Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park (Vintage Departures)

by Marie Winn

Book Overview

Marie Winn is our guide into a secret world - a wilderness in the heart of New York's Central Park. At its heart is the story of the Fifth Avenue hawks. Pale Male, a remarkable young red-tailed hawk... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679758461
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

Purchased this book in protest against Pale Male's eviction

As a New Yorker, I hadn't really paid much attention to Pale Male before this unfortunate state of affairs. There was something shockingly callous and arrogant in the way the board of 927 Fifth Avenue destroyed this magnificent bird's home. I hope the hawks will eventually get their nest back. I would like to find out more about this star's history and family. My whole family is now crazy about him and Lola. Hail Pale Male!

Enchanting

As I write this at the very end of 2004, a red-tailed hawk drama has hit the press: The nest of a minor celebrity, Pale Male, the hero of the non-fictional "Red Tails in Love," had his nest summarily and probably illegally removed from the tony 5th Avenue address where he has nested for many a year. I happened to be in the middle of this divinely wonderful book when the news hit the airwaves, and I took it hard. Marie Winn, the ornithology (for lack of a more romantic word) columnist for The Wall Street Journal, wrote this lovely account of a band of birdwatchers who discover nesting raptors right across from Central Park in 1998. This was before 9/11 by a few years, and it has that wonderful innocence we all felt about life before the attacks. The story concerns a red-tailed male hawk, dubbed "Pale Male" by the birdwatchers because of his unusually pale coloring, and his various mates and fledglings who live and breed in the most exclusive of addresses: New York's Upper East Side. We get to know the birds, their babies, their nesting triumphs and tragedies. We learn about the phenomenally prolific wildlife in Central Park, from birds to turtles to raccoons to dragonflies to butterflies to edible plants. We learn to know and love the dedicated band of independent souls who track these wonders of nature from season to season, year to year. I hope that all will go well with Pale Male this year. And I hope that anybody who has any doubt about the beauty of the human spirit and the creatures who inhabit the earth with us will read this simply wonderful book!

Fun story of birds and people in the park

I really enjoyed this book. It is lively and descriptive, and I believe it would be interesting to anyone who opened her mind while she opened the cover. I happen to find birds beautiful but the story is of greater scope than that, appealing in its description of the breadth of wildlife in the middle of NYC, and for the depth of the story of the birds so many people came to care about. I give this book four stars because I didn't find the writing to be impeccable, but still found it clear and the plots compelling. A few weeks ago while visiting NYC I looked for the birds, the building, and the birders, who seem like such dynamic people in Ms. Winn's stories.

Marie Winn Makes Bird-Watching Irresistible.

"Red-Tails In Love" is more than a story of migrant red-tail hawks raising a family in the middle of Manhattan. It's the most inspiring piece of writing about birding that I've ever read. This book would entice anyone to break out the binoculars and head outdoors to meet the avian neighbors. Author Marie Winn, who also writes a nature column for the Wall Street Journal, tells the tale of her birding colleagues, a group of regular bird watchers in New York's Central Park, and their obsession over the course of a few years with a pair of red-tailed hawks' attempts to breed in the midst of America's largest urban jungle. The drama repeats itself every year as the hawks try to cope with threats from humans and birds alike in order to raise broods of young red-tails in their 5th Avenue nest -ensconced in some of Manhattan's most prestigious real estate, no less. The most incredible part of the story is the rehabilitation of several injured female red-tails, who make their way back to Central Park and annually provide the birdwatchers with a new mystery to solve as to the identity of Pale Male's mate. Interspersed with the adventures of the hawks and hawk-watchers are other stories of bird-watching in the Park, including unusual sightings, some near-disasters with the city's Parks Department, and introductions to some very knowledgeable, and occasionally colorful, birders. In the last section of the book, entitled "A Wildlife Almanac", you will find guides to "Birds Through the Year in Central Park", "Butterflies of Central Park", "Migrating Hawks Over Central Park", "A Taste or Two Along the Way" (edible plants), and a map of the park. The guides are written by some of the Park's birding "Regulars" who are experts in those subjects, and contain information on where and when to find the species mentioned. If you live in New York City or are planning an extended visit, you may find this section of the book extremely useful. And to think that when I lived in New York City, it never occurred to me to go bird-watching in Central Park. If I ever return there, I won't make that mistake again. "Red-Tails In Love" is a very readable story of birds who thrive in an urban environment and the humans who are fascinated by them. It's a real page-turner...and a cure for anyone who ever thought birds were boring. The best thing about this book is that makes bird-watching irresistible.

Terrific! Well-written about hawks,humans and Central Park

Ms Winn presents the story of red-tailed hawks that appeared in New York City and their unlikely selection of a posh condo building to locate their nest. She does a tremendous job of weaving birds, birders, and others who played key parts in putting this story together. This is not a book just for serious birdwatchers; I keep an eye on my birdfeeders, but have no great interest in doing more than watching. The book does address the adaptability of wildlife to urban areas (nesting in skyscapers, dining on pigeons and rats) with the availability of parkland nearby. Red-Tails in Love is quite readable, with brief encounters with the likes of Woody Allen, Mary Tyler Moore, and an astronomer key in the vital process of reading bird bands from afar. The book would be an excellent choice for anyone who wants a good read, nonfiction, with an element of suspence and lots of humor.