Bird Brother

A Falconer's Journey and the Healing Power of Wildlife
Rodney Stotts' incredible journey to become a master falconer shows the power and possibilities of nature and the humanspirit.
To escape the tough streets of Southeast Washington, D.C. in the late 1980s, young Rodney Stotts would ride the metro tothe Smithsonian National Zoo. There, the bald eagles and other birds of prey captured his imagination for the first time.In Bird Brother, Rodney shares his unlikely journey to becoming a conservationist and one of America’s few Black masterfalconers.Rodney grew up during the crack epidemic, with guns, drugs, and the threat of incarceration an accepted part of dailylife for nearly everyone he knew. To rent his own apartment, he needed a paycheck - something the money from dealingdrugs didn’t provide. For that, he took a position in 1992 with a new non-profit, the Earth Conservation Corps. Gradually,Rodney fell in love with the work to restore and conserve the polluted Anacostia River that flows through D.C. Asconditions along the river improved, he helped to reintroduce bald eagles to the region and befriended an injuredEurasian Eagle Owl named Mr. Hoots, the first of many birds whose respect he would work hard to earn.Bird Brother is a story about pursuing dreams against all odds, and the importance of second chances. Rodney’s life wasnearly upended when he was arrested on drug charges in 2002. The jail sentence sharpened his resolve to get out of thehustling life. With the fierceness of the raptors he had admired for so long, he began to train to become a master falconerand to develop his own raptor education programme and sanctuary. Rodney’s son Mike, a D.C. firefighter, has also begunhis journey to being a master falconer, with his own kids cheering him along the way.Eye-opening, witty, and moving, Bird Brother is a love letter to the raptors and humans who transformed what Rodneythought his life could be. It is an unflinching look at the uphill battle Black children face in pursuing stable, fulfilling lives, a testament to the healing power of nature, and a reminder that no matter how much heartbreak we’ve endured, we stillhave the capacity to give back to our communities and follow our wildest dreams.

Contributor: Kate Pipkin (Contributions by)

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