Just in Time

 

 

My Crossley ID Guide: Raptors

by Richard Crossley, Jerry Liguori & Brian Sullivan



 

arrived just in time for spring migration.

 

Last year, much to my delight and surprise,

I was able to observe a partial migration

right from my daughter's backyard.

 

The sky was full and my eyes were glued

and my neck was sore,

and I have lots of faraway pictures of...

hawks.

("See that dot?  It's a hawk.")

 

To this day, raptors remain my nemesis bird,

despite all of the hawk books I have acquired,

perhaps because of the infrequency of seeing them.

Other difficult birds are easier to study,

gulls,

sparrows...

 

Jerry Liguori, I knew I loved you when you released

Hawks from Every Angle and Hawks at a Distance,

but your decision to collaborate with Richard and Brian

put you at the tippety top of my list, in a tie with  Pete Dunne!

 

As soon as you open the cover of this newest Crossley ID Guide

you know you've struck gold.

 

 

The composite pictures are big, bold, and beautiful.

Every habitat known to raptors is covered,

different times of day are featured, .

maps and 'detailed species accounts' are included.

 

 

Hawks are tough, they fly so high,

they change shape in the sky,

they change color in the lighting,

but nothing is left to the imagination anymore.

This guide shows just what you'll often encounter in the field,

using Crossley's famous digital photographic montages .

It's all right here at your fingertips.

 

 

"The book also includes several "quiz" plates.

These plates have numbered birds without ID labels,

with discussion points and the answers given in the back."

(http://blog.aba.org/2013/03/crossley-does-raptors.html)

 

Did you know there are

34 North American diurnal raptor species,

not including owls?

 

If you haven't picked up your copy yet,

there's still time! 

Scheduled for release in April,

your order from Buteo Books helps support the ABA!

 

There's a mountaintop in Maine just calling my name.

And this year, I'll have my new guide at the ready!!

It isn't even too big to carry

(once in awhile!).