By Marie Winn

Red Tails in Love is about two red-tailed hawks who make a next and raise their young on a ledge on an apartment building across the street from Central Park in New York City.

For most readers, this is a compelling, engaging book, and a fascinating look at how birds affect humans and humans affect birds. Unless, that is, you are a serious birder, in which case the prose may be a bit precious and the language quite dated. And, for some, the author is way too kind to Woody Allen (even in the updated version) and Winn’s history of Central Park doesn’t adequately acknowledge the “first residents.”

All of which probably means this will be a lovely and likable summer read for all of us. Who is so hard-hearted not to love a love story?

Here is David Sibley’s illustration of red tail hawks’ nesting habits from his book “What It’s Like to Be a Bird” (click on the image to see it full-sized).