Distinguished Ornithologist Award - Previous Recipients

The Distinguished Ornithologist Award has been awarded most years since 1997 by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) to individuals who have made outstanding and authoritative contributions to the scientific study of birds in Ontario and Canada, who have been a resource to OFO and the Ontario birding community and whose research on birds has resulted in new ornithological knowledge.

The 12 recipients to date are:

Ron Tozer (2009)
Harry Lumsden (2008)
Mike Cadman (2007)
Ken Abraham (2006)
Ron Pittaway (2005)
Jim Rising (2004)
Bob Curry (2003)
Bruce Falls (2002)
George Peck (2001)
Murray Speirs (2000)
Ross James (1998)
Earl Godfrey (1997)

Ron TozerTop

Ron Tozer is a charter member of OFO and one of Ontario’s best known field ornithologists. Many of Canada’s prominent scientists and conservationists benefited from Ron’s mentoring when they were summer naturalists in Algonquin Park. OFO members appreciate Ron’s depth of ornithological knowledge and his willingness to impart it to others on field trips and in his articles in Ontario Birds and OFO News.

Ron’s impact on ornithology in Ontario is broad. Jon Dunn considers Ron’s 1974 book, co‐authored with Jim Richards, Birds of the Oshawa‐Lake Scugog Region, Ontario, as one of the finest regional bird books in North America. Ron is currently writing the Birds of Algonquin Park.

Ron was co-editor of Ontario Birds for 16 years from 1991 to 2006 as it evolved into one of North America’s leading ornithological journals. He currently serves on the Ontario Bird Records Committee and was Chair for five of his 14 years on the OBRC.

Ron participated in both Ontario Breeding Bird Atlases as Algonquin’s Regional Co‐ordinator and was scientific editor of 26 species accounts in the second atlas. Birders eagerly await his Birds of Algonquin Park.

Harry Lumsden Top

Harry Lumsden has been active for almost 60 years in the study and conservation of Ontario’s birds. He is respected worldwide as an authority on waterfowl and gallinaceous birds. He was one of the pioneers of ornithological research in northern Ontario. His research made very important additions to our knowledge on birds in that part of the province, as reflected in his numerous publications.

As a biologist and research scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), Harry conducted field work and made important contributions to the birdlife of Ontario. For example, he studied Sharp‐tailed Grouse and Greater Prairie‐Chickens on Manitoulin Island. He retired in 1988, but continued research projects such as his work on Trumpeter Swans.

Harry has been a member of OFO since 1983. He is a long time supporter of the organization, and has always responded enthusiastically to OFO members and editors seeking his advice. Harry has contributed articles to Ontario Birds, and for OFO's special publication, Ornithology in Ontario. Harry Lumsden was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2004 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to wildlife management and conservation.

Mike Cadman Top

Mike Cadman has been a life‐long student of birds. He received his Master of Science degree from the University of Toronto in 1980 based on studies of the American Oystercatcher.

He is a Songbird Biologist with Ontario Region of the Canadian Wildlife Service. He is best known as the driving force behind the first and now the second Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas, both monumental projects. The new atlas was published in fall 2007.

Mike Cadman takes a lead role in many important survey programs designed to monitor Ontario’s bird populations including the Forest Bird Monitoring program, 1992 to present. Mike is active on committees and organizations devoted to the conservation of birds and their habitats such as the Society of Canadian Ornithologists and Birds Studies Canada. He was chair of the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Team from 1992‐1999.

Mike has been studying birds for over 35 years. He has authored and co‐authored many publications in both peer‐reviewed and popular publications. Mike has published many articles in Ontario Birds and OFO News.

Ken AbrahamTop

Ken Abraham is respected worldwide for his knowledge of waterbirds, particularly Canada Geese, Cackling Geese, Brant, Snow Geese, Black Scoters and Marbled Godwits. He is the Ontario government’s representative on international committees overseeing the management and conservation of waterfowl and shorebirds.

Ken obtained his doctorate in 1980 from Queen’s University on the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology of the Snow Goose in northern Manitoba. This led to a job as District Biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) at Moosonee. Ken was responsible for an immense area of the Hudson Bay Lowland and northern coast. He is currently Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Scientist at the Ministry’s office at Trent University in Peterborough. Every summer Ken returns to the Hudson Bay Lowland to lead MNR’s studies of waterfowl, shorebirds, wetlands and climate change.

Ken is a great resource to OFO, authoring several articles in Ontario Birds and OFO News. His most popular article of international interest is “Cackling Goose, not new to Ontario” in the February 2005 issue of OFO News 23(1):2‐6 and on the OFO website here. Ken has published over 60 papers in peer‐reviewed journals such as the Auk, Condor and Wilson Bulletin.

Ron PittawayTop

Ron Pittaway’s passion for birds began during the 1950s in Ottawa, where his mentor was the late Earl Godfrey, then Curator of Ornithology at the National Museum. Godfrey influenced Ron’s interest in identification, taxonomy, subspecies, morphs, molts and plumages.

Ron is a founding life member of OFO, a co-editor of Ontario Birds from 1991 to 2006, and technical editor of OFO News from 1994 to 2007. He has authored over 130 articles on birds. He was a member of the Ontario Bird Records Committee for 12 years between 1984 and 2003, including three years as Chair and one as Secretary.

Ron strongly promotes conservation, having served five years as the Ontario government’s representative on the Loggerhead Shrike National Recovery Team. His Birding Guide to Carden Alvar here, plays an important role in public awareness of the alvar.

Ron brings an extraordinary breadth of knowledge to his articles and posts to Ontbirds and ID‐Frontiers. He inspired many people to take up birding during 10 seasons as a park naturalist in Algonquin Park and 23 years teaching conservation and resource management science at the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre near Minden.

Jim RisingTop

Jim Rising is an OFO member best known for his research and contributions to our knowledge of the taxonomy and identification of North American birds.

As professor of ornithology at the University of Toronto, Jim taught courses in field ornithology, evolutionary theory, freshwater and marine biology and subarctic ornithology. Many of his former students are prominent scientists.

Jim wrote 10 species accounts in the first Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario. He co‐authored six species accounts in The Birds of North America and wrote two chapters in the Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior.

Jim is a member of the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) and is the only Canadian on its Committee of Classification and Nomenclature. This committee decides the names and taxonomic order of North American birds.

Jim is an authority on sparrows and Baltimore and Bullock’s Orioles. He has published over 62 peer‐reviewed papers, contributed chapters in 20 books, and written several popular articles about birds. His identification guides to the sparrows, co-authored with David Beadle, are recognized for their thorough treatment. Jim regularly writes articles for OFO News, providing insights into changes to the AOU Check‐list.

Bob CurryTop

Bob Curry is well known in Ontario and North America as one of the continent’s finest field ornithologists. He began birding in Hamilton over 55 years ago under the guidance of the legendary George North. Bob has mentored many of Ontario’s top birders.

Bob is a founding life member of OFO and a strong supporter over the years. He was photo quiz editor of Ontario Birds from 1993 to 2002. He is also a founding member of the Ontario Bird Records Committee (OBRC). During 17 years on the OBRC, he served as Chair for eight years and Secretary for two.

Bob played an important role in both Ontario atlases, as an atlaser, member of the Data Review Committee for both atlases, species account author, reviewer, and Regional Coordinator for Halton Region in the first atlas. He is widely recognized as an authority on status, distribution and identification of birds in Ontario. His expertise in the field translates into many articles in Ontario Birds and OFO News and other publications.

Bob’s Birds of Hamilton and Surrounding Areas is one of the most extensive and authoritative regional bird books published in Ontario.

Bruce FallsTop

Bruce Falls had a long career as a professional ornithologist. He also is a mammalogist, having done his doctoral studies on the White‐footed Mouse at Long Point on Lake Erie, which continues to be one of his favourite birding areas.

As professor of zoology at the University of Toronto, Bruce supervised many graduate students at the Wildlife Research Station in Algonquin Park. He and his students studied many bird species including rails, catbirds, Ovenbirds, sparrows, meadowlarks and blackbirds. He authored many papers in peer‐reviewed journals and also co‐authored the accounts of the White‐throated Sparrow in Bent’s Life Histories and The Birds of North America.

Bruce is a member of the American Ornithologists’ Union, past president of the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, member of Bird Studies Canada, the Brodie Club, Toronto Ornithological Club and Ontario Field Ornithologists. He is very supportive of OFO and has written articles in OFO News.

Bruce, now retired, is an enthusiastic member of the Ontario birding community. He and his wife Ann make annual trips to Point Pelee, do Big Days in support of the Baillie Birdathon, and participated in the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas and Forest Bird Monitoring Program.

George PeckTop

George Peck has been a prominent ornithologist in Ontario for over 50 years. He is recognized for his work at the Royal Ontario Museum with the Ontario Nest Records Scheme, which he built into a major monitoring system of the breeding biology of Ontario birds.

George has contributed much to the scientific knowledge of Ontario birds through papers in North America’s leading ornithological journals. He authored eight species accounts in the first Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario. George co‐authored with Jim Richards a chapter on early Oologists in Ornithology in Ontario in 1987. He co‐authored with Ross James volume 1 in 1983 of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, Nidiology and Distribution: Nonpasserines. The Passerines in volume 2 was published in 1987. Both volumes were updated in seven installments in Ontario Birds.

George was appointed a Research Associate in Ornithology at the Royal Ontario Museum in 1976. He is an active member of many international, national, provincial and local organizations, some since 1939.

George is a well known wildlife photographer with a penchant for birds. His images have been published in 88 books, magazines and journals. George’s quest is to photograph every North American bird species.

Murray SpeirsTop

Murray Speirs was a leading ornithologist in Ontario for over 65 years. He is known for his meticulous recording of ornithological information. His primary interests were bird censusing and studies of American Robins, Black‐capped Chickadees, Lincoln’s Sparrows and Evening Grosbeaks. Murray wrote the Lincoln’s Sparrow account in Bent’s Life Histories in 1968. He compiled Birds of Ontario County, 1973‐1979, a five volume series on local bird populations. His two volume Birds of Ontario was published in 1985.

Murray’s contributions to conservation were considerable. He was a founding member of the Toronto Ornithological Club and Federation of Ontario Naturalists, and he co‐founded the Pickering Naturalists in 1977. He donated part of his property in Pickering to preserve Altona Forest.

Murray, a quiet giant of Ontario ornithology, distinguished himself among peers with his amazing powers of sight and hearing. He always took time to encourage and assist young ornithologists to develop their interests and expertise.

Murray received the Distinguished Ornithologist Award at home in Pickering on 3 February 2000. He passed away on 2 September 2000. The award ceremony honoring Murray was held at the OFO Annual Convention at Kortright Centre in Kleinburg on 16 September 2000.

Ross JamesTop

Ross James was Associate Curator of Ornithology at the Royal Ontario Museum before retiring in 1997. He continues to make significant contributions to the scientific study of birds and bird conservation in Ontario.

Ross is the author of numerous scientific and popular publications, including the Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Ontario (1991), which is the authoritative guide to the status of birds in Ontario. He co‐authored with George Peck two volumes in 1983 and 1987 of the Breeding Birds of Ontario: Nidiology and Distribution. His fieldwork took him all over Ontario and to the United States and Central America.

Ross’s expertise is sought by federal and provincial committees dealing with threatened and endangered birds and their habitats.

Ross is a great resource to the Ontario Field Ornithologists. He regularly contributes articles to Ontario Birds and OFO News and is a principal referee of articles submitted to Ontario Birds. He is a charter member of the Ontario Bird Records Committee, having also served several years as Secretary. An authority on vireos, Ross authored the Yellow‐throated Vireo account and co‐authored the Blue‐headed Vireo account in the Birds of North America series.

Earl GodfreyTop

Earl Godfrey, dean of Canadian ornithologists, was the first recipient of OFO’s Distinguished Ornithologist Award in 1997.

In his early years, Earl studied under Robie Tufts in his home province of Nova Scotia and then with noted taxonomist Harry Oberholser in the United States. In 1947, he became Curator of Ornithology at the National Museum of Canada, later becoming Chief of the Division of Vertebrate Zoology.

Earl headed surveys across Canada that led to numerous National Museum publications. He published over 200 works during a career of more than 60 years, including papers on geographic variation, nomenclature, distribution, behaviour, plumages and molts. He served as ornithological editor for the Canadian Field‐Naturalist. His classic book The Birds of Canada, published 1966 and updated in 1986, sold over 250,000 copies.

Earl’s enthusiastic encouragement of others, in particular young birders who visited him at the museum, played a large role in launching the careers of many natural science specialists throughout Canada. Earl retired in 1977 and remained active as Curator Emeritus. He was a valuable resource to the editors of Ontario Birds and OFO News. Earl passed away in Ottawa at the age of 92 on 8 June 2002.