Birding: Can you describe the moment—and the bird—that started you in birding more than 80 years ago? Chandler S. Robbins: There must have been some special moment or bird that triggered my interest in birding, but that has long since disappeared from my memory. Be- fore I could walk, my grandmother had taken me around town in a baby carriage and I had been fas- cinated by a cabinet of mounted birds in the lob- by of the local public library. When my dad was a teenager, he had been taking Christmas Bird Counts with my mother’s brother before he knew the young lady who was to become my mother. Her dad, who was a botanist at Harvard, always wore a hand lens around his neck. He used to take me hiking in the Waverly Oaks, a small park in the Boston suburbs, and teach me to identify the flowers and trees. I was fascinated to learn that some of the giant oaks we were picnicking under had been growing there when Christopher Columbus “discovered” America. A better ques- tion might be, how could I not have a fascination for birds and for wildlife in general? Birding: Throughout your long career, you have been ac- claimed as a modernizing and visionary force in field or- nithology. What are some of the cutting-edge issues for bird- ers and field ornithologists today? CSR: Looking to the future, we are going to retain only those natural environments that the American public loves, respects, and protects. Eighty years ago, most of us lived in rural communities or small towns and grew up loving and caring for the natural environments that we called home. Today, most Americans spend far less time outdoors; our agendas are dif- ferent, and we don’t perceive the same need for nature and wilderness that folks did several gen- erations ago. We must find ways for the public to understand that the long-term declining trends in bird and other wildlife populations are directly related to the future of not only human enjoy- ment but also of the ability of human life to exist on this planet. We need realistic predictions of how soon the oceans will no longer support edi- ble fish and how soon melting glaciers could dis- appear from certain regions (at present rates) be- fore the general public will take any interest in habitat protection. Birding: Anybody who’s worked with you—or knows anybody who’s worked with you—knows you demand daily field notes BIRDING • SEPTEMBER 2012 16 BIRDING INTERVIEW A Birding Interview with Chandler S. Robbins C handler S. Robbins, a seminal figure in modern field ornithology, has spent a productive 94 years on this planet. He was smitten by birds at the age of 12 and became a tireless bird conservationist, retiring after a 60-year career in 2005 from the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland. He studied the effects of the pesticide DDT, documented the effects of for- est fragmentation on Eastern woodland birds, organized the North American Breeding Bird Survey, and coauthored the ground- breaking Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification in 1966. He has served as a role model for countless young birders, penned 636 publications, and received numerous awards. A biological station in Guatemala is named for him, and a Laysan Al- batross that he banded in 1956 is believed to be the oldest wild bird on record. For previous Birding tributes to Robbins, see Paul Hess’s “Chandler S. Robbins: Sixty Visionary Years” (July/August 2006, pp. 26–27) and “On the Road Again—For a Bird Survey that Counts” by Dave Ziolkowski Jr., Keith Pardieck, and John R. Sauer (July 2010, pp. 32–40). In this extended Birding interview, Robbins makes the case for field notebooks in the electronic age, laments the decline of Red- eyed Vireos, pleads for children to go outdoors, and supplies an exhaustive—and exhausting!—list of his “retirement” activities. —Noah K. Strycker The interviewee dis- courses on some matter related to bird conser- vation. Note that his hairstyle is unchanged from the first half of the 20th century.
Transcript
Birding: Can you describe the moment—and the bird—thatstarted you in birding more than 80 years ago?Chandler S. Robbins: There must have been some specialmoment or bird that triggered my interest in birding, but thathas long since disappeared from my memory. Be-fore I could walk, my grandmother had taken mearound town in a baby carriage and I had been fas-cinated by a cabinet of mounted birds in the lob-by of the local public library. When my dad was ateenager, he had been taking Christmas BirdCounts with my mother’s brother before he knewthe young lady who was to become my mother.Her dad, who was a botanist at Harvard, alwayswore a hand lens around his neck. He used to takeme hiking in the Waverly Oaks, a small park inthe Boston suburbs, and teach me to identify theflowers and trees. I was fascinated to learn thatsome of the giant oaks we were picnicking underhad been growing there when ChristopherColumbus “discovered” America. A better ques-tion might be, how could I not have a fascinationfor birds and for wildlife in general?
Birding: Throughout your long career, you have been ac-claimed as a modernizing and visionary force in field or-
nithology. What are some of the cutting-edge issues for bird-ers and field ornithologists today?CSR: Looking to the future, we are going to retain only thosenatural environments that the American public loves, respects,
and protects. Eighty years ago, most of us livedin rural communities or small towns and grew uploving and caring for the natural environmentsthat we called home. Today, most Americansspend far less time outdoors; our agendas are dif-ferent, and we don’t perceive the same need fornature and wilderness that folks did several gen-erations ago. We must find ways for the public tounderstand that the long-term declining trends inbird and other wildlife populations are directlyrelated to the future of not only human enjoy-ment but also of the ability of human life to existon this planet. We need realistic predictions ofhow soon the oceans will no longer support edi-ble fish and how soon melting glaciers could dis-appear from certain regions (at present rates) be-fore the general public will take any interest inhabitat protection.
Birding: Anybody who’s worked with you—or knows anybodywho’s worked with you—knows you demand daily field notes
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B I R D I N G I N T E R V I E W
A Birding Interview with Chandler S. Robbins
Chandler S. Robbins, a seminal figure in modern field ornithology, has spent a productive 94 years on this planet. He was
smitten by birds at the age of 12 and became a tireless bird conservationist, retiring after a 60-year career in 2005 from the
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland. He studied the effects of the pesticide DDT, documented the effects of for-
est fragmentation on Eastern woodland birds, organized the North American Breeding Bird Survey, and coauthored the ground-
breaking Birds of North America: A Guide to Field Identification in 1966. He has served as a role model for countless young birders,
penned 636 publications, and received numerous awards. A biological station in Guatemala is named for him, and a Laysan Al-
batross that he banded in 1956 is believed to be the oldest wild bird on record. For previous Birding tributes to Robbins, see Paul
Hess’s “Chandler S. Robbins: Sixty Visionary Years” (July/August 2006, pp. 26–27) and “On the Road Again—For a Bird Survey
that Counts” by Dave Ziolkowski Jr., Keith Pardieck, and John R. Sauer (July 2010, pp. 32–40).
In this extended Birding interview, Robbins makes the case for field notebooks in the electronic age, laments the decline of Red-
eyed Vireos, pleads for children to go outdoors, and supplies an exhaustive—and exhausting!—list of his “retirement” activities.
—Noah K. Strycker
The interviewee dis-courses on some matterrelated to bird conser-vation. Note that his
hairstyle is unchangedfrom the first half ofthe 20th century.
of all field workers. Why? Do we need field notebooks in thisera of smartphone applications and eBird?CSR: It is interesting that you should ask about field note-books. I never knew Ludlow Griscom to take a single note inthe field. He waited until he returned home or to the office,then made entries in his ledger. I started with a bound ledger,one or two pages set up for each species, and then kept pock-et notebooks for use in the field. I later transcribed certainnotes into my Tucker book of state lists and later into a copyof Clements’ world checklist when and if I got around to it.As time passed, different activities, such as Christmas BirdCounts, Thanksgiving Day or backyard bird counts, Breeding
Bird Survey routes, banding projects, and atlas blocks requiredspecialized forms, usually on a clipboard rather than in note-book form, so one needs to be adaptable. Yes, we still needthe convenience and reliability of field notebooks. I have hadway too many bad experiences losing data that I thought werepreserved permanently on electronic media (diskettes that nolonger can be read when readers became obsolete, and evencurrent media that suddenly cannot be read). I frequently re-fer to my notebooks from 50 or more years ago, yet several ofmy disk drives from last year or early this year can no longerbe read on any of my three computers.
Birding: What have the BBS data taught us about North Amer-ican bird populations? Which species are you worried about,and why?CSR: Thanks to the continued collaboration of thousands ofdedicated observers, the North American Breeding Bird Surveyis showing with greater and greater precision the rates ofchange in continental bird populations and the geographic ar-eas where the greatest changes are taking place. Initially, mygreatest concerns were for species that were disappearing frommy long-term routes in the Middle Atlantic states: the Logger-head Shrike, Bewick’s Wren, and Bachman’s Sparrow. But astime went on I began to realize that counts of the most com-mon species were dropping sharply at roadside stops whereno change in habitat could be detected; at stops where I usedto count eight or nine singing male Red-eyed Vireos, mycounts declined to just two or three. Roger Tory Peterson usedto claim that the Red-eyed Vireo was the most common birdin the Eastern deciduous forest. I wonder if it still is.
Birding: How was the Birds of North America “Golden Guide”
conceived to promote birding in the1960s? How can we inspire young bird-ers today?CSR: Golden Press expanded into thefield guide industry in 1949 when it in-troduced a pocket Golden Guide to Fa-miliar American Birds by Ira Gabrielsonand Herbert Zim, followed by a series ofmore than a dozen other natural histo-ry topics, each illustrated by coloredpaintings, generally of males, and col-ored distribution maps. Next followed aseries of more-advanced guides, show-ing all species and all major plumages,starting with Birds of North America in1966. Thanks to the artistic skill ofArthur Singer, we were able to show thebirds in appropriate habitat with facingmaps and descriptions. Because GoldenPress was able to reproduce every pagein full color, it gave them an advantageover other publishers at that time. Oneway to inspire young birders today is toconvince them that with their superiorhearing and eyesight they can success-fully compete with much more experi-enced adults.
Birding: What training do you recom-mend for future bird scientists and con-servationists? What avian mysteries re-main unsolved? What are the mostcritical conservation targets for birds?CSR: Times have changed since LudlowGriscom said no job opportunities ex-isted for scientists interested in ornitho-logical fieldwork. Now every state andseveral federal government departmentsemploy scientists trained in wildlife con-servation. Wildlife protection is now aninternational field requiring collabora-tion throughout the hemisphere; keyqualifications include the ability to com-municate in Spanish and Portugueseand familiarity with the basics of statis-tical analysis. The most critical conser-vation needs are to determine the majorcauses of bird population decline and to
find ways to maintain viable populationsof each species. When I began workingfor the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inthe mid-1950s, the major mystery in thebanding lab was the wintering groundsof the Chimney Swift; thousands werebeing banded, but there had never beena recapture or even a sighting of thespecies on its wintering grounds. Today,with the recent discovery of the BlackSwift’s wintering grounds, we know thebreeding and winter range of all U.S.and Canadian species. So the mysteriescenter on reducing bird population de-clines and finding ways to rank habitatprotection in terms of both urgency andgreatest potential benefit.
Birding: As an inspiration for RachelCarson’s Silent Spring, do you believe weare doing a good job today of protectingbreeding birds from pesticides? Whatother threats are facing North Americanbirds?CSR: We are doing well protecting
birds from pesticides within the U.S.and Canada, but our producers are stillshipping large quantities of harmful pes-ticides to Latin America, where their useis not restricted. Of course there aremany threats associated with the rapidincrease in human population and theassociated demand for living space,recreational space, communication andtravel, and food and energy require-ments. Perhaps the greatest threat is los-ing our connection with the natural en-vironment. Too many children are nowraised indoors with no knowledge or ap-preciation of nature and no incentive toretain any part of their natural environ-ment. Who will carry on the fight to re-duce atmospheric and oceanic pollu-tion, to conserve productive farmlandand clean water, and to work towardslowing the rising sea levels?
Birding: The fight to protect forest habi-tats for birds in Maryland has been soimportant to you. How are thoseforests—and birds—faring now?CSR: In 1971, the state of Maryland en-acted its Nongame and EndangeredSpecies Conservation Act, and in 1984,the Chesapeake Bay Critical Areas Law,which for the first time specifically pro-tected forest-interior breeding bird habi-tat. In spite of protective measures inMaryland, statewide breeding popula-tions of forest-interior species continueto decline—even of such commonspecies as the Red-eyed Vireo and WoodThrush. We desperately need reliable es-timates of bird mortality rates at com-munication towers and wind farms, andwe must find ways to reduce their im-pact while viable populations of migra-tory songbirds still remain.
Birding: How did you happen to have abiological station in Guatemala namedfor you? Why did you become so inter-ested in birds south of the border?
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CSR: In 1983, the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService invited key Latin American gov-ernment biologists to attend a trainingconference at Patuxent to hear papers onrecent research on effects of forest frag-mentation on the distribution of breed-ing birds in the eastern U.S. At the closeof the conference, our Office of Interna-tional Affairs offered to help interestedcountries explore fragmentation effectsat appropriate sites south of the border.The response was outstanding. I spentthe next dozen winters working with or-nithologists in the Greater Antilles, east-ern Mexico, Central America, and north-ern South America, comparing winterbird populations in pairs of study sites,one site in extensive tropical forest, theother in an isolated patch of the samehabitat. In each tropical country wefound the same result: The North Amer-ican migrants were wintering chiefly inthe fragmented forests that the breedingtropical birds avoided. In Belize andGuatemala, we stayed on for more-in-tensive studies, and at one of ourGuatemala sites at Cerro San Gil, wherethe conservation organization FUN-DAECO established a research stationand continued long-term ornithologicalstudies, they named the station after me.
Birding: Please tell us the incredible sto-ry of Wisdom the albatross—the world’smost venerable bird banded by theworld’s most venerable living bird ban-der and conservationist! After all theseyears, and even surviving a tsunami,how is she doing?CSR: While working to reduce the strikerate between military aircraft and nestingalbatrosses at the Midway Islands, Ibanded tens of thousands of nesting andnon-nesting albatrosses there in the1950s and 1960s. At that time we had noidea how long these birds might live, butat least 7% of the birds had reached 23years of age. The bands we were using in
those days became illegible after about 20years, so we tried to capture and re-bandthe birds every 15 to 20 years. I banded“Wisdom” on December 10, 1956 as abreeding adult Laysan Albatross and re-banded her in 1966. Other scientists re-captured her yet again, and changed herband in 1985 and 1993. When I re-turned to Midway for a brief visit in2002, I changed her band again, but, be-cause she was wearing bands issued toother people, I did not recognize her un-til I returned to the banding lab. I in-formed U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servicepersonnel at Midway of her nest location,and in 2006 refuge staff gave her a brightred leg band, Z333, so she would be easyto recognize without having to re-captureher. As of the spring of 2012, at the age ofat least 61 years, she was the oldestknown wild bird on Earth, and appar-ently was in good health, as she was rais-ing another chick.
Birding: From what or whom did youdraw the inspiration and energy for yourlife’s work with birds? How were you in-fluenced by studying with LudlowGriscom at Harvard University? CSR: I have a list of 54 persons who in-spired me to work in ornithology, in-cluding Francis H. Allen, E. AlexanderBergstrom, Thornton W. Burgess, RogerTory Peterson, and Harvard’s James LeePeters. I had been fascinated by birdbanding and had visited William Whar-ton’s banding station in Groton, Massa-chusetts, and the Austin station on CapeCod, and had obtained a bird-bandingpermit from Fred Lincoln. LudlowGriscom, who was my freshman advisorat Harvard, did his best to convince methat there were too few jobs available infield ornithology, and that I should pre-pare to get a job in teaching and keepornithology as a hobby. So I majored inphysics and my first full-time job was inteaching math and science to junior
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high students at an international schoolin Vermont.
Birding: What have you been up to inretirement? Do you still keep a propertylist? (How many species?) Do you everfind the time to update your life list?CSR: My chief project at the momentis helping the bird-banding lab recon-struct tens of thousands of recapturerecords for the albatrosses. For decadesthe clerks had been terminating eachrecord every time a band was changed,and starting a new record for the newband. This made it impossible to de-termine how old the birds were. I stillhave a few writing and editorial proj-ects and still participate in various fall,winter, and spring bird counts and dosome banding at my home station aswell as prepare the annual fall south-eastern banding summaries for NorthAmerican Bird Bander. I have a breedingbird atlas block about a hundred milesfrom home in the eastern panhandle ofWest Virginia, and twice a year I give atalk to refuge managers at the RefugeAcademy. I still have a Guatemalandoctoral student at the University ofBuenos Aires.
I have not added a new species to my2½-acre “house list” since number 202,when a Common Raven flew over in2008. Jay Sheppard finally discoveredthat a pair of ravens was nesting onRocky Gorge Dam in 2011 and again in2012, less than two thirds of a mile up-stream from my house! Every once in awhile I pull out my life list to look up adate or a location or to add a few species,but there are still hundreds of birds thatI have not taken time to enter. I enjoy thegood fortune of having most of my fam-ily close by and we still share many bird-ing activities together. For more than 60years, I have been singing in the choir ofthe local church. There are never enoughhours in each day!
