Birders older than, say, 40, were probably initiated to this
pastime using Roger Tory Peterson’s bird guide. Peterson's Guide to American
Birds was really the only one
available for decades. His beautiful paintings, graceful language and gentle
humor grounded
us in both the art and the science of birding. Meticulous paintings helped us
through the ‘Confusing Fall
Warblers’; we smiled at the prospect of seeing one each of all those
swallows lined up on a telephone wire like little soldiers. And his
descriptions, such as the ‘ethereal’
call of the Veery, and the sanderling retreating from incoming waves “… like a
clock work toy…”, are lyrical, eloquent and precise. Today, August 28, marks
the 104thanniversary of the birth of “RTP”, and while there are many fine
field guides to American birds these days, most veteran
birders still have their dog eared, marked up, falling-apart Peterson Guide
nearby. Mine is stiff and kind of hard to manipulate because it got dunked
in the Potomac a few years ago – but it is always with me.
Harry Glasgow
Friends of Huntley Meadows Park
August
28, 2011
