Roger Tory Peterson
A century ago birding as we know it today did not exist. Instead of birders in the field with binoculars and bird identification guides people collected bird eggs and nests much to the devastation of bird populations. Amatuer birders collected information by shooting birds and preparing specimens. Instead of todays popular Christmas Count where thousands of birders count birds in nearly 2,000 localities as a way of monitoring the health of bird populations, the holidays were celebrated by competitions to kill as many birds as possible without regard to the bird or even its edibility.
Roger Tory Peterson brought so much to the development of modern birding. A quiet and talented man he was obsessed with birds and brought his talents as an artist, a writer, a photographer and a lecturer to the world of birding. In 1934 the first printing of his A Guide To Birds with his colored illustrations sold out in a week. His identification system caught on and today there are 70 or more field guides in the Peterson series of nature guides. From 1984 until his death in 1996 at eighty-seven he wrote a column, "All Things Reconsidered," to Bird Watcher's Digest. These beautifully written essays tell the stories of his travels, the changes in the environment and its birds.
Houghton Mifflin has published a collection of these essays "All things Reconsidered: My Birding Adventures" by Roger Tory Peterson, edited by Bill Thompson III. Buy this book for yourself or give a gift to a birding friend or anyone who is interested in the natural world. His writing is beautiful and he shares many important and thoughtful points about nature and conservation.
