So long, Rich
Rich Stallcup, as he appeared about the time I first met him in the 1970s. Photo by Van Remsen. From Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kenn writes: This past Saturday, December 15, was the annual Christmas Bird Count at Point Reyes, California. One of the largest CBCs in North America, Point Reyes regularly fields around 200 observers and records around 200 species, a testament to the fabulous birding culture of Marin County. This year, for the first time in many years, one observer was conspicuously absent: the legendary Rich Stallcup, beloved leader of the Marin birding community for the last half-century. Rich had been battling illness for many months. As the bird counters gathered for their compilation Saturday evening, he slipped away across the horizon. To say that Rich Stallcup had a massive influence on birding and natural history in the great state of California would be a huge understatement. Everyone knew him, everyone had learned from him. But his influ...