The Hawk's Way

Encounters with Fierce Beauty

By: Sy Montgomery

Narrated by: Sy Montgomery

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.

Critic reviews

"Sy Montgomery does a solid job delivering this work, which combines her personal experience with biological information about birds and historical information about falconry. She makes clear that the birds, despite having been named, are fierce predators, not pets. Her pacing is good, making listening easy and understandable."

Anticlimactic

Lots of good information about falconry but it was hard to relate to the author. She loves hawks but not enough to take on an apprenticeship? Anticlimactic

Excellent Sy Montgomery Intro

This book is fantastic, but it feels like a primer. It is somehow both totally engrossing, and too brief. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but prefer her more in depth books.

a joy

As a mother of a falconer this book resonated deep in my soul. My home transformed when hawks and micro falcons became frequent guests in the kitchen and livingroom. Dead quail thawing on the top of the fridge, bags of day old chicks in my freezer, and the occasional hawk poop on my piano. I loved the way Sy described her own education and experience of which before was unknown to her; the hunt, hunter & hunted. Wonderful author and narrator.

Great book, great start at understanding falconry

Nice book on falconry, catching the essence of this very ancient sport. I accompanied a NC falconer who had a pair of Harris hawks and a red tailed hawk. They, birds are clearly in charge. I don’t know that Montgomery mentioned— or maybe she did and I didn’t catch it — that an important point is to distract the bird from its prey ASAP and not to all it to eat. Keeping the bird hungry keeps it around and you can get it frozen/ defrosted chicken hearts to temporarily distract/ feed it with a snack. What is good too, is the book can be enough in itself or lead you to lengthier works on this fascinating subject.

An interesting tale, but needs direction.

This book tried to trod upon many narrative avenues at once and never settled into it's purpose.

This is one part autobiographical and tribute to her experiences with a woman who acted as mentor on her journey. She talks of coming to terms as a vegetarian with the nature of Hawks as hunters.

It's one part philosophical, discussing the natures and personalities of several Hawks and their relationship as a species with humanity.

It's one part historical/scientific with interludes into the terminology and biology (to a limited extent) of the birds.

Any one of these may have been interesting to pursue in far more depth than this book in its entirety. Instead the combination feels lacking. None of the various threads of potential materialize into a main plot for the piece. She's not a falconer, having never taken up the apprenticeship offer. She's still a vegetarian who gets squeamish, however briefly, in the final chapter when she goes on a hunt. There isn't enough detail to be considered a science of hawks piece.

To the positive, the author reads with clarity and good emotion. Descriptions are vivid and detailed. It's an easy listen and provides some interesting perspective to contemplate. If you're the type who enjoys travelogue or "day in the life" genre books, you will likely enjoy this more than I.