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I am a first-tour SH-60B Seahawk pilot at HSL-51, based out of Atsugi, Japan. As a senior lieutenant, I was assigned to conduct an area-familiarization flight with our squadron's newest department head. Because this flight was his first in our command, we conducted an in-depth VFR chart study on how to best navigate the local airfields and corresponding airspace. Our flight was scheduled for three hours - plenty of time to tour the Tokyo metropolitan area. Weather was not a factor with the ceiling broken at 6,000 feet and unlimited visibility.
The flight began smoothly. I sat right seat as we toured the local area. We knocked off some rust bouncing at a few of the outlying fields and even got in some great sightseeing around Mt. Fuji and downtown Tokyo. With 30 minutes left until pit time, we traveled south down the Tokyo Wan (Bay) at 500 feet. We set up for one last low approach into Tateyama, a Japanese airfield, before returning home.
While transiting, my copilot called out, "Birds, 11 o'clock high."
There's always a fair amount of bird traffic along the coastline, so this wasn't unusual. I immediately saw three birds traveling the opposite direction, just above the horizon, about a half-mile out. They appeared to be large brown hawks, maybe four feet from wingtip to wingtip. I later learned these birds, known as Japanese black kites, are so common along parts of the coastline surrounding the Tokyo area that signs warn beachgoers to "Beware of Hawks." They don't fear people and are apt to snatch food right out of your hand.
It...