Reflecting on Ron's legacy to our birding community, I remember an ABA convention in Fort Collins years ago which exemplifies his commitment to birders and to bird protection.
Ron spearheaded the search for Boreal Owls on Cameron Pass. Their efforts confirmed breeding, I believe the second Lower-48 breeding location. The search effort included putting up nest boxes, some of which the owls used. When ABA came to town, most of the participants had a yen to add Boreal Owl to their life lists. In order to accommodate them, and in order to protect the owls from disturbance by hundreds of people individually cruising up and down the pass with tape recorders, spotlights, and other intrusive search weapons, he arranged an ABA Boreal Owl tour. On the appointed morning 4 buses (or maybe 2 - time exaggerates these things) drove up Cameron Pass and parked near an occupied nest box. As we filed off the buses, Ron instructed everyone to stay absolutely silent and to follow in single file to the appointed place. The 100 or so observers walked, single file, mouths shut, to the bottom of a clearing. With everyone set, Ron walked up to a next box at the top of the clearing. He scratched on the tree. Immediately a Boreal Owl head poked out. It surveyed the clearing for 30 seconds, then withdrew. Everyone walked away, silently, single file, to the buses. Success! Hugh Kingery Franktown, CO -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/1566be8051c-4ada-b91a%40webprd-a32.mail.aol.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
