Alongside Rodney\u2019s personal journey, the book also provides insights into what falconry involves, and what\u2019s required of falconers, such as the strict rules in place regarding catching, housing and looking after birds. With the exception of a couple of individuals, Rodney\u2019s birds are wild ones: caught as juveniles, flown and hunted for a couple of years, and then released back into the wild as adults.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an emotional and moving read, with losses and difficulties throughout, but also full of hope and the importance of connections with nature.<\/p>\n
- Pre-order now (or buy on Kindle)<\/strong> from\u00a0Amazon<\/a>,\u00a0Bookshop<\/a>,\u00a0Hive<\/a>,\u00a0Waterstones<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
![\""Bird\"]( "\\"\"Bird\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nRead our interview with Rodney Stotts:<\/h2>\n
Why do birds of prey fascinate you?<\/h3>\n
Ever since I was a kid, birds of prey amazed me. Once I was old enough, I used to hook school and take the subway and bus to the zoo to see the raptors. Raptors, vultures, eagles \u2014 they were so fierce with their sharp killer talons. The birds of prey were also feared and misunderstood, just like I was. Actually I like all animals and birds, but I\u2019m drawn to raptors because I like to hunt them. I guess you could say I\u2019m an animal junkie. With birds of prey, you really have to earn their trust and respect them. Once they accept you, it\u2019s easier to work with them and eventually hunt them.<\/p>\n
![\""Rodney\"]( "\\"\"Agnes,\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Agnes, a harris hawk, hunts a mouse from the hand of Rodney Stotts at the Wings Over America raptor sanctuary in Maryland in 2016. Stotts will take the birds out on hunts and either rustle animals out of the bushes or feed the raptors by hand. \u00a9 Greg Kahn<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n What prompted the shift from drug dealing to working with nature?<\/h3>\n
It didn\u2019t happen overnight. It was mostly just a shift into trying to do something better, something that made a difference\u00a0\u2013 a positive difference. At first, working to clean up the Anacostia River was just a job for me. Working with nature gave me time to think, and the more I thought, the more\u00a0I wanted to start turning my life around. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. As I tell the young people I work with: sometimes you have to get out of your\u00a0own damn way.<\/p>\n
What was it like working on clearing the trash from the Anacostia River?<\/h3>\n
At first, working to clean up the Anacostia River was just a job for me. I needed money and this particular job was outside so I figured it would work for me. In those days, the Anacostia was like this mysterious, moving creature. It was a dumping ground for all sorts of trash and even the occasional murder victim. The other young workers and I started pulling tires, bikes, plastic bottles, mattresses, and other debris out of the Lower Beaverdam Creek\u2014a tributary of the Anacostia River.<\/p>\n
In the first three months, we hauled more than 5,000 car tires out of the river and ended up filling close to twenty huge dumpsters with trash. Except for a few little minnows and crawfish, no life was visible. We didn\u2019t even see any small birds, like robins or sparrows.<\/p>\n
One day, several weeks in, we were still pulling stuff out of the river when a great blue heron<\/a> landed nearby. We couldn\u2019t believe it. The heron had found a space with no trash and liked it. After just a few months, we could see the bottom of the tributary and the water starting to flow. Seeing wildlife return to a place that had once belonged to them started to change me, and it inspired me to want to do more.<\/p>
How did you transition from clearing rubbish on the Anacostia River to becoming a falconer?<\/h3>\n
After working on the Anacostia, the group\u00a0I was working with \u2013 Earth Conservation Corps \u2013 started sheltering injured raptors, such as hawks and owls. The birds we took in were too injured to be returned to nature so we used them to teach kids about birds of prey and conservation.<\/p>\n
After a few years of that work though, I wanted to do more, and I wondered what the next step would be. What if we could get birds of prey before they got injured, help them through their first year of life (when they are most at risk of getting hit by trucks or cars or snared in electrical wires) and then release them? That\u2019s what falconry is about. And to\u00a0me that was similar to working with young people at risk: if you can help through\u00a0the early danger zones, they have a better chance of living full lives.<\/p>\n
How did you feel when your son said he wanted to become a falconer too?<\/h3>\n
I remember the day Mike called me and said he wanted to be a falconer. I was so proud because he told me he wanted to follow my example. Yeah, that made me proud. I always knew that someday Mike would follow in my falconer footsteps \u2014 I just didn\u2019t know when. Even when he was little, I would see him watching birds with the same intent curiosity that I had.<\/p>\n
I know Mike is proud of me, of the man I have become. I can hear it in his voice. But everything was different 15 years ago. Mike was only eight when I got locked up on drug possession charges. He told me later how he cried when one day I was just suddenly gone. He had seen other men in the neighbourhood and his friends\u2019 fathers get locked up and never return. Those memories are painful for me, but they are in the past, and I\u2019m all about moving forward.<\/p>\n
How does it feel when you release your birds back into the wild?<\/h3>\n
It feels great when I\u2019ve trapped a raptor, cared for it, and then set it free. By law,\u00a0if you accidentally trap an adult bird of prey, you need to release it immediately. Falconers can only trap juvenile birds. And you cannot release a raptor that is injured or is not native to your area.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, before I release a raptor, I ask people to send me intentions, and then I\u2019ll have a small ceremony where I read everyone\u2019s intentions and then release the bird, sending it and the intentions or prayers up into the sky.<\/p>\n
Why did you set up Rodney\u2019s Raptors?<\/h3>\n
I created Rodney\u2019s Raptors because I want to give people \u2014 especially young people \u2014 the experience I have almost every day: being up close and personal with nature, animals and birds of prey. Immersing myself in the natural world made me want to change who I was as a man, and what makes me happy is when I see the same thing happen to others.<\/p>\n
Couldn’t imagine doing anything else #RodneysRaptors<\/a> #DippysDream<\/a> #BigChuck<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/tGrOBIqypc<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Rodney Stotts (@RodneyStotts1) September 26, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>
![\""Bird\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/02\/Bird-Brother-book-cover-e17aab3.jpg?quality=90&resize=275%2C413"\" "\\"\"Bird\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n![\""Rodney\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/02\/Rodney-Stotts-with-Agnes-a-harrier-hawk.-Greg-Kahn-e2e2ae2.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C414"\" "\\"\"Agnes,\\"")
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