Swainson's Hawks Over Borrego Valley 2009

Books on Hawkwatching

I have been asked about the best hawk identification books. Two that I use frequently. are Raptors of Western North America by Brian K. Wheeler (Princeton University Press, 2003), and Hawks from Every Angle: How to Identify Raptors in Flight, by Jeffrey Ligouri with a foreward by David A. Sibley (Princeton University Press, 2005).

Continuing about books for hawkwatching: I would be remiss If I didn't mention a few other books about hawks. Hawks in Flight by Pete Dunne, David Sibley and Clay Sutton, is an excellent book with discussion and comparison as well as drawings and photo's. North American Raptors by Brian K Wheeler & William S Clark has some wonderful photo's and descriptions.

For those out there that want to understand, Flight Strategies of Migrating Hawks, Paul Kerlinger has a complete detailed description, however a bit technical for beginners.