[TN-Bird] Fw: Re: Jeff Wilson passing
- From: Robert Lane <shrikeguy@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:42:24 -0800 (PST)
Sad news from TN the" Ol Coot" Jeff Wilson has passed away. He was one of the
best birders I have ever or will have ever met. I was privileged to have birded
with Jeff on several occasions in both TN and AL in my earlier years as a
birder. I always learned a great deal while out in the field from him, from
warblers and sparrows to hawks, shorebirds, gulls and everything in between he
was a fountain of knowledge. He is and will always be missed.
Good Birding,
Rob Lane
Louisville, KY
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Michael Todd <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; TN Birds <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 1:33 AM
Subject: [TN-Bird] Re: Jeff Wilson passing
In my daze, meant to add that arrangements will be posted when we find out what
they are.
Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
________________________________
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
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