ABA Blog

Ladies and Gentlemen, LIVE from Camp Avocet...Pish & Twitch!!!

Pish & Twitch, Brendan Murtha (l) and Caleb Frome (r), rock the house ©George Armistead 

The ABA, with vital support from Leica Sport Optics and other generous donors, conducted two summer camps for young birders in the last month. I was truly fortunate to spend time with both groups and I wish the entire birding community could have joined us to see and feel the energy, excitement, commitment, and enthusiasm that the kids and their adult guides brought to these events. If you're ever feeling a bit down in the mouth about the state of the world, I recommend birding with kids as a potent corrective.

I started to make a list of just a very few highlights from the camps to give you a quick sketch of the range of experiences we all shared but soon abandoned the effort as there's so much material that mentioning some means leaving too much out. But I will say that the camps offered an incredibly diverse range of experiences from serious and cerebral to fun and physical, all centered around building the practice and community of birding. 

If you haven't looked at Bill Schmoker's post here from earlier today, do so. It has links to some wonderful photos and video that will give you a great overview of Camp Avocet.

There is one thing I do want to share one thing with you, that I hope you'll get a big kick out of. A couple of the campers at Camp Avocet, Caleb Frome and Brendan Murtha, surprised us one afternoon by telling us that they had formed a band and that they had written some songs about birding.

Billing themselves as Pish & Twitch, Brendan and Caleb, with assistance from William von Herff, proceeded to delight the entire camp group by performing 3 song parodies with the lyrics reworked to joke about the joys and travails of birding. They were so good that we demanded they do it again the next night and give us another chance at recording them.

They obliged, this time performing no less than five songs! Once again, they brought the house down. Below, I provide links to videos for all five songs. I invite you to watch them all and be as stunned as we were by the creativity of these young birders.

In posting these videos, I'm inviting you to share in a spontaneous event full of exuberant, goofy fun. Other than me captioning the songs, so you can better appreciate their astonishing word play, it's presented straight and unfiltered. So there are some very mild instances of salty language, as well as some affectionate jokes at the expense of us camp leaders, some famous birders, brands, and so on. It's all in good fun and should be heard that way. It's summer camp for teenagers, after all.

Without further ado, I present Pish & Twitch and their first song, "Chase Me Maybe."

 

Great stuff, huh? That's Brendan on the left and Caleb on the right.

For their next song, "Moves Like Jaeger," Pish & Twitch are joined by William von Herff.

 

Next up, "Flight Calls," an amazing encapsulation of the weird and wonderful practice of listening for and identfying nocturnal migrants.

  

And now, the epic "Migrants Go By."

  

And finally, to send you all home, here's "Bill Stewart!"

  

Ladies and gentlemen, that was Pish & Twitch! We hear that they've been hard at work on additional parodies in the days since camp. And camper Joe Hernandez just designed this beautiful logo for them.

You can like them on Facebook and keep up with all the latest P&T news.

To Brendan and Caleb, and William and all the fine birders who made the ABA's 2013 summer camps the wonderful experiences they were. Good birding to you all! See you on down the trail. 

And to Leica Sport Optics and all the members/donors of the ABA, thank you. The future of birding is measurably brighter and more vibrant because of your support.

Meet Matt Daw, the Guy Who Found the New Mexico Rufous-necked Wood-Rail

Matt Daw at Bosque del Apache on July 7, 2013, a day he won't soon forget! Photo ©Jeffrey A. Gordon

Word has been spreading quickly of a truly remarkable birding event: Matt Daw's discovery of a Rufous-necked Wood-Rail at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge near Socorro, New Mexico. Whatever the official ruling on this bird's provenance, there can be no doubt that Matt just experienced a red-letter birding day.

I met Matt a couple of years ago at a Colorado Field Ornithologists' convention in Grand Junction, CO. Now, at the age of 19, he's attending college and working this summer studying Willow Flycatchers for the Bureau of Reclamation. Getting to hang out with Matt a bit was a terrific bonus of our hurried trip down to see the wood-rail.

Though Matt's skills and his find are entirely his own, I'd be remiss if I didn't say how proud we all are that Matt honed those skills in part by participating in the ABA's Young Birder programs. It's just wonderful to see him doing good work for conservation and bringing his talents to bear in finding and identifying and sharing news of this amazing bird. 

I asked Matt to tell me a little bit of the story of finding the rail and recording what is already surely North American birding's most famous photobomb. 

    

Finally, here's a shot I took yesterday of the rail. What a neat, neat bird. Thanks, Matt!

Rufous-necked Wood-Rail, Bosque del Apache, July 8, 2013, digiscoped with a Swarovski ATX 85mm + Canon 60D. Photo ©Jeffrey A. Gordon

 

ABA's Periodicals, How Are We Doing?

In the May/June 2013 issue of Birding, I devoted my “Birding Together” column (pp. 9-10) to the state of the ABA’s periodicals, detailing some of the changes we’re making to our publications. Here, I’d like to throw the floor open for discussion and your questions.

Briefly, here are a couple of framing thoughts and questions from me.

First, we are all aware that we’ve lagged a bit in our publication schedule the last few months, with periodicals not arriving as promptly as they should. This is an issue that we take seriously and we’re working hard to close that gap.

Beyond and far, far above that, I want to thank the incredibly dedicated team of staff and volunteers who put together our publications. They do amazing work month after month. Working with these people is a true pleasure, always challenging in the best sense, and nearly always fun. I know from the many compliments I hear and overhear that the majority of the ABA membership is pleased with and proud of their work, as am I.

I’m proud of the dynamic, interactive content they’re providing and I’m thrilled with the way all of you have joined in, making ABA membership an ongoing conversation. I’m proud that they’ve maintained the tradition of excellence and authority that has been the hallmark of ABA publications, while rapidly evolving our content and its production and presentation to suit the ABA of 2013 and beyond.

But I’m not looking for this post to merely generate a bunch of “amens,” as nice as those are to hear. What I and what all of us want to know is your thoughts, ideas, questions, and concerns about the direction of the ABA’s publications, online and off.

What changes are you seeing that you like and want more of? What has you bothered, or concerned for the future?

Finally, a request. Please let us know the status of your membership with the ABA. Are you a current, past, or prospective member? Does your relationship with our organization span more than one of those categories?

You have the floor. Thanks for joining the discussion.

 

Remembering Betty Petersen / Recordando a Betty Petersen 1943 - 2013

Betty Petersen

The ABA family and the entire birding community lost one of its leading lights on the morning of June 4th when Betty Petersen of Hanson, Massachusetts, passed away. She had suffered a heart attack on May 20th.

La familia de ABA y toda la comunidad de observación de aves perdimos una de las grandes luminarias en la mañana del 4 de junio, al fallecer Betty Petersen de Hanson, Massachusetts. Ella sufrió un ataque al corazón el 20 de mayo.

Betty Petersen had been an ABA member since 1980, and joined our staff in 2000 to lead the Birders’ Exchange program she pioneered at Manomet Bird Observatory. Over her more than a decade here, Betty brought endless reserves of intelligence, care, and enthusiasm to her work, building Birders’ Exchange into one of the ABA’s most effective and beloved programs.

Betty Petersen se asoció al ABA en 1980, y se unió a nuestro equipo en 2000 para dirigir el programa Birders’ Exchange, lo cual se inició en el Observatorio de Aves Manomet (Manomet Bird Observatory). Por encima de su más de una década aquí, Betty añadió reservas infinitas de inteligencia, cuidado y entusiasmo a su trabajo, elevando Birders’ Exchange a ser uno de los programas más eficaces y más queridos del ABA.

Betty and Edson Endrigo in Brazil / Betty y Edson Endrigo en Brasil

Betty’s impact on the birding and conservation communities and the pain of her loss are hard to overstate. Her generosity, good humor, and love for the people, birds, and wild places the world over are legendary. Her vision for encouraging the study, appreciation, and conservation of those birds and wild places was elegant, simple, and effective. And as it was with all things Betty did, it was rooted in a spirit of great generosity and a delight in helping others.

No se puede exagerar el impacto de Betty en la comunidad de observación de aves y en su conservación o en nuestro dolor de su pérdida. Su generosidad, buen humor, amor por las personas, las aves y todos los lugares silvestres del mundo son legendarios. Su visión para fomentar el estudio, valoración y conservación de las aves y los lugares silvestres era elegante, simple y eficaz. Así fue todo lo que hizo Betty, arraigada en un espíritu de gran generosidad y gozo en ayudar a otros.

Our sympathies and thoughts are with Wayne R. Petersen, Betty’s husband of more than 40 years. Wayne directs the Important Bird Areas program for the Massachusetts Audubon Society and is a former Vice President of the ABA. Together, Wayne and Betty have been a major force in birding, in Massachusetts and around the world. We look forward to working with Wayne to honor Betty’s memory and keep her legacy alive and growing.

Nuestras condolencias y pensamientos están con Wayne R. Petersen, esposo de más de 40 años de Betty. Wayne dirige el programa AICA (Áreas Importantes para la Conservación de Aves) de la Sociedad Audubon de Massachusetts y es ex vicepresidente de la ABA. Juntos, Wayne y Betty han sido una fuerza importante en la observación de aves, en Massachusetts y en todo el mundo. Trabajaremos con Wayne para honrar la memoria de Betty y mantener vivo y siempre aumentando su legado.

Wayne and the rest of Betty’s family have asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations in Betty’s memory be made to the ABA’s Birder’s Exchange. Please use our special online donation form to make your gift. You are also welcome to call us at 800-850-2473 or 719-578-9703 during business hours, or to send donations by mail to 1618 W. Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs, Colo. 80904.

Wayne y el resto de la familia de Betty han pedido que, en lugar de flores, las donaciones en memoria de Betty se pueden hacer a Birders’ Exchange. Por favor, utilice nuestro formulario especial de donación en línea para hacer su regalo. También te invitamos a llamarnos al 800-850-2473 o 719-578-9703 durante horas de oficina, o enviar donaciones por correo a 1618 W. Colorado Ave., Colorado Springs, Colorado 80904 USA.

Photo by BEX recipient Patricia Gonzalez of Argentina / Foto de BEX destinatario Patricia González, de Argentina

Please read Betty’s obituary and sign an online guest book for Betty here. We also hope you’ll leave your memories and sentiments about Betty, her life, and her impact here in the comments section as a memorial to her. We’ll be featuring extended coverage of Betty’s life and work in the July/August issue of Birding and elsewhere.

Por favor, lea el obituario de Betty y firme el libro de visitas en línea para Betty aquí. También esperamos que ustedes compartan sus recuerdos y sentimientos sobre Betty, su vida y su impacto aquí en la sección de comentarios en memoria de ella. Presentaremos más sobre de la vida y la obra de Betty en la revista Birding de julio/agosto, así como en otros lugares.

To Betty, from all us, thank you for bringing so much good to this world. We, and the birds, will miss you dearly.

Querida Betty, de todos nosotros, te agradecemos por haber traído tanto bien a este mundo. Nosotros, y las aves, te extrañaremos mucho.

Betty's generosity and hard work brought joy to so many /La generosidad y el trabajo de Betty traían alegría a mucha gente.

Many thanks to Jennie Duberstein, Robert Mortensen, and Alvaro Jaramillo for providing a Spanish translation. This is now a bilingual tribute at least, but to reach all that Betty did, it would have to be translated into Portuguese, French, and many other languages.

Muchas gracias a Jennie Duberstein, Robert Mortensen y Alvaro Jaramillo por traducir esto al español. Ahora tenemos al menos un homenaje bilingüe, aunque para alcanzar a todos los que Betty impactó, tendríamos que traducirlo al portugués, francés y muchos otros idiomas.

 

"The New ABA." Are YOU Ready to Say It?

I framed my "Birding Together" column in the March/April issue of Birding with a joking allusion to the difficulty people often have in uttering those three little words: "I love you."

But the three word phrase that I was finally ready to utter, though not without some lingering trepidation, was, "the new ABA." As I noted in the piece, that's a phrase that I've often heard bandied about, but avoided using myself. Until now. 

You can read the whole column here. As usual, it's well under 1000 words, and so just about average ABA blog post length. 

 

My question for you is this: are you ready to say that we have a new ABA? Or do you think we've still got more ground to make up before we justifiably make that claim? Maybe you think the whole idea is superfluous or flawed, that there's no need for a new ABA, just an ABA for today? Perhaps you think that, as some do, that our goal should be an "old ABA," a return to some earlier era? If that's your belief, what are the key hallmarks of that era?

Let us know in the comments.

Also, the audit for 2012, mentioned in the column, is now available as a PDF on our website.

Whatever your thoughts about the ABA old or new, thank you for your support and for your contributions to the birding community.

Good birding,

Jeff 

 

Video: Releasing a Rosy-Finch; Looking Out for their Future

Michael Hilchey at the crest. Photo ©Raymond VanBuskirk

For many of us there, the high point, altitudinally and ornithologically, of the ABA's recent Albuquerque Rally was visiting the famous rosy-finch banding station at Sandia Crest. Above, you can see Michael Hilchey, one the dedicated crew from Rio Grande Bird Research that keep this valuable and challenging project going. At the far right, the feeder and finch trap are visible.

Below is a shot of Raymond VanBuskirk, another of the rosy-finch researchers, returning a just-banded Black Rosy-Finch to the flock. Check out the concentration on Raymond's face. These guys, along with all the RGBR gang, are fun, dynamic folks. But, boy, do they bring serious attention and care to the work they do. It's a pleasure to witness.

Raymond focussing. Photo ©Jesse Swift

I went up to Sandia the second of the three field trip days. Things started off very well, with single male Gray-crowned and Brown-capped rosy-finches visiting the feeder shortly after we arrived. A bit more waiting and some skillful trap operation, and we were fortunate to see one gorgeous male Brown-capped Rosy-Finch in the hand, a bird which had been banded there some years before.

Raymond VanBuskirk holds "our" Brown-capped Rosy-Finch. This species breeds almost entirely in Colorado. I wonder if it might be one of those that nest on the tundra of Pike's Peak, visible from ABA HQ?

 Once this lovely bird was quickly weighed and measured and otherwise processed, Raymond gave rally participant Pat Blyer the honor of releasing it. I shot a quick video of the event that I thought you'd enjoy.

 

After an eventful and exciting first couple of hours, our patience and cold tolerance got a bit of a workout. Though it was hardly a brutal day on the mountain weather-wise, it was chilly for sure, especially when standing still for long periods. But we still hadn't seen Black Rosy-Finch, ironically the most numerous rosy species wintering at Sandia.

So we waited...

And we waited...

And we huddled in the vans and ate our lunches. Then we waited some more.

But in an instant, the waiting and the cold were forgotten, as a squall of Rosies shot up over the ridge crest and settled in the trees above the feeders.

Rosy-Finches aren't exactly nervous...they can be incredibly confiding sometimes. But boy, are they ever active! We marvelled as the flocked flowed all around the feeders, and we used our newly-honed ID skills to pick out all three species, plus the distinctive gray-faced "Hepburn's" form of Gray-crowned. It was a thrilling couple of minutes.

We left Sandia Crest smiling and headed lower, where the birding was a little warmer and more diverse. But our time at the banding station was really something to treasure. I've known of the Sandia finches since the early 2000's, so getting to see them and the project members in action is something I've waited for quite a while. It was more than worth it.

As great as our time up high with Raymond, Michael, the rosy-finches was, in some ways we learned even more from the presentation they gave to the entire rally group Sunday night. In it, they shared not only some of the exciting discoveries they have made and important questions they are working to answer, but also how much the Sandia flock, both avian and human, has meant to the shape, direction, and quality of their lives. It was inspiring, all the way round.

Speaking of those discoveries and questions, as miraculous as rosy-finches and their extrordinary life histories are, there are many, many reasons to be concerned for their future. Climate change poses an exceptional threat to them, living as many of them do in tiny islets of tundra habitat which are shrinking rapidly. High altitude stocking of non-native trout and other game fish may also be having a serious impact on their survival. And there are the more prosaic but still essential issues of where exactly the rosies that winter at Sandia, their southernmost outpost, come from and go back to.

All of us from the ABA who got to visit with the birds and birders of Albuquerque came away with a deeper appreciation of the vibrant birding scene there. And we wanted to do our small part to help the rosy-finch study and the other ongoing projects of Rio Grande Bird Research continue. 

The final night of our rally, we passed a basket for donations to the finch study, collecting nearly $700 from the ABA audience. On top of that, the ABA donated $1000 to RGBR in support of all the great work they do, which includes not only rosy-finch project, but also banding in the bosque along Albuquerque's Rio Grande, and the painstaking study of Black-throated Warblers done by Ashli Gorbet, another of our primary leaders on this rally, along with her husband, Larry.

I'd like to invite you to participate in all the great times and sound conservation science that is being done by ABA members like Ashli, Michael, and Raymond. If you're able to contribute funds to support their efforts, you can send checks payable to Rio Grande Bird Research. Write Rosy-Finch on the check if you want to restrict your gift to that project. Mail to P.O. Box 6557 Albuquerque NM 87197

And if you'd like to join Raymond and Michael in New Mexico or elsewhere, check out their newly-formed tour company, High Desert Birding Adventures.

Additional info on the history of the rosy-finch project can be found at www.rosyfinch.com. For the most current updates go to the Sandia Rosy-Finch Project Facebook page. Audubon magazine did a great profile on Raymond, Michael, and the rosy-finches that you can read here.

Thanks to all of you in Albuquerque who welcomed the ABA to your patch! We're looking forward to seeing all the great things you'll do in the future.

Some of the RGBR gang at Sandia Crest. From left: Jason Kitting, Steve Cox (another of our core rally leaders and president at RGBR), Mary Ristow, Nancy Cox, Lee Hopwood, Micheal Hilchey, and Raymond VanBuskirk. Thank you ALL for welcoming the ABA! photo ©Jane Kostenko

Thank You and Happy New Year!

"Our" Great Gray Owl, near Kelly, Wyoming Dec 24, 2011

Dear ABA Members,

Greetings from cold, sunny, and beautiful Livingston, Montana!

Liz and I have been on a weeklong trip to the Greater Yellowstone region of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Our primary purpose in making the journey was to attend the wedding of our longtime friend, Forrest Rowland, who many of you know as one of the most talented young leaders of our birding community, to the lovely Gabryelle Perkins. And the wedding, which took place Saturday the 29th, was truly beautiful. Seeing friends and families old and new come together in an atmosphere of renewed hope and possibility was a perfect way to close out 2012 and to look to a bright future in 2013 and beyond.

Of course, Liz and I managed to work in some birding, too, as did many of the wedding guests.

Especially memorable was our encounter with a Great Gray Owl—Liz's first!—on Christmas Eve morning near Grand Tetons National Park. Having just reached that point in our morning when we, after hours of searching, had made peace with the idea that we weren't going to find the owl this time out and that we ought to start thinking about procuring some lunch, Liz said, with some emphasis, "STOP! I see it!"

Two very happy birders in the snow. Note the Great Gray Owl atop the tree at the far left.

Standing there, in the falling snow, regarding that magnificent creature in the harsh environment to which it is so superbly adapted, was a magical experience. And it was just one high point.

There were many others, like watching Bohemian Waxwings bathe and drink as they surfed on tiny ice floes in the partly-frozen Yellowstone river. Or seeing clouds of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches, Common Redpolls, Snow Buntings and Horned Larks sweeping over the frozen fields.

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches in flight.

And there were encounters with moose, bison, elk, bighorn sheep, and, most thrillingly, wolves. And gorgeous scenery, friendly people, even a soak in a hot springs pool under a big brilliant moon.

And the thought that has reapeated in my head time and again as we've shared all these wonderful things is this: none of this would have happened to us, had we not been birders.

Of course, even non-birders do things like visiting interesting places, enjoying beautiful scenery, and watching their loved ones get married. But if Liz and I were not birders, though we might have experienced some of the same things we have this week, almost all of them would have been very, very different. Different places. Different scenery. Different friends, even. Being birders has changed everything for the better. And that's true whether we're visiting some far-flung, wild place or just looking out our living room window.

As 2012 ends, I hope that you are having just these kinds of experiences, at home or far afield. That in the short days and long nights of winter, you're still enjoying a world of excitement and rich experience that only those of us who have received the gift of birding are privy to.

On the last day of 2011, I wrote here on the blog, "2012 is going to be a very exciting year at the ABA, when a lot of the seeds that we’ve been planting and carefully tending start to really take root. So while it’s nice to look back over the many good times and successes that we’ve enjoyed in 2011, it’s even more exciting looking to the future. And that is thanks to all of you."

With 2012 completed, it feels wonderful to say that we have indeed had a very successful year indeed here at the ABA, and that our prospects for 2013 are even brighter and more exciting.

Rough-legged Hawks, cold-tolerant as they are, must look forward to the longer, warmer days to come.

And still, it is thanks to you. Thank you for everything you do to support the ABA and to spread the joy and excitement of birding with others.

If you've made a gift to our annual appeal, please know that you've made a crucial difference in our ability to keep the ABA strong and growing. If you haven't yet, there are still a few hours to do so and receive 2012 tax benefits. All online donations made today or mailed donations postmarked today qualify.

Tonight, however you choose to celebrate the arrival of the new year, take a moment with me and be grateful that we all are birders and for the wonderful difference that has made in our lives.

Have a wonderful 2013. Again, thank you.

Good birding,

Jeffrey A. Gordon
President

 

 

The ABA Area Referendum Results: What's Your Take?

 

Back in late July, I posted on this blog asking for discussion of one of the issues we at the ABA are questioned about most frequently: what, if any, expansion of the ABA Area boundaries ought to take place? I also asked for your feedback on how we ought to go about polling our membership for their thoughts. That post has garnered 70 comments so far, many of them astonishingly thoughtful and well-informed. Though I didn't comment on all of them, I did read them all and they were truly helpful in shaping the non-binding referendum that we then sent out with our annual proxy ballot.

Well, the results are in. If you've received the current issue of Birding, and you should very soon if you haven't yet, you may have seen that I reported on your answers in my "Birding Together" column. If you haven't seen the article, or are not yet an ABA member, you can read that column here.

I encourage you to go ahead and give it a read. It's short, and goes through the tallies with a minimum of editorializing.

But blogs, of course, are all about editorializing. And I'd like to hear what you have to say about the results. Are you surprised? Or did things pretty much go the way you expected? Perhaps even more important, in view of what the membership has told us here, what would you like to see happen next?

Should we move immediately to consider the question of annexing Hawaii? What about the other areas? Their addition wasn't favored by a majority. Does that mean they should be removed from further consideration?

One other thing that may help make the results a bit easier to interpret and which there wasn't space for in print: some pie charts. Below, you can see the results as compiled for each of the 4 areas that we specifically asked you about.

A caution. These results, as informative as they may be, don't tell it all. We got dozens of handwritten comments, with a few major themes emerging, as I mentioned in the column. And we have not attempted to do any kind of deeper analysis; e.g., how did people who voted yes on Hawaii vote on Bermuda?, or similar correlations.

So here are those pie charts. Take a look, read the column, and by all means, tell us what you think.

 

 

Video!: Greetings from the Governor and Thank You from the Kids!

George Armistead did a wonderful job earlier today with his photos from the weekend's ABA events in Delaware. As a companion, here are two short videos, one from the Mid-Atlantic Young Birder Conference and one from the Annual Membership Meeting.

First, the Sep 23rd Membership Meeting: when I introduced Collin O'Mara, Delaware's Secretary of Energy and the Environment, he proceeded to play this welcome message from Delaware's Governor, Jack Markell! 

 
It was wonderful to have a head of state welcome the ABA, and birders, so directly and so warmly. Think of it, when have you ever heard a governor even try to pronounce, "dowitcher?" And, of course, I was pleased to be mentioned by name. I think Delaware's Bayshore Initiative, and the way the state is reaching out to birders as the project is still in the planning stages, marks a wonderful evolution. I'm pleased that the ABA is playing a role in moving it all forward and I very much want us to do the same in other states and provinces.

I want to especially thank Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and Eagle Optics, ABA's optics sales partner, for providing generous sponsorships for our Membership Meeting, and to the Delaware Nature Society for providing a lovely space for us to have it.

And here's a quick shout-out, literally, to the Leica Sport Optics and to all of you ABA members, from the kids and adults who attended the Mid-Atlantic Young Birder Conference on Saturday the 22nd. I wish you all could have been there. Between George's photos and these clips, maybe you can at least get a feeling for the positive energy directed towards birding and the ABA. Thank you so much for making this all possible.

 

 

Remembering Jeri McMahon

All of us at the American Birding Association are saddened to learn of the death of Jeri McMahon this past Sunday. ABA's Membership Experience Coordinator, Nancy Hawley, worked with Jeri's friends and family to put together this biographic sketch and the special memorial that accompanies it.

Farewell, Jeri. Thanks for your many contributions to the birding community. May the sights and sounds of birds, and the thrill of young eyes being opened to them, keep your memory alive in all our hearts.

—Jeffrey Gordon                

Jeri McMahon, birder

Jeri started birding at 12 years old in northern Iowa. Her first bird guide book was by Chester A. Reed. Two teachers (the Hagarty sisters) lived on her block, and Jeri would spend hours at their house, studying birds at their feeders or bird bath, or reading all their bird books. She birded all 7 continents and when asked about her bird list, she would say she had about 7000 birds on it. 

Jeri in Brazil

Jeri belonged to the American Birding Association, Indian Nations Audubon Society of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Ornithological Society, The Bluebird Association, and the Arkansas Birding Association. She had served as president and bird recorder for Indian Nations Audubon and as President and awards chair for the OOS.  

At the OOS fall meeting, Stillwater

She banded birds with MAPS at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge as well as Fort Gibson Wildlife Management Area and also banded bluebirds in Muskogee County. Jeri was a map consultant for Oklahoma in the Sibley Guide to Birds and also made contributions to the Peterson Field Guide to Birds.

She headed up the Christmas Bird Count for the Fort Gibson area, lead many field trips for birding, and headed up Eagle Days in Fort Gibson for years and introduced her grandson, Donnie, and several other children to the fun of birding.

 

Jeri's grandson, Donnie

 

Jeri has sent one child per year to birding camp, which she found to be one of the best and most meaningful ways to share the joy of birding. 

In Jeri's final weeks, another long-time ABA member, Kathy Roach, approached the ABA about setting up a special memorial to Jeri that would help fund other young birders attendence at birding camps. As one of Jeri’s closest friends, Kathy says, “We feel Jeri is certainly worthy of being honored for her life-long love of birds as well as her patience and mentoring to all of us her knew her. In addition, Jeri provided both physical and financial support over the years, to many of our Young Birders. Her outstanding dedication has helped many of our youth to expand their knowledge and gain confidence, as well as allowing many of them to attend our ABA birding camps”. 

Kathy adds, “The ABA’s new "Jeri McMahon Memorial" will help maintain and expand all future Young Birder programs and camps. We feel this is a very special honor for a very special lady.”

Jeri lived a life of giving back to birding that all of us would do well to emulate.

To make your donation to Jeri's memorial now, please go to www2.aba.org/jerimcmahon or call Nancy Hawley at 800-850-2473 or 719-578-9703.