The Hawk's Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-20 06:19:41
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Sy Montgomery
- ISBN：1668001969
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Summary
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。
Reviews
Sue Goldberg
，
With raptor enthusiasts in the family， I couldn't resist this book。 After reading and loving "Soul of an Octopus，" I also couldn't resist this author！ Sy Montgomery， through her heart， soul， and beautiful writing， transports the reader into the often perplexing mind of the hawk。 It is clear these birds touch her deeply。 I only wish the book had been longer！ With raptor enthusiasts in the family， I couldn't resist this book。 After reading and loving "Soul of an Octopus，" I also couldn't resist this author！ Sy Montgomery， through her heart， soul， and beautiful writing， transports the reader into the often perplexing mind of the hawk。 It is clear these birds touch her deeply。 I only wish the book had been longer！ 。。。more
Ruby
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“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 hawk “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。 。。。more
Jessica
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This is a section from Sy Montegomery's book Birdology with an updated intro。 To be fully honest， I have read almost every book from Sy Montegomery ever since reading Soul of an Octopus - I love the author's writing voice and passion。 While writing about a predatory bird while being a vegetarian could make the book feel awkward， it instead illustrates the ways the animals cannot be forced into human contexts and morality。 This is a great short book that is a glimpse into falconry and hawks in ge This is a section from Sy Montegomery's book Birdology with an updated intro。 To be fully honest， I have read almost every book from Sy Montegomery ever since reading Soul of an Octopus - I love the author's writing voice and passion。 While writing about a predatory bird while being a vegetarian could make the book feel awkward， it instead illustrates the ways the animals cannot be forced into human contexts and morality。 This is a great short book that is a glimpse into falconry and hawks in general。 While I have read it before I still enjoyed the writing， and thoughtful treatment of these fascinating， but alien animals。 This is a great short story for those who think they might not like non-fiction， and for any animal lovers to learn more about hawks and falconry from one of the best animal writers。 It also reminds me and makes me want to read H is for Hawk to compare falconry/hawk writing。 。。。more
Sacha Yanulavich
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liberal white woman vegans are the most unintentionally hilarious people alive
Sharyn Berg
，
There is no doubt that Sy Montgomery has a way with animals of every kind。 I learned a lot about hawks， and falconry， that I really had no clue about whatsoever。 Told through her own personal experiences， this short， easy read of a book was educational and eye opening and I am glad that I read it。 Thanks to NetGalley for the advance read copy。
Julie Stielstra
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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 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 * 。。。more
Rachel
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