Hi ya'all:
I would just like to introduce myself to the Virginia birding community on this
list-serv. I have been subscribed to several list-servs in the past, and they
usually require or request a short introduction, and although this list is
apparently not as formal as some, allow me to introduce myself.
I recently moved to the area from Janesville, Wisconsin. I came here for
employment. My real job is as a Project Manager for a commercial glazing
company. Although I am working in Sterling, I will be living in West Virginia
just over the state line in Shannondale (South of Harper's Ferry), where I am
building a house up on the ridge. My lovely wife Lori (alas, not a birder) and
I have been married for seven years, we have a five-year-old daughter named
Madalyn Shea (loves birds and her daddy), and we are expecting our first son,
Rowan John, on July 4th (yet to be determined if he will like birds or his
daddy).
Everyone has a story to tell as to how they became hooked on birds/ornithology
(please feel free to share yours with me or the list, it's fun). For me, at
the ripe old age of ten, it was a flock of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks eating Pin
Oak buds in my new backyard that hooked me into birding and birds. We had just
moved from a city property to one on the edge of Janesville next to a river. I
was fascinated by those beautiful male grosbeaks, as I had never dreamed that
there were birds that beautiful in Wisconsin. I was lucky that there were
birders across the street, who took me out birding, and out to a local
bird-banding station (now named Sand Bluff Bird Observatory near Shirland, IL)
which is one of the largest in the U.S., where I immediately volunteered to
work on weekends (and have been doing so for the last 29 years). I have been
involved in ornithology ever since then.
I am an autodidactic Ornithologist, and currently doing research on
forest-dwelling neotropical species (my primary research is on thrushes) via
bird marking (banding) and field observation, and I currently hold a Federal
Master (bird marking and salvage) Permit. I have been forced to close my
Wisconsin research site do to the move(www.wilsoncreekmaps.com), but I will
continue my research in both Virginia and West Virginia, hopefully soon. I
will keep you all posted as to the status of my research, since I enjoy company
and help, when necessary. I am a member of several organizations, and will be
joining the VSO soon. I should warn you all right now that I have an odd sense
of humor, at times. I routinely add strange quotes to my postings, for example.
Well, that's about it, I suppose. Hopefully I'll get to meet some of you in
the future, although I am not much of a twitcher (sighting chaser). If anyone
in the Sterling area would be interested in helping me with my banding, please
send me a back-channel response. Cheers!
Richard L. Smallwood-Roberts, Janesville, WI: M-Bander, Wilson Creek MAPS
Station, SBBO Staff: www.wilsoncreekmaps.com
"If I could be a bird, I'd be a Flying Purple People Eater because then people
would sing about me and I could fly down and eat them because I hate that song."
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM).
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.