[birdky] Fw: [TN-Bird] Jeff Wilson passing

From: Michael Todd <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2013 22:50:26 -0800 (PST)
KY friends,
For those of you who knew Jeff Wilson, below is a note I put on TNBirds. Jeff 
passed away over the weekend. 


Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN



----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Michael Todd <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: TN Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tue, February 12, 2013 12:05:41 AM
Subject: [TN-Bird] Jeff Wilson passing


Friends,

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Jeff Wilson passed away over the 
weekend. 
Evidently he passed in his sleep and his family found him today when they 
returned from out of town. 


Many of us here were lucky enough to call Jeff a friend, and a better friend I 
could never ask for. The amount that Jeff has contributed to the knowledge, 
distritbution, and identification of TN avifauna is beyond words. Most of the 
top listers in the state owe a disproportionate number of their birds directly 
to Jeff ( I know I do). It would be hard to add up the number of 1st, 2nd, and 
3rd state records Jeff had found, not only in TN, but the surrounding states as 
well. Jeff's attentiont to detail, was incredible. Such as his, at the time, 
near magical ability to differentiate Meadowlarks in flight.. His passion for 
shorebirds has been seen by many on here, but to spend a hot, stinky day at the 
Pits in Memphis looking at shorebirds was a slice of heaven for many of us here.

Time spent with Jeff was always a lot of fun, whether it be birding, or just 
swapping stories. I've known Jeff since I was about 12, which is 31 years now. 
A 
number of those years I was out of birding, but ironically, stumbling across 
TNBirds back in 2000 and reading some of Jeff's posts and great birds at the 
time is part of what got me back into this great hobby. I'm very proud to say 
I've spent more days than I can count running the backroads of Memphis, 
Reelfoot, KY Lake and farther afield with Jeff. In the process I learned more 
from him than all the many books in my library combined!

With Jeff's passing, I've lost the 2 people now I considered mentors; Don 
Manning a few years ago for the first part of my birding career, and now Jeff 
for the 2nd part. But, the memories I have will last a lifetime!

Jeff, Don, and others we've lost are probably ticking off Great Auks and 
Labrador Ducks as we speak, or comparing field marks of Ivory-billed and 
Imperial Woodpeckers!

As Jeff always said, "Bird to the Horizon!"

Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com
================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBERS==============

When posting on BIRDKY, please close posts with 
your first and last name and your address (city or county). 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To post on BIRDKY, send e-mail to:
birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Visit the KOS website at 
http://www.biology.eku.edu/kos/default.htm

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Visit the KOS Photo Page to view photos of birds recently 
sighted in Kentucky:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/kentucky_ornithological_society/pool

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To unsubscribe, send e-mail to:
birdky-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject line.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

BIRDKY List Manager: Gary Ritchison. 
E-mail: gary.ritchison@xxxxxxx
[birdky] Fw: [TN-Bird] Jeff Wilson passing

Other related posts:
