Photography by Vera Copogna
One of Great South Bay Audubon Society’s prominent members for years passed away on December 27, 2019 at the age of 81. A Board Member from before I joined the chapter in 1990 through 1995, he went into semi-retirement and lived in Naples, Florida for the winter months before returning back in Spring to Bay Shore.
A very good athlete. He was a star football player at Chaminade High School and an excellent tennis player. An enthusiastic and dedicated birder, he always welcomed others to join in the joy of birding. He was the co-leader of our full weekend trips to the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (a.k.a. Brigantine) and Cape May in the Fall and the Bashakill/Doodletown Road (later Bashakill/Sterling Forest) trip in Spring, as well as Saturday or Sunday field trips to places like Central Park or the Alley Pond, Forest Park, and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge trip. On Saturdays, he would also go out with some of us to places like Jones Beach or Fire Island during the migration and winter seasons.
Peter was a major supporter of our chapter, giving generously. He also was a collector of the artwork which was donated to the chapter for the purposes of the silent auction at the Annual Dinner. He accumulated quite a collection over the years. His wife had commissioned me to do a painting of his favorite bird, the Blackburnian Warbler.
Peter was always proud of his life list, which he approached as a personal competition. After fully retiring, Peter enjoyed birding in more ‘exotic’ places. He had gone to the rain forests of Costa Rica, in search of quetzals, toucans, and hummingbirds. He was amongst one of the last groups of birders who were able to stay over on Attu Island before the Coast Guard officially closed Attu in 2010. For those who saw the movie The Big Year, you will have seen that this location is visited by Asian vagrant bird species, some very rare. On the island, transportation was via bicycle only, so it was not for the faint of heart. Attu was THE ideal location to observe and record these vagrant species.
Peter always loved the camaraderie of birding. Whether with Bill Madigan and me when we went up to Ithaca to visit Cornell’s Laboratory of Ornithology and surrounding Sapsucker Woods or others like Mike Maran or the Merrymans, birding with others and sharing the excitement of observation was always an enjoyment.
So, for those of us who were fortunate enough to have known Peter, his passing has saddened us. Our chapter was fortunate to have had him as a member for so many years.
