![]() ![]() Once her job was complete, she hopped to the center of the pole and seemed to puff out her chest with crest held high. We watched the bird alight atop a utility pole and peck out a hole for her cache. ![]() But the third time was a charm, and my friend Karen Fevold heard the woodpecker before seeing it swoop across the road from a line of scarlet oaks with a telltale acorn in her beak. I didn’t find the bird on my first visit or even the second. When she first spied the bird, she recalled what Ed had taught about making notes and recordings when you see an unusual bird. One of my classmates, Virginia Lohr, was the first person to spot and report the acorn woodpecker. The thoughtful course was like a college-level immersion in bird identification, and how to apply this skill to contribute to knowledge about bird populations and inspire others to care about birds. I was lucky enough to take his Advancing Birder course held via Zoom in the depths of the pandemic-a bright spot during a time of uncertainty and fear. Since his death, I’ve talked to countless people who mourn his loss, each with a story to share about Ed’s generosity and kind heart.Įd is one of a handful of teachers who shaped me into a better birder and more patient naturalist. Ed had a heart attack two weeks shy of his 60 th birthday, and his death left a gaping hole in our birding and island communities, and surely a great void for all humankind.Įd was a quiet force for making the world a better place, whether sparking stewardship for birds through bird walks and classes, helping build a school in Uganda, keeping meticulous bird records (he also authored “The Birds of Vashon Island”), or advocating for the housing insecure. It was a drizzly morning just a few days after Ed Swan had died. The first time I set out to find the acorn woodpecker, I was feeling low. This bird has been identified as a female because her crest is black and red, as opposed to the male’s, which is all red. They live in extended clans that aggressively defend their rich nut stores, females share and brood one collective nest, and the clan works together to rear young. These woodpeckers’ remarkably complex social structure has prompted one of the longest-running bird behavior studies ever (following family groups in California). ![]()
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