Richard and Tweeters,

I was going to resist the temptation to relate my "benchmark bird"
story, but then I read your message, and was compelled to respond. My
"benchmark bird" (or "spark bird", as I would prefer to call it), was
the same as yours-- the Bohemian Waxwing-- at almost the same time.
The main difference was, yours were in Missouri in 1960, and mine were
in Penticton, B.C., in February of 1959. (I was also in 7th grade!!)

Unlike the situation in Missouri, the Bohemian Waxwing was and is
one of the 2 or 3 commonest winter birds in Penticton (at least in
most years). Common or not, the Bohemian Waxwing is one of the most
striking and attractive of North American birds. To this day, I never
tire of admiring their sleekness and beauty. They stand out all the
more because of the scarcity of other colorful birds in winter, and
often, because of their tameness and willingness to allow close
approach. I still have a vivid memory of that February morning when,
as I was walking to school, I encountered a flock of waxwings
"swarming" a berry bush, almost oblivious to my presence.

I also have to credit my late grandparents, Flora and Rex
Waterman, whose gift of a copy of "Bird Study in British Columbia" by
J.A. Munro, with its striking color plates by Allan Brooks, in 1958
also did much to stimulate my interest in birds.

Like you, I had a period of "dormancy", but unlike you, it lasted
only about 3 months. On May 17, 1959, I decided to start a "life
list". Although I only tallied 11 species that first day, birds have
been my consuming interest ever since.

I have sometimes wondered what turned your interest to marine
birds in particular. Could it be that, growing up in Missouri, far
from any ocean, you were "oceanographically deprived"? And that the
only cure for this affliction was years of pelagic trips and ocean
cruises? If you have time to relate this story, many of us would love
to hear it. Your messages on TWEETERS are always personal and
entertaining.

By the way-- for those who have enjoyed this thread-- you might
enjoy the chapter called "The Spark" in "A Bird Watcher's Anthology",
edited by Roger Tory Peterson and published in 1957. For several
well-known ornithological figures, it relates in their own words the
story of which bird "sparked" their interest in birds, and where their
interest went from there.

Sincerely,

Wayne Weber
Kamloops, B.C.
wayne_weber at bc.sympatico.ca



-----Original Message-----
From: Pterodroma at aol.com <Pterodroma at aol.com>
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, March 19, 2000 1:09 PM
Subject: Re: Benchmark birds


>Benchmark birds, eh... That's easy. Well, actually it came in two
phases.
>
>Phase One: Bohemian Waxwing. Maryville, Missouri in the winter of
1960 I
>think. Well, whenever it was when I was in the 7th grade and had
been
>working on my 7th grade science project. The topic I chose was on
birds in
>which I made a big fancy scrap book full of pictures and life
histories on
>local common birds. Anyway, at some point in the middle of that
creation, I
>was walking home from school one day and came upon a crab apple tree
full of
>Bohemian Waxwings. I thought that was pretty neat and even then
realized
>that stumbling upon Bohemian Waxwings rather than the more common and
>expected Cedar Waxwings (NOT in winter though) might be rather
unusual. I
>had no idea how rare or unusual this sighting was as I hadn't
advanced to the
>point of really knowing the difference and birding as we know it
today had
>not yet come of age. It wasn't until years later that I came to
learn that
>that particular year was an extraordinary winter in northern Missouri
with
>respect to a Bohemian Waxwing invasion. Actually, I don't think
there has
>been a repeat event since.
>
>Then there was a period of dormancy through my high school years and
my
>primary obsession was chasing the most vile of violent thunderstorms
and
>tornados. I still crave doing that by-the-way. Seattle is just a
total
>loser crappy place to do it! Boorrrring!! :-))
>
>Then, along came Phase Two raising it's ugly head. My life has never
been
>the same since. It was my first semester in college in the Fall of
1965,
>Northwest Missouri State, Maryville, 'pre-meteorology-severe storms /
tornado
>expert par excellance' major. On day, I spotted an announcement on
the
>bulletin board in the Admin. Building announcing the organization of
a
>Maryville Audubon Society (whatever that was supposed to be), and
also for
>the first bird watching field trip to a lonely pine grove west of
town that I
>never knew existed. So, I signed up but I don't really remember why
exactly.
> Just something different to do I guess. Curiosity.
>
>That cold frosty appointed Saturday rolled around in early November,
and low
>and behold, I was to discover a couple of birds that I had never ever
seen
>nor had even ever heard of. At the top of the list was the
RED-BREASTED
>NUTHATCH. And there were Pine Siskins too. I was hooked. And
hooked bad!
>My life was turned upside down. I cut classes, armed myself with
county road
>maps to Nodaway, Holt, and Atchison Counties, cut more classes, quit
studying
>altogether, and set out every day to explore EVERY road in those
three
>counties in the northwestern corner of Missouri. And I did too and
>extensively marked on the maps all the good spots or places with
promise that
>I discovered in this odyssey of exploration. Gas was only $0.17 /
gallon
>back then, $0.12 during gas wars :-))
>
>The bird bonanza of that autumn of 1965 continued to escalate at an
>unprecedented scale. I was totally enchanted by the Red-breasted
Nuthatch
>and that isolated pine grove continued to produce the unexpected. A
week or
>two later, Red Crossbills turned up. The following week, the place
was full
>of Red Crossbills AND astonishingly, WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS too! My
God!
>By December, Common Redpolls had arrived. Just two months earlier, I
had
>never known these things even existed. It was unbelievable and the
>excitement for us new budding birders was contagious and outrageous.
>
>Needless to say, all this hoopla had a rather detrimental effect on
my
>academic performance. I failed miserably. No, actually I failed
>successfully. If I didn't flunk everything, I came very close. I
think I
>ended up with a 0.9 GPA. That first semester ended with my being
kicked out
>and suspended for a semester. Oh well. So, I had to get a job. I
drove a
>taxi around town and surrounding countryside and that for a then very
naive
>18 year old at the time was a vast mind expanding coming of age
experience in
>it's own right but a tale better left to adult late night
pay-per-view.
>Death comes to sheltered innocence even if it was the rural
God-fearing
>Midwest. I figured it was something in the water.
>
>Come the Fall of 1966, with the faith and support of a certain
biology
>professor and literally mentor who saw promise in me and my ravenous
appetite
>for birds, wildlife, and nature, I was back in school, newly oriented
and
>focused which has led off down the path to which I follow today.
Sometimes
>though, I wonder what might have happened had I never seen that
fateful field
>trip announcement, or met this guy, or ever laid eyes on that
Red-breasted
>Nuthatch. It was a turning point for sure, a fork in the road. Had
that
>Red-breasted Nuthatch never come along, then that would be ME you'd
be seeing
>in "Twister" and any one of those 'tornado chasing' shows on TLC, and
living
>in Norman, Oklahoma.
>
>Instead, I've managed to wind up in the Pacific Northwest. Nice area
for
>sure and I think part of why I continue to refuse to pull up stakes
and leave
>is for the Red-breasted Nuthatches around here whose presence is not
just
>sporadic and given to whims of invasion but year round. Indeed, they
are
>always a presence in my yard and at the feeders and are always seen
as that
>symbolic benchmark to reflect back upon each time I see them when I'm
back
>home and taking a break from some far flung field assignment
somewhere else.
>
>****************************************************
>Richard Rowlett (Pterodroma at aol.com)
>Bellevue, WA.....
>.....but in the field now 'til June
>NOAA/NMFS Gray Whale Survey
>Piedras Blancas Lighthouse
>San Simeon, California
>
>"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking
what
>nobody has thought" --Albert Szent-Gyorgi (1893-1986).
>****************************************************