R.I.P Mary Louise Gambill

It is with a heavy heart that I blog the news that my grandma went to be with the Lord on July 6, 2017. She passed away due to complications with cancer. She was 89 years old. Grandma was a survivor and warrior. She twice survived breast cancer--once in the '90s and again in late 2010. She rode, walked, hiked, biked, flew, and boated across all 50 States, Canada, and into deep Mexico several times.

Since this blog is about Retracing the Steps of the Gambills, I wanted to dedicate this post about Grandma Louise and her birding history. Of course Grandpa Red is right there with her all along the way. They where inseparable after Red's retirement from the railroad in 1984. He saved up his vacation that year until the end, took it all in May 1984 for their Attu Island, AK trip. Then came back, worked June, July, August, and retired!! July 1985 was the year of my first "official life bird." I remember going to an ABA birding convention in Arizona, and getting my first National Geographic birding book, then documenting what bird, when, and where it was seen.

There are so many ways to honor someone. I figured the best I could do is share some pictures that I've taken in the later years, thanks to my first iPhone in 2012. Also, when grandpa died in September 2013, I was lucky enough to get his binoculars (which I still use to this day) and his hand-written life list. So in 2014, I printed off the current ABA area bird list and transferred that data over to modern day bird list. I wanted to see how many birds and special places they traveled and when.

So I wanted to share a timeline below of the year, trips taken and life birds seen.

PickPonds, January 2014

1980--Cuba, 36 birds

1982--502 for year
White-Crowned Pigeon(2) #500ABA
Grace's Warbler(2) #600ABA
Red-billed Tropicbird(3) #633
Craveri's Murrelet(3) #647
Streaked Shearwater(4) #648
California Condor(6) and in 84' 86'
Barnacle Goose(4)

1983--373
Budgerigar(3) #651 
White-tailed Tropicbird(3) #653
Curlew Sandpiper(3) #655
Ross's Gull(3) #656



1984--611 for year, 3rd most ever
Masked Bobby(3) #654
Brown Bobby(3)
Tufted Duck(3) #663
Common Pochard(3) #664
Falcated Duck(4) #667
Garganey(4) #668
Pin-tailed Snipe(5) #671 
Tundra Bean-Goose(3) #674                                                         

Artic Loon Attu,AK                                                                     

1984 Attu Island, AK

White-tailed Eagle(4)
Eurasian Dotterel(4) #687
Little Curlew(5) #698ABA
 Roadside Hawk(4) #702 Falcon Dam,TX
 Common Sandpiper(3)
Spotted Redshank(4)
Common Greenshank(3)
Wood Sandpiper(2)
Red-necked Stint(3)
Long-toed Stint(4)
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper(3) #694
South Polar Skua(2) #691
Ruddy-Ground Dove(3) #701 SantaAna,TX
Eurasian Kestel(4) #676
Fork-tailed Flycatcher(3) #703 RioHonda
Brown Shrike(4) #677
Sky Lark(3)
Artic Warbler(2) #679
Lanceolated Warbler(5) #678
Siberian Rubythroat(3) #673
Eyebrowed Thrush(3)
Red-throated Pipit(3)
McKay's Bunting(2) #686
Rustic Bunting(3)

1985--434
Northern Jacana(4) Nogales,AZ
Black-tailed Gull(4)
Blue Bunting(4) #705 BenstenSP,TX
White-collard Seedeater(3) #706
Ferruginous Pypgmy-Owl(3) #708 Salineno,TX
Eurasian Jackdaw(4) #709 Lewisburg,PA 
Plain-capped Starthroat(4) #710LR48
White-eared Hummingbird(3)
Gray Silky-flycatcher(5) #714 LagunaAcosta,TX
Crimson-collard Grosbeak(4) #716 McAllen,TX


1986--571 for year
Black-faced Grassquit(4) #723 BigBenSP,TX
Ruddy Quail-Dove(5) #725 BenstenSP,TX
Aplomado Falcon(3) #726 Laguna,TX
Gyrfalcon(2) 96' 98' 99'


1987--501
Rufus-backed Robin(3) #727 RenoSprings,AZ
Golden-crowned Warbler(4) #728 Brownsville,TX 02' 03' also
Key-West Quail Dove(4) #731 Marathon,FL
Shiny Cowbird(3) #733 Flamingo,FL
Berylline Hummer(3) #734
Yellow-Green Virero(3) #735 BenstsenSP,TX
Gray-crowned Yellowthroat(4) #736 Sanignaico,TX
Crane Hawk(5) #737 SantaAnaWR, TX


1988--524
American Flamingo(3)
Bahama Swallow(4) #739 Homestead,FL 

Eared Quetzal(4) #740 Southfork,AZ


1989--579
Streak-backed Oriole(4) #741 BenstsenSP,TX 
Flesh-footed Shearwater(3) #743
Black-vented Oriole(5) #744 Kingsville,TX 12' too w me


1990--574
Yellow-faced Grassquit(4) #747 SantaAna,TX
Masked Tityra(5) #748 BenstenSP,TX
White-throated Thrush(4) ##749 LaugaVista,TX
Social Flycatcher(5) #750 AnzalduasPark,TX 
Blue-footed Booby(4) #753 Salton Sea,CA
Double-striped Thick-knee(5) #750ish? Yuma, AZ
Fork-tailed Swift(4) #760



1991--644 for year, most ever
Emperor Goose(2)
Gray-tailed Tattler(3)
Whooper Swan(3) #754 Nome,AK
Bristle-thighed Curlew(2) #755 Nome,AK
Bluethroat(2) #756 Nome,AK
Norhern Wheater(2) #757 Nome,AK
Great Knot(4) #758 Nome,AK
White-wagtail(3) #759 Nome,AK
 Bahama Mockingbird(4) #761 KeyWest,FL
White-faced Storm-Petral(3) #762 VA palegic
Tufted Flycatcher(5) #763 BigBenSP,TX

1992--572
Green-breasted Mango(4) #764 CorpusChristi,TX
Blue Mockingbird(5) #765 Patagona,AZ
La Sagra's Flycatcher(3) #766 SugarloafKey,FL
Little Egret(4) #768 Chinochicqu,VA Me too!!
Crescent-chested Warbler #769 Patagona,AZ 12/31/92

At the end of 1992, they started with the number of 700 birds for lower 48 states. So then they would travel to see certain birds, that would be new for lower 48 states. Not counting Canada or Alaska birds seen any more. For example, they had already seen the Yellow-Billed Loon in Alaska as a life bird. But when a strange vagriant showed up in the west part of Texas, they drove to see it. That was another year bird, lower 48 bird and state of Texas life bird.

1993--510 for year
Yellow-billed Loon(2) #704L48 Lake Balmorhea,TX
White-winged Tern(4) #767 Watertown, NY
Pacific Golden-Plover(2) #770ABA; #702L48

                                                                                            

1994--616 for year, 2nd most ever

Crane Creek aka MaGee Marsh, OH cira 1990s

Emperor Goose
Rufous-capped Warbler(3) #771
Herald Petrel(3) #773ABA;#707L48 NC palegic
Brown-capped RosyFinch(2) #774 GlacierSP,MT
Black Rosy Finch(2)
Worthen's Sparrow(5) FalconDam,TX 2nd time
Collared Forest-Falcon(5) #775 BentsonSP,TX January--First US Record
Stygian Owl(5) #776ABA BenstenSP,TX Dec'


1995--603
Least Storm-petral(3)
Buff-collard Nightjar(3)
Green Violetear(3) #777 Austin,TX
Bicknell's Thrush(2) #778 CraneCreek,OH

1996--604
 Kelp Gull(4) #780 Galvenston, TX
 Ivory Gull(3) #781 Pickwick Dam,TN
Amazon Kingfisher(5)
White-checked Pintail #787 Merritt Island,FL
Aztec Thrush(4) #788
Flame-colored Tanager(3) #790 MaderaCanyon,AZ
Stygian Owl(5)  BenstenSP,TX Dec' first US Record

1997--580
1998--608
Nutting's Flycatcher(5) #797 PatagoniaLake,AZ 
Short-tailed Albatross(3) #800ABA;#735L48
Bodega Bay,CA

Yellow Grosbeak(4)

1999--445 for year
2000--514
2001--490
2002--478

2003--500
Yellow-nosed Albatross(4) #808
Slate-throated Redstart(4) #809
--Allen Williams backyard Pharr,TX

2004--448
Black-headed Nightingale-Thrush(5) #810ABA;#758LR48; #580TXstate

2005--441
2006--455
Piratic Flycatcher(4) BenstenSP,TX

with Bruce Simpson, naturalist, Blendon Woods MP, OH

Bentsen State Park, TX w Javi, park manager

2007--458
Fan-tailed Warbler(4) #816 PineCanyon,BigBenSP,TX




2009
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron(5) #819ABA; #863US including Hawaii; #595 Texas state

Estero Grande SP, TX 2013 first and last year together

Seldom Rest Ranch, TX

Life statics
820 to 830 ABA life birds, including all newly "split/lump" species current with 2017 list.
800 and more Mexico life birds.
36 Cuba birds
40-50 Hawaii birds
6 times/years they saw over 600 birds

Mexico visits: Since they wintered in Texas staring in 1986, they had time to bird both the valley and the country of Mexico. The partnered up with a man who ran yearly trips during the winter months. So each year, Red and Louise would go on 7 to 10 day birding trip into Mexico, especially the Yucatan. Thus started their life list of Mexico birds. I have a booklet that shows from 1988 to 1997 birds seen each year in Mexico. After getting their #800th ABA bird in 1998, they worked on their Mexico list until also reaching #800. Thus, they where one of the first, if not the first to have both

 800/800 ABA-Mexico

Keep birding . . .

In closing, I would like to stay thank you and I love you very much, to GrandMa Louise. You will be missed. You where inspirational to me, and I do appreciate IT now that I'm older.

Love,
Bradley

Next up:  Made up my mind, Make a new start, Going to California w an achin' in my heart . . . Quest to #600 BABY!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3BU1p3tCBk 
"Between 2 birds" special guest Louise Gambill