I have not seen The Birds but (A movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock). I would not understand some people’s fear of bird, and I would not pretend to understand the phobia. I have observed birds of prey since I was a child, and I have gotten older these birds continue to impress me. I remember growing up in the northern part of the Ivory Coast. Our neighbors (The Keitas) used to raise chickens in their yard, and their chickens were free ranging. These chickens were foraging in the yard basically. The behavior however endangered the chickens every day. There were hawks flying over, and these chicken made easy meals for the raptor. Our neighbors lost many chickens to the hawks, but such was life back then. A few years later my parents moved to Abidjan, and I ended up going to the zoo in Abidjan many times. The zoo had an assorted menagerie, and the birds of prey impressed me very much. There was an African Fish eagle in one aviary and there was a roost of black kites in another. However, the black kites were very common in the Ivory Coast. These birds were very cosmopolitan to my recollection. They lived in urban and rural areas. I often saw them swoop down to catch lizard, snakes and various small creatures. I enrolled at Belmont Abbey College in the late 90’s, and I remember representatives from the Carolina Raptor Center bringing a few of their bird ambassadors on campus. The talons on the golden eagle were breathtaking. The handler had to wear leather gloves to avoid injuries on their hands. I learned birds of prey had an amazing vision.

After graduating from Belmont Abbey College, I enlisted in the United State Navy. I reported to Commander Fleet Activity Yokosuka in Japan. I noticed on my ride from the airport to the US naval base there were many black kites flying. Everyone called them sea hawk, but they were black kites. The reason was their long forked tails. Buteo (big hawk) types have short, broad, rounded tail. Examples of Buteo are the red tailed hawks which are common on the North American continent and the Augur buzzards that are native to the African continent. Incidentally, an Augur buzzard is the live mascot of the Seattle Seahawks. I kept seeing hawks and kites throughout my life. Along the way, I started taking pictures of some the raptors I saw along the way. Here are some of the pictures I took along the way:

In short, I enjoy bird watching, and I have a proclivity towards diurnal birds of prey. I take picture of birds and waterfalls. I hope to share this with anyone who cares about nature.