H is 4 Hawk & Unexpected Meeting compared

'The harbour at Punta del Este was small ...'' AND ''We'll check the ring numbers against the Article 10s,"'

An Unexpected Meeting opens with a description of the harbour and 'sets the scene' for the meeting, whereas H is For Hawk starts in media res (in the middle of the story) with the two people about to open the box containing the first bird.

'But how would I approach this filthy and aggressive bird? '' AND 'a sort of madwoman in the attack'

in both texts birds are described as being fierce and aggressive as they feel threatened.

'Possibly I needed to understand just how appalling the event was - the extent of the damage. '' AND 'I didn't recognise her. This isn't my hawk.'

An Unexpected Meeting includes the writer's feelings about pollution and a world that allows it but H is For Hawk just focuses on her rejection of one hawk & love of the other.

'I could only wonder what future lay ahead for any 'civilisation' that could tolerate, let alone carry out, such desecration. '' AND 'His eyebrows were raised. I started again, saying stupider things: 'I'm sure the other falconer would like the larger bird?"'

An Unexpected Meeting shows a perspective on the tragedy of Man's interaction with nature whereas H is For Hawk makes us see the comedy of the writer's interactions with nature (the petty choosing of the 'right' hawk).

'I watched...Could I walk...I decided that I could not; I had to ...'' AND 'We noted the numbers. We stared down at the boxes...'

both texts are written in the first person, allowing the reader to understand the writers' feelings and experience events with them but Hawk is often plural and Meeting always singular.

'I had only been strolling along the seashore for ten, maybe fifteen minutes when I caught sight of the first of them ...'' AND ''Don't want you going home with the wrong bird.''

both texts describe meeting a bird/birds for the first time but An Unexpected Meeting is by chance and H is For Hawk is a planned meeting.

'I was apprehensive about hurting it or scaring it to death and I was trying to ensure it didn't suffer at my hands, but I was also concerned about my own well-being '' AND 'There was a moment of total silence.'

both texts end with some element of uncertainty but the sense of drama and suspense is stronger in H is For Hawk.

'this little haven of security basked serenely in the bright winter sunlight...' ' AND 'he explained, pulling a sheaf of yellow paper from his rucksack and unfolding two of the official forms...'

both texts have a calm opening tone which changes as the passage progresses.

'Now, gladiator-like, I approached my quarry which, sensing the renewed threat, immediately reared up to its full height...'' AND 'The last few seconds before a battle.'

both texts include a sense of a 'battle' between the writer and bird.

'Could I walk on and abandon it to the poisonous oil and the exhausting, suffocating tar that would slowly extinguish its life? '' AND 'This hawk had been hatched in an incubator...and for the first few days of her life this man had fed her with scraps of meat held in a pair of tweezers...'

both writers are going to be looking after a bird in response to a tragic event: in An Unexpected Meeting the writer responds to an immediate crisis and in H is For Hawk the writer responds to bereavement.

'Was I wrong? Were they alive after all? '' AND 'I knew what I had to say, and it was a monstrous breach of etiquette.'

both writers describe some doubt about what they intend to do but some may consider the feelings of the writer of H is For Hawk to be more intense.

'The sight was so dreadful, so sickening and depressing... It was extraordinary!'' AND 'My heart jumps sideways...Slow panic.'

both writers describe their feelings in the passages: in An Unexpected Meeting it is a range of horror, anger and hope and in H is For Hawk it is anticipation, amazement, horror, panic and desperation.

'One valiant bird was alive; a single surviving soul struggling amid all that death...'' AND 'Looking at me he must have sensed that my stuttered request wasn't a simple one. That there was something behind it that was very important...'

each text describes a significant moment in the life of the writer because of a feeling this one bird was so special.

'Hurriedly, I gathered some flotsam and jetsam that I thought might be of assistance. '' AND 'He gathered up the hawk in one practised movement, folding her wings, anchoring her broad feathered back against his chest, gripping her scaled yellow legs in one hand...'

human interaction with birds is different in the two texts: hawks have traditionally been trained by their keepers to hunt so her handler's an expert but it is unusual for humans to have direct contact with a penguin so the rescue is improvised.