Birds - Habitats & Behaviors, Birds, Birds - Birds of Prey

Hawk Highway in the Sky : Watching Raptor Migration

Name: Hawk Highway in the Sky : Watching Raptor Migration
Author: Caroline Arnold, Robert Kruidenier
ISBN: 9780152008680

by Caroline Arnold, Robert Kruidenier

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Overview

Millions of hawks, eagles, and falcons throughout the world migrate each year between their winter and summer homes. Through breathtaking photographs and clear, engaging text, readers get a close-up look at these extraordinary birds of prey at a trapping and banding station in the Goshute Mountains of eastern Nevada.

Provides information about hawks, eagles, and falcons and efforts to study them, especially the HawkWatch International Raptor Migration Project in the Goshute Mountains in Nevada.

About the Author, Caroline Arnold, Robert Kruidenier

Caroline Arnold always loved books, but as a child she never thought of writing as a career. Born in Pittsburgh, she grew up in Minneapolis and studied art at Grinnell College and the University of Iowa. "It was only after my children were born that I became acquainted with children's books and it occurred to me that I could use my training to become a children's book illustrator. I soon realized that I needed a text to go with the pictures, and the more I wrote, the more I realized that I liked writing as much as or more than drawing. I've always been fascinated by the natural world and love to go to the parks and museums. Perhaps that is why so many of my books are about scientific topics." Arnold is now the award-winning author of more than 100 books for children. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, a neuroscientist, and teaches writing at UCLA Extension. For more information visit www.carolinearnoldbooks.com.

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Editorials

Children's Literature - Mary Freeman

Hawks, eagles and falcons are just three of the types of raptors brought to life in sharp photographic detail in this book about a raptor migration project in the Goshute Mountains of Nevada. Scientists there have been studying the birds because they are at the top of the food chain and therefore reflect the general health of the ecosystem. Raptors like to migrate along mountain ridges because the updrafts help them conserve energy. Thus there are certain areas of the world where one may see them in large numbers. The photos offer close-up views of the netting, banding, measuring and tracking procedures that help scientists learn more about these regal birds.

School Library Journal

Gr 4 UpThis short, informative book details the habits and migration patterns of various raptors and shows, in clear, full-color photos, the capture, measurement, and banding processes used at the HawkWatch International observation site in the Goshute Mountains of Nevadathe busiest raptor trapping and banding location in western North American. Although the book's focus is on migration habits and the capture and tracking of birds, Arnold has included enough information about the classification of hawks, physical characteristics, and habits of raptors to make this title a good source for reports. Children who are fascinated with birds of prey will be drawn to the many outstanding close-up photos. A thorough index makes locating information easy despite the lack of chapters or headings in the report-style text. A list of raptors organized by family and class, and a map showing some of the migration observation sites in North America, add to the usefulness. An attractive and interesting presentation.Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

Kirkus Reviews

Each fall and spring scientists and volunteers from HawkWatch International gather at Goshute Mountain, Nevada, to count the thousands of raptors that fly overhead on their annual migratory journey. Arnold (Stone Age Farmers Beside the Sea, p. 296, etc.) describes how scientists classify the various raptors, investigate why and how they migrate, and study and measure birds. At Goshute Mountain, over 10,000 hawks, eagles, kites, harriers, osprey, falcons, and caracaras are counted annually, and nearly 4,000 are trapped, banded, and released. Full-color photographs provide dramatic close-ups of these magnificent birds, although sensitive readers may find it somewhat disconcerting to see so many of these free-flyers in the grasp of well-meaning volunteers. Arnold concludes with a list of the 31 different species of raptors found in North America and a map. Without size and range information for species, silhouettes, or comparison drawings done to scale, it's difficult to gauge the size of these birds; further, readers will have to know if a bird is a hawk or a falcon in order to locate a species in the brief index. An attractive though specialized volume.