short book.
That said, I respect the author's affinity with these birds and sharing their stories with the readers over the course of her learning and apprenticeship. In its essence, the book is a trubute to her teacher, Nancy Cowan.
For me, my rating was not based on content preference as much as storytelling. I would have liked this to be a story of falconers. It isn't mandatory that Nature stories center people, but there was something missing for me that made this book feel less than satisfactory as a reader.
Bonus: vivid color photos.
>> Read instead the excellent book, "Bird Brother: A Falconer's Journey and the Healing Power of Wildlife" by Rodney Stotts and Kate Pipkin. I read this book years ago and think of Mr. Stotts often (as well as following him on social media). This book has added depth because of Mr. Stotts' identity as a Black American man from a community that has little historical participation in the field. In short, I loved it.
Source: local library, physical book.
That said, I respect the author's affinity with these birds and sharing their stories with the readers over the course of her learning and apprenticeship. In its essence, the book is a trubute to her teacher, Nancy Cowan.
For me, my rating was not based on content preference as much as storytelling. I would have liked this to be a story of falconers. It isn't mandatory that Nature stories center people, but there was something missing for me that made this book feel less than satisfactory as a reader.
Bonus: vivid color photos.
>> Read instead the excellent book, "Bird Brother: A Falconer's Journey and the Healing Power of Wildlife" by Rodney Stotts and Kate Pipkin. I read this book years ago and think of Mr. Stotts often (as well as following him on social media). This book has added depth because of Mr. Stotts' identity as a Black American man from a community that has little historical participation in the field. In short, I loved it.
Source: local library, physical book.
April 18, 2022
“Hawks can teach us how to love like a god” SO grateful to NetGalley and the publisher who gave me the chance to read an advance copy of this in exchange for an honest review! Here it is!
This short novella is a meandering tale about Sy's love of Hawks, she shares the history and biological info about various species but for the most part, this is a book about her own experience loving these magical birds. (And they do seem kinda magical.)
The author's perspective on working and hunting with hawks, and training them by feeding them chunks of other birds while being a vegetarian was very interesting to me. The issue of loving animals enough to not want to eat them, but supporting them in eating one another is tricky to think about but I think her exploration of the issue does it justice and certainly doesn't take over the narrative. Overall this was a deeply respectful love letter to these birds, and a delight to read in just one sitting. It has certainly sparked my interest in hawks and I'll be looking for some further reading. I did find that there were some errors in my E-book, and several times I found myself stumbling over a sentence that was just a bit clunky, not what I expected after the lovely prose of Soul of an Octopus.
This short novella is a meandering tale about Sy's love of Hawks, she shares the history and biological info about various species but for the most part, this is a book about her own experience loving these magical birds. (And they do seem kinda magical.)
The author's perspective on working and hunting with hawks, and training them by feeding them chunks of other birds while being a vegetarian was very interesting to me. The issue of loving animals enough to not want to eat them, but supporting them in eating one another is tricky to think about but I think her exploration of the issue does it justice and certainly doesn't take over the narrative. Overall this was a deeply respectful love letter to these birds, and a delight to read in just one sitting. It has certainly sparked my interest in hawks and I'll be looking for some further reading. I did find that there were some errors in my E-book, and several times I found myself stumbling over a sentence that was just a bit clunky, not what I expected after the lovely prose of Soul of an Octopus.
December 14, 2024
This is the second chapter from Sy Montgomery's book Birdology that has been republished as it's own short book. I've always been fascinated by hawks and owls so I thought this would be an interesting book. I also love Montgomery's writing. But I didn't like this one much. While Hawk's are interesting and there are lots of hawk facts and photos in the book, the main focus is on falconry. I guess after reading about how wild and instinctual these birds are it just seems wrong to keep them in captivity for hunting. They could just be in the wild hunting for themselves. There was also a lot of weird commentary from Montgomery about her vegetarian reactions to the hawks hunting and training (using cut up frozen chicks). Like The Hummingbird's Gift and What the Chicken Knows it's a very quick read - like an hour or less. I still love watching hawks and other birds of prey but I didn't enjoy this book much.
One quote I liked:
[On thinking about taking up falconry] "My concern is this: Could I in good conscience take a bird out of the wild?" (p. 54)
One quote I liked:
[On thinking about taking up falconry] "My concern is this: Could I in good conscience take a bird out of the wild?" (p. 54)
March 1, 2024
First, I love that these little murder dinosaurs hate hats, haha.
Second, I enjoyed this quick read. I really liked The Soul of an Octopus so I was excited when I found out this book was by the same author (I had been browisng nonfiction books on sale on the Chirp website).
I really love Montgomery’s passion for all animal life, and our relationships with them; I will definitely be looking forward to listening to The Hummingbirds' Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal on Wings some time.
Second, I enjoyed this quick read. I really liked The Soul of an Octopus so I was excited when I found out this book was by the same author (I had been browisng nonfiction books on sale on the Chirp website).
I really love Montgomery’s passion for all animal life, and our relationships with them; I will definitely be looking forward to listening to The Hummingbirds' Gift: Wonder, Beauty, and Renewal on Wings some time.
December 21, 2023
This book was an interesting insight to the unique practice of falconry and encounters between hawks, humans, and other animals. Whatever you may feel about falconry, if you want to learn more about raptors, this book has some unique perspectives. It was interesting to read Montgomery’s perspective on the activity, having to weigh out lifestyle choices versus her passion for these birds of prey. This book wasn’t written to be a page-turning, edge of your seat read, but just a naturalist’s field journal of falconry experiences with a few photos of some of the birds she worked with.
February 26, 2024
Hawks are everywhere in the Pacific Northwest and a sight to behold. Imagine a creature so powerful that it regards human beings as junior hunting partners. I consider Hawks to be an omen of glad tidings and an insouciant face of God. Every time I spot a Hawk in a tree or on a wire, casting a glance in my direction, I feel a touch of awe. Sy Montgomery’s exquisite writing adds drama and dimension to the Hawk’s Way: “Hunt hard. Kill Swiftly. Waste Nothing. Offer no apologies.”
April 3, 2025
A quick read, but it helped expand my knowledge of the personality and behavior of hawks! There are several red-tailed hawks that I see almost on a daily basis, but they've never attacked my neighbor's chickens, and I've been seeing more rabbits around lately. This book helped me begin to understand why they might not go for this particular prey (Competitors? Different food source?), and help ease my mind to how to start a small farm and keep the animals safe from overhead predators.
April 27, 2025
This was a surprising, informative narrative about falconry. Surprising because I don’t even know how this book got on my radar and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Unlike H is for Hawk, it is not a deeply personal memoir, it is more of a short story of the author’s introduction and fascination with falconry. Our family has more than a couple members who have a budding interest in birds of prey and I expect they’ll enjoy this short read as well.
July 5, 2022
Brief, intense in Sy Montgomery's way. I think a more apt title is The Human Way with Hawks, and it doesn't come across as mutually beneficial. Montgomery and the falconer she works with are clear that no positive bond develops between raptor and bird; contempt may be the usual attitude of the hawks to the humans. So let them go, I felt when I finished. Let them go live the hawk's way.
February 12, 2024
I've always wanted to learn more about hawks and raptors. In this lovely little book, Sy Montgomery brings you along for a ride into the world of the hawk and falconry along with falconer Nancy Cowan.
I stand in awe at a very safe distance. I appreciate my hawk neighbors even more. I love that they wild hunt right out my back door.
I stand in awe at a very safe distance. I appreciate my hawk neighbors even more. I love that they wild hunt right out my back door.
January 25, 2025
This is short, interesting audiobook on Sy Montgomery’s on her education in the world of the hawk. It is merely a glimpse into this fascinating world and the training she received. H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald is a masterpiece and highly recommended. Sy Montgomery is the narrator and does a very good job.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews