[texbirds] Re: in memory of Doris Wyman - friend and birding mentor
- From: "Bird.fried" <bird.fried@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "phockey@xxxxxxxx" <phockey@xxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 4 Jan 2015 21:42:29 -0600
Petra,
Thank you very much for such a nice tribute to Doris Wyman though it is sad to
hear of her passing. I too remember how Mrs Wyman ( I was just a pimple-faced
teenager at the time) took great interest in mentoring me as a new birder and
naturalist during the 70's. She and Bill were almost always at Golden Crescent
Nature Club (GCNC) meetings and on field trips, offering their birding
expertise and encouragement. I have many fond memories of being in the field
with them and with other great folks from the GCNC.
On one occasion, Mrs Wyman allowed me to join them (she and Bill) on a GCNC
field trip to the Falcon Dam SP. On this trip, a target species was Pauraque.
She said that we would drive park roads after dark looking for the red eyes of
the birds in the headlights. She explained that the birds rest on the park
roads, 'flycatching' hapless insects that fly by. As I recall we did not find
Pauraque on that trip but on a subsequent trip to Bentsen RIo Grande SP, when
you could still drive the roads and camp in the park. Regardless, the 'chase'
was all part of the fun and the 'chase' afforded Mrs. Wyman the opportunity to
teach and share her knowledge of the birds that she loved.
As you say, Mrs. Wyman most enjoyed being in her own patch, Calhoun County. In
March 1973 (noted in my "Birder's Life List and Diary"), a Burrowing Owl
appeared in an atrium area near Mrs. Wyman's chemistry classroom at the, then
new, Port Lavaca High School. She got permission from the school to invite us
out to see the bird up-close, but of course between classes. We enjoyed great
looks at the BUOW and Mrs. Wyman was obviously thrilled to share this 'find'
with us, her fellow faculty and her chemistry students.
Mrs. Wyman certainly had a positive and lasting impact on the birding interests
and indeed the lives of many people over the years; in her chemistry classroom,
in GCNC meetings and on field trips, in community activities and among
landowners and others of influence in Calhoun and neighboring counties. Mrs.
Wyman lived life well and she will definitely be missed. May her legacy be
lasting and may she live long in our memories!
Bob Friedrichs
Palacios
Golden Crescent Nature Club, former member
Sent from my iPad
> On Jan 3, 2015, at 12:27 PM, Petra Hockey <phockey@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Texbirders,
>
> When I first arrived in Port O'Connor, Calhoun County, in late 1991 I had
> been a birder for about 2 years although that wasn't something I consciously
> thought about or even knew at that time. In a way, I became a "birder" on
> that fateful day in February 1992 when, motivated by a newspaper announcement
> in the Victoria Advocate, I called a phone number to enquire about the
> meetings and field trips of the Golden Crescent Nature Club in Victoria. It
> was Doris Wyman who answered the phone and enthusiastically encouraged me to
> join her a couple of days later to what became my first contact with other
> birders. I remember it clearly - a group of people, most older than me, all
> in earth colored clothing, binoculars around their necks, field guides in
> their packs, tripods and spotting scopes on their shoulders (I had never seen
> one before), intense but sociable and welcoming to a true newbie. Their quest
> that day was to see the first winter record for the area of a Gray Flycatcher
> at
> Derek Muschalek's ranch in Yorktown and to get good looks of Sprague's Pipits
> in a wet grassy field. I was surprised by the excitement over such a drab
> little bird high up in a tree and slightly amused by the funny line of people
> soaking their shoes and pants in the wet grass just to get some
> sparrow-looking little tan birds to flush up and doing little twitter calls.
>
> It was intimidating and exhilarating at once. I didn't know it then but can
> clearly see it now that this was when my birding "career" started on an
> exponential path forward and upward. A few days later Doris invited me to the
> club meeting. The next week I was joining her with other volunteers at a bird
> survey on the Aransas NWR checking Loggerhead Shrikes for leg bands. Over the
> following months and years she showed me every secret birding spot of hers in
> Calhoun Co. and beyond including many private ranches that she had access to.
> She encouraged me to participate in Christmas Bird Counts and conduct the
> first Calhoun Co. North American Migration Count. I tried to not disappoint
> her and dedicated myself to studying everything I could and she told me often
> how proud she was of her "star student". She always had some challenges for
> me. The one I most fondly remember is the first time I was able to find and
> identify 100 birds in Calhoun Co. in one day. She pushed me on to add m
> ore birds to my yard list, year list, life list and that thick volume of
> "Clements, Birds of the World - A Checklist" has her dedication for me
> inside. I also remember well the first time I challenged an identification of
> hers - it was a Brown-crested and not a Great Crested Flycatcher - and she
> seemed thrilled to be proven wrong.
>
> Her contributions to birding, education and conservation were by no means
> limited to these personal experiences of mine. As a long time and well loved
> Chemistry teacher at Calhoun High School she made natural sciences
> interesting for hundreds of students. She mentored several children
> individually, took them on nature and birding outings; she presented bird
> programs at various ladies and other clubs, organized birding trips locally
> and farther afield and compiled the first checklist of Birds of Calhoun
> County. Thanks to her generosity the Port Lavaca Library is well stocked
> with field guides from many countries including a subscription to the very
> expensive Birds of North America. Her rancher friends and acquaintances were
> gently lectured in what management practices were good for birds. She pushed
> relentlessly and contributed a generous amount of seed money to have one of
> her favorite Calhoun Co. birding spots "Magic Ridge" (called Magic Road by
> her) be protected and becom
> e a bird sanctuary in perpetuity through the purchase by the Texas
> Ornithological Society of which she was a long time member.
>
> I am sure many birders have fond memories of Doris Wyman and some might even
> have some stories to share. I consider her the Grande Dame of Calhoun County
> birding and am forever grateful to her for having exposed me to many of the
> things that became and still are very important in my life.
>
> Rest in peace, Doris.
>
> Petra Hockey
> Port O'Connor, Calhoun Co.
>
>
>
>
> Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
> //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
>
> Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
> from the List Owner
>
>
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
//www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
from the List Owner
Other related posts:
