[Tweeters] Patrick's Monday WOS trip

[pslott]

  We were also very lucky that Patrick and Ruth felt they had the room 
to include Alan and me on their Monday WOS conference field trip to 
“Ocean Shores South”. I learned more than ever from Patrick on that 
trip. A few of us were looking for rarities as life birds and Patrick 
was more than up to the task. Not only did I learn the full extent of 
the Game Range, how to work with tides there, and its major waterways, 
but also I learned how to really work an area for rarities. I got my 
American Golden-Plover in spades as Patrick took us closer and closer to 
the birds for the photographers in the group. Ever the conscientious 
birder, Patrick pulled back before the birds were too disturbed and they 
continued to feed as he led us off to try to relocate the Buff-breasted 
Sandpipers that we’d seen earlier for better views. He was amazing as 
always that day, identifying birds by ear, silhouette, and flight 
pattern when I hadn’t even heard them zipping by. Certainly, every bird 
that was in the area was identified by Patrick. I wanted to ask if I 
could come down to Tacoma sometime when he and Ruth were going out, just 
to tag along and learn what I could by being with him. I kept thinking 
of the descriptions I’d read of experts from Cornell competing with each 
other in identifying by ear the migrants flying over at night. Patrick 
was a true expert. Many of us knew that.
Patrick’s death is a great loss to the birding community, a loss to me, 
a loss to anyone who had the opportunity to bird with him. When I met 
Patrick, he was already an expert birder, and over these few years he 
became an expert trip leader, going for as much as the group could go 
for and not pushing anyone beyond what they could do. Birding with 
Patrick was always an ultimate experience.

Patricia S. Lott
Seattle, WA
mail to: VariedThrush at comcast.net