For all his rambunctious energy, and finger-tip expertise, Tom Davis is much missed.
I showed a pelagic photo at a Linnaean program in 1980s, when Tom (as host) was in a wheelchair. I popped up an Atlantic jaeger shot and watched Tom wriggle a bit uncomfortably. “Wait,” he said finally, “that’s a juvenile Long-tailed.” This was a brave declaration in front on an auditorium of critical specialists. (In those days, available ID info on jaegers was comparatively rudimentary, even for adults, to say nothing of juveniles.) But right he was. His expertise and confidence gained my instant respect – as did his various field calls and findings over the years, for so many. We all stand on the shoulders of early leaders like Tom (and Barbara). Forgive a late summer reminiscence, Rick From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Andrew Baksh Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2022 12:58 PM To: Glenn Quinn <[email protected]> Cc: NYSBIRDS_L <[email protected]>; NycEbirds <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [ebirdsnyc] [nysbirds-l] 1977 White Ibis Thanks for sharing Glenn. Terrific read about legendary folks in this game of ours. I always marvel at the luck and blessings some of you had growing up with and enjoying field time with some of the best. Cheers, -------- “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves could free our mind.” ~ Bob Marley “Tenderness and Kindness are not signs of weakness and despair but manifestations of strength and resolution” ~ Khalil Gibran "I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence." ~ Frederick Douglass 風 Swift as the wind 林 Quiet as the forest 火 Conquer like the fire 山 Steady as the mountain <http://refspace.com/quotes/Sun_Tzu> Sun Tzu <http://refspace.com/quotes/The_Art_of_War> The Art of War (\__/) (= '.'=) (") _ (") Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! Andrew Baksh www.birdingdude.blogspot.com <http://www.birdingdude.blogspot.com> On Aug 16, 2022, at 12:47 PM, Glenn Quinn <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: Well. Bob’s ibis post just made me feel old!! Actually, I’m only 59 but I started birding 47 years ago. In July of 1977, 7 immature White Ibis appeared in Mount Sinai harbor where they remained for over a month. On July 19th, 1977, I found a lone immature White Ibis in the salt marsh at Prospect Point (Sands Point, Nassau County). Despite being very young, I immediately knew what it was. I rode my bike home, and called up Barbara Spencer, my birding mentor and the preeminent birder in all of New York State at the time. She came the next day (I had found the bird in the evening the day before), and for good measure dragged another genius birder with her in Tom Davis. Fortunately, the bird was still there and they photographed it and published the photos in the Kingbird. Barbara, not to be outdone by her young protégé, promptly found a Franklin’s Gull a few hundred feet away from the ibis. This is what she did, regularly…. Coincidentally, 1977 was also the year that a Bar-tailed Godwit showed up on Long Island, in August at Oak Beach Marsh, and an Anhinga was seen over Middle Line Island in July……. The ibis and godwit are both documented in the Fall 1977 issue of the Kingbird. Oddly, the 1977 Mount Sinai ibis don’t appear anywhere on eBird. This is a glaring omission and maybe somebody that saw them (and is still living) can enter them into the eBird database. Anyway, just thought this information would make useful reading! Cheers, Glenn -- NYSbirds-L List Info: <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm> Welcome and Basics <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm> Rules and Information <http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html> <http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> Surfbirds <http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01> ABA Please submit your observations to <http://ebird.org/content/ebird/> eBird! -- _._,_._,_ _____ Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#471) <https://groups.io/g/ebirdsnyc/message/471> | Reply To Group <mailto:[email protected]?subject=Re:%20Re%3A%20%5Bebirdsnyc%5D%20%5Bnysbirds-l%5D%201977%20White%20Ibis> | Reply To Sender <mailto:[email protected]?subject=Private:%20Re:%20Re%3A%20%5Bebirdsnyc%5D%20%5Bnysbirds-l%5D%201977%20White%20Ibis> | Mute This Topic <https://groups.io/mt/93107654/5433268> | New Topic <https://groups.io/g/ebirdsnyc/post> Your Subscription <https://groups.io/g/ebirdsnyc/editsub/5433268> | Contact Group Owner <mailto:[email protected]> | Unsubscribe <https://groups.io/g/ebirdsnyc/leave/9427397/5433268/1720954084/xyzzy> [[email protected]] _._,_._,_ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
