New Rodney Stotts with Kate Pipkin
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 human spirit.
Biography & Autobiography/ Environmentalists & Naturalists February 2022 Hardcover $26.00 978-1-64283-174-0 Ebook: $25.99 978-1-64283-175-7 232 pages. 6 x 9 | 25 black and white photos Island Press Trade
In Bird Brother, Rodney Stotts shares his unlikely journey to becoming a conservationist and one of America’s few Black master falconers. Rodney grew up in Washington, D.C. during the crack epidemic, with guns, drugs, and the threat of incarceration affecting the lives of everyone he knew. He was no exception, but he was also employed by the newly founded Earth Conservation Corps, helping to restore and conserve the polluted Anacostia River. This work eventually sent his life in a different direction, as he began to train to become a master falconer and to develop his own raptor education program and sanctuary. Eye-opening, witty, and moving, Bird Brother is a testament to the healing power of nature, and a reminder that no matter how much heartbreak we’ve endured, we still have the capacity to give back to our communities and follow our dreams.
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The Bird-Friendly City Timothy Beatley
Urban Raptors Edited by Clint W. Boal and Cheryl R. Dykstra
Raised in Southeast Washington, D.C., Rodney Stotts has achieved the highest level of master falconer. Stotts is an educator and the founder and director of a successful educational nonprofit called Rodney’s Raptors. When he’s not on the sanctuary property located in Laurel, Maryland, Rodney lives on seven acres in Charlotte Court House, Virginia, where he is working to turn the property into a haven for underprivileged youth and anyone who is interested in learning about falconry, wildlife, and conservation. The finished project will be called Dippy’s Dream, after Rodney’s deceased mother. His work has been featured National Geographic, NPR, and other national outlets. He is the subject of the documentary The Falconer. Kate Pipkin is the Senior Director of Communications and Marketing for the School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. She has contributed to The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Magazine, Johns Hopkins Magazine, Loch Raven Review, and other publications. Authors’ residences: Laurel, Maryland; Baltimore, Maryland
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