Nature Done Wright

   Since 2006, photographer Kevin Watson and I have been working on "Hawk Mountain," a coffee-table book to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the world's first sanctuary for birds of prey.  

    We expect the book to be available from Camino Books — the folks who published In the Presence of Nature, aka The Celery Farm Book — later this summer.

   Click "Continuing reading…"  for some of the advance buzz for the book from Pete Dunne, Clay and Pat Sutton, Lee Schisler and Peter Stangel.

    “With Hawk Mountain, Jim Wright and Kevin Watson weave an intricate
tapestry that captures in pictures the essence of Hawk Mountain
Sanctuary and what attracts people to this famous ridge: soaring hawks,
jaw-dropping views, diverse people, and a commitment to conservation.”

                                                  –– Lee Schisler, Jr.
                                                      Hawk Mountain Sanctuary President

A
special treatment of a very magical place.  As one who has enjoyed the
Mountain at every season, I can tell you that Jim Wright's account
loses nothing in translation. 
     It's all here:  the courage of Maurice Broun, the poignant insights of
Jim Brett, the living history, the golden October days captured in the
amber of our minds…all of the things that make Hawk Mountain Hawk
Mountain.
     It may have started as the world's first raptor sanctuary.  But its greatest legacy might be a sanctuary for the human soul.
                                     –Pete Dunne, New Jersey Audubon Society,
                                        co-author of Hawks in Flight

    The creation of the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary helped turn the tide of
the bird conservation movement. Hawk Mountain, by Jim Wright and Kevin
Watson, captures the early drama that pitted shooters against
protectors and illustrates just how important a few committed people
can be in changing minds and hearts.
    I hope Wright's words and Watson's photography energize a new generation of conservationists.
                                     –Peter Stangel
                                        National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

     For
75 years, many have marveled that one place, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary,
can so embody and embrace raptors and raptor conservation.  Just as
amazing is that now one book can so capture the Hawk Mountain
experience.
 True to the Mountain’s spirit and hallowed roots, yet equally aware of
its exciting 21st century role, Hawk Mountain is the literary
equivalent of a brisk autumn hike on the Sanctuary’s trails and a
visual treat as soothing as the view from the North Lookout. It is a
worthy 75th anniversary tribute.
                                        –Clay and Pat Sutton
                                            authors of How to Spot Hawks and Eagles