MDOspery'ers,

 

I will also miss Paul DuMont. We would bird the Eastern Shore in the early
to mid 80's staying at my townhouse in Ocean City. Paul is the one who
showed me how to identify Little Gulls and Black-headed Gulls mixed with the
Bonaparte Gulls at the Ocean City Inlet. He had uncanny luck and skill in
finding them.

In 1997 Paul told me about his 800th ABA bird. He hired a helicopter and
flew over the mountains in Nevada to find a Himalayan Snowcock.

In 2006 I went to Attu. Written on a wall of the "Attu Hilton" was Fall 83
Paul DuMont '76 '79 '80 '83 - 745. The 745 was his ABA species count to that
date. It was customary to write your name on the walls with your species
count. There were names of many great birders but I did not see any with a
total a high as Paul's, by 1983. I took a picture of the writing on the wall
and sent it to Paul. 

 

 

Good Birding,

Joe Hanfman

Columbia, MD