Date: 5/13/26 5:01 pm From: Brian Sullivan via groups.io <heraldpetrel...> Subject: Re: [CALBIRDS] A Guy McCaskie interview you shouldn't miss
Kimball et al.
Thanks so much for sharing this. It really does capture the spirit of Guy,
and what makes him the legend that he is in birding and in life.
I knew I was going to like him right from the start, when during our first
phone call back in 2001 he said, "Meet me at Taqueria Sombrero in El Cajon
at 2AM, we'll take my car...". We spent that day, and many days after,
bouncing around every corner of the Salton Sea together, and he showed me
how to bird the place, and in many ways, how to bird in general. He shared
his time and knowledge freely -- giving a lot of it to a newcomer to the
San Diego birding scene, and asking nothing in return. He made a huge
impression on me at the time, and had a big impact on how I came to think
of what it means to be a 'birder'. I'm sure there are many people reading
this who could tell similar stories of Guy's selflessness, and his
excitement at sharing the magic of the Salton Sea and his form of birding
with others.
My favorite Guy story (and there are many) involves a Debi Shearwater
pelagic out of Ft. Bragg back in 2002. It was a rough day, and Guy was not
well. Seasickness had robbed him of his legs, and he spent much of the day
face down, undulating with the water in the scuppers at the back of the
boat. Late in the afternoon, a cry went out: "Streaked Shearwater in the
wake"! Guy immediately came to, sat bolt upright, lifted his bins, took in
the bird and yelled, "Goddamned good bird!!". He was wild-eyed, wind-blown,
and ecstatic -- stoked. I think it was his 600th California bird. Nothing
could diminish his love of birds. He was then, and still is, an inspiration
to us all. His impact on modern birding has been elemental.
On Tue, May 12, 2026 at 2:33 PM Kimball Garrett via groups.io <cyanolyca818=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Birders,
>
> Recently, links to some interviews and other on-line material about Guy
> was shared on Calbirds. I wanted to make sure you also knew about an
> extended interview with Guy conducted at the 2024 WFO meeting in San Diego
> as part of the Western Field Ornithologists oral history project.
>
> Go to the WFO website < westernfieldornithologists.org/about/ > and
> scroll down all the way to "Oral History Interviews"
> Click on "Next>>" where it says "1/4 Next .."
> From the next group of interviews select the one with Guy.
>
> It's a fun 47 minutes to spend with Guy, with stories about the origin of
> the California Bird Records Committee, California Field Ornithologists, and
> the journal California Birds, the transition to Western Birds/WFO, the
> origin of the Sabine's Gull logo, and other tidbits, culminating in Guy's
> discovery of the Ross's Gull at the south end of the Salton Sea.
>
> What a Guy!
>
> KImball Garrett
> Juniper Hills, CA
>
>
>
>
--
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*Brian L. Sullivan*
*Digital Publications LeadCornell Lab of Ornithology*
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