LEGENDS

From a Facebook post on October 11, 2012
          "They're baack! Park staff was happy to see the return of some of our favorite park visitors, Red & Louise Gambill from Ohio. If you've been to Bentsen in the morning during the winter anytime during the last 20 years, you may have seen these two walking through Bentsen on their daily walk. Red and Louise are great birders. They are credited with finding the first U.S. record for Collared-Forest Falcon on January 22nd, 1994 and the first U.S. record for Stygian Owl on December 26th, 1996. Roy, one of Bentsen's naturalists, poses with them here. If you see them at the park, make sure to say hello!"

My recent trip to the valley reminded me how much my grandparents meant to south Texas and birders everywhere. Their memory will always carry on. Several of the park staff at Bentsen and Estero Llano Grande introduced themselves to me and asked how Louise was doing back in cold wintery Ohio. I told them she was fine, but missing being a winter Texan. While at Bentsen, I took some pictures of the signs at the visitor center. The park included photos of Red & Louise birding in their signs and brochures. See below

Signage map at Benston State Park

2nd signage at Benston SP

In feeding station building

The volunteers at the park always make sure this picture above of them stays put, on the board with the list of birds, Ebird.org, and map of the park/trails. Many of the volunteers started birding as winter Texans while visiting Bentsen and meeting my grandparents. They where great stewards of the valley and helping create birding hotspots into "The World Birding Center" locations.


It's hard to get an exact count on how many birds my grandparents saw by today's current ABA listing protocol. There have been many splits, lumps, countable exotics, etc. since they last birded together in 2013. But fortunately, I have a great starting point from Red's personal list dating back to 1982 til 2011.

Lifetime stats;

• birded in all 50 states(Hawaii twice, but not in ABA region)
• birded Attu, AK in 1984; Nome, AK in 1991
• members 800/800 club; 800 ABA life birds/800 Mexico life birds
• bird milestone #800 Short-tailed Alabatross 10/26/1998 Bodega Bay, CA palegic