Date: 12/29/24 5:25 am From: \J. Merrill Lynch\ (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: John Fussell
A fitting tribute. Thanks Derb for penning this. All of us who were lucky
enough to have shared time afield with Fussell realize what a huge loss his
passing represents.
My first encounter with John was my freshman year at NC State. He was in
graduate school and I was a clueless kid. His reputation as a renowned
birder was already established and I regarded him in awe. He taught me a
lot in those early years more than a half century ago.
He wasn’t just a great birder but an amazing naturalist who knew as much as
could be known about the native plants, animals, and natural communities of
his beloved Carteret County. We all used to joke that he rarely ventured
outside the county much less the state or the country. But he knew more
about the natural world than all of us put together. And his photographic
memory! He could recall specific dates, tide tables, weather conditions,
etc. going back decades with uncanny accuracy.
Another thing we joked about was his refusal for years to get a spotting
scope. All the rest of us thought having a scope would make us better
birders and see/identify more birds. But I think John actually realized
that the lack of a scope honed the ability to detect subtle differences in
general size, shape, and behavior—things not learned from books but only
from experience. He was a master at this. And of course it also meant
walking or more likely wading through deep muck to get as close as possible
for a better look!
I also remember all the great times sleeping on the floor at his parent’s
house on Shepard Street the night before his Christmas count. None of us
got much sleep—too busy talking about birds and our very detailed
assignments for the next day. He had of course spent weeks ahead of the
count staking out the rarities that we were expected to see…or else!
So many memories. RIP John Fussell. You touched so many people in so many
ways. I will always be eternally grateful.
J. Merrill Lynch
Echo Valley Farm
Watauga County, NC
Elevation: 3,400 feet
On Sat, Dec 28, 2024 at 8:47 PM Derb Carter <carolinabirds...> wrote:
> North Carolina lost a giant in the birding community with the passing of
> John Fussell in Morehead City. John was a fixture in NC birding for sixty
> years starting as a teenager, pursuing hi interest at NC State, then
> returning to Morehead City. He knew the birds and every birding corner along
> his beloved NC coast like no one else. In fact, he wrote the book. UNC
> Press published his Birder's Guide to Coastal North Carolina in 1994 and it
> remains the definitive guide.
>
> John eagerly volunteered to lead field trips at CBC meetings, Wings Over
> Water, and other gatherings and many birders in the Carolinas got to know
> him through these trips. The one thing you could almost be certain of on
> one of John's trips is you were going to get your feet soaked within the
> first hour. If the shortest way was dry, John would take the long way
> through the marsh or tidal flats on the chance of flushing a rail, sparrow,
> or wren.
>
> John was also well known outside the state as THE guy who could show you
> your first Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Swainson's Warbler, or Black Rail. His
> knowledge of NC coastal birds and birding sites was unparalleled.
>
> He also cared deeply about protecting important habitats and as an
> accomplished naturalist contributed his knowledge and observations to the
> identification and preservation of lands by state and federal agencies and
> conservation organizations. In recent years, he frequently visited the
> massive wetland restoration project at North River Farms documenting the
> changing bird communities as the wetlands are restored.
>
> John was understated and it was hard to tell when he was excited. In 1982
> I found a Masked Duck on a lake in the Croatian Forest. I didn't have a way
> to document it so called John and he raced over with his camera. After an
> extended search we relocated it and John got photos, about the most excited
> I ever saw him. A few years later some of us were birding on Pea Island
> dikes at the end of a long day when John walked up. We exchanged greetings
> and started talking about mundane things when John casually mentioned "Oh,
> I just had a Northern Wheatear in Avon." We, of course, all raced down to
> see this first documented NC record.
>
> In 1986, John, Ricky Davis, Merrill Lynch, Allen Bryan, and I decided to
> see how many species we could see in NC in one day, a Big Day. John was
> working on the Outer Banks at the time and when we made it there in the
> afternoon he had staked out numerous rarities, like a Black-billed Cuckoo
> he on a hunch found in a tent caterpillar infested tree. We kept ticking
> through birds including rails and bittern at night and at midnight had
> recorded 184 species, a record still standing after nearly four decades. It
> would never have happened without John.
>
> John was an avid participant in Christmas Bird Counts, including the
> Morehead City count he started as a teenager and ran for over 60 years. He
> also participated every year in the Wilmington CBC which will be held next
> weekend. John always covered undeveloped Masonboro Island. Sun, wind,
> rain, or snow he would be dropped off on the north end by boat first thing
> in the morning and walk the eight and a half miles to the south end to be
> picked up late afternoon. The gulls, terns, shorebirds, and pelicans will
> be looking for him on Saturday and will miss him. We will all miss him.
>
> Derb Carter
>
> I have attached a profile of John from a few years ago.
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://coastalreview.org/2017/02/19052/__;!!OToaGQ!vQo5OOG1zfvhzfHFNAkmmFLLTxSh1td1LhRcMo5TFhDUEqozzTLSHp3YnPtfF4fbFnw5BFLm3Vhc4vz_ByCfxvik4hI$ > <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://coastalreview.org/2017/02/19052/__;!!OToaGQ!sNj6d1utyL8cJfHBsh1hsWDohHzryf2jSS7Itco32bOzCCNSPLLBZvRzMNRhq5OyCmHkA3CmMweUzxFdDIVE$> >
