Connie and Tweeters,

I remember this anecdote well-- it was recounted by Peterson himself in one
of the chapter introductions (on page 44) in "The Bird Watcher's Anthology",
edited by Peterson, and published by Bonanza Books in 1957. This was one of
the first bird books I ever acquired (a gift from my grandparents), and one
that I still enjoy reading from time to time.

Here is a direct quote from the book:

"After a few years, even the most fanatical bird chaser takes things easier.
He no longer gets up at the crack of dawn on every field trip. I remember
how the rest of my party once despaired of me when near Cobb's Island,
Virginia. They got up at daybreak to see what they could find before
breakfast. I stayed in bed. In the two hours they were gone they listed
forty-two species. My own list when I came downstairs was forty. I had heard
them all from my pillow and only once did I raise my head to look out the
window--- when a flock of curlew flew by."

I hope this helps!

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net



-----Original Message-----
From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Constance
Sidles
Sent: July-23-08 10:07 AM
To: tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] Roger Tory Peterson anecdote


Hey tweets, I am trying to track down an anecdote about Roger Tory
Peterson for a book I am writing about nature.

As I recall, the story goes that Peterson was feeling too unwell one
day to go out birding with some other birders, so he stayed behind in
bed. When the others returned, they all compared notes about how many
species had been found. Peterson had "found" the most, just by lying in
bed and birding by ear.

I wonder if anyone can point me to the source of this anecdote? I need
to be accurate about the details of where/when/how this event happened.

Thank you for any help you can give me. - Connie, Seattle

constancesidles at gmail.com