TN birders,
It is my sad duty to report the death of Rick Houlk today at approximately 6:30
AM at his home in Benton. He fought brilliantly the diagnosis of thymic cancer,
an uncommon form with which he was diagnosed on 31May19. Like those Tennessee
birders who preceded him way too soon like Paul Harris and John Henderson, at
least the prayers of his wife Jen and others were answered in that the Lord let
him down easily. For those who knew him, he was an enjoyable companion on a
birding trip, always patient with newcomers and eager to share his knowledge
about birds, especially when it came to those in Polk County where he resided.
It is interesting to look at the ebird stats from the time Rick started
inputting his bird data there. He started ebirding in 2005, and recorded 16
species that year, which was also the total reported by anyone for the county.
From that low in 2005 to his best year in 2018 when he recorded 194 for that
year, he basically rewrote the records for Polk Co. In 2018, he saw ALL species
reported to ebird. The rise in total species reported each year kept creeping
up, reflecting his stretching to up his year totals, and adding new species to
the county records. From 2005 to 2018, there was an increase in totals species
reported for Polk every single year except two straight years (2010-11) where
the reported totals were the same. His life total in Polk on ebird is 240,
where he has submitted 6005 checklists. Daniel Jacobson related that ebird
recently sent Rick a notification, thanking him for 10,000 checklists submitted.
Knowing Rick and his love for our feathered friends, he is already scouting out
heaven's birds, so he can show them to us when we get there.
Companion Funeral Home on Georgetown Road in Cleveland is in charge of
arrangements. Check their web site for further details.
Bird on, my faithful friend,
David Chaffin
