The birding world is suspended. The sudden death of Tom Johnson rends the veil of ordinary life. We are bereft. I had hoped to win some and lose many debates with him in our future decades of life, over identification, taxonomy, or anything. It is so easy to be wrong, but I would never have guessed that our innocently anticipated future, shared with his sonorous voice and masterful birding touch, was ever in doubt.
Among so many impressions, I remember his enthusiasm at a talk I gave at the NYSOA meeting in Rochester, in September 2008. He and our own Long Island phenom, Shawn Billerman, were undergrads at Cornell then, recipients of the Lillian Stoner Award—our trusted guardians of the future. The next day, they found a Magnificent Frigatebird on Cayuga Lake, which Pat and I and Alex Wilson chased breathlessly and ultimately saw. Tom was a giant in our world, one we needed and still need. Shai Mitra Bay Shore -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
