Congrats, Paula Hansley!

[Tom Wilberding]

Colorado birder Paula Hansley has been awarded Boulder County Audubon’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Congrats, Paula, and thank you for helping so many of us know, enjoy, and conserve Colorado birds. Here is a link to the recent BCA newsletter--see page 3 for a great tribute of appreciation for what Paula has done for us over 50 years as a leading Colorado birder. http://www.boulderaudubon.org/pdf/e-OTW_Sep14.pdf

I would like to add my particular admiration for Paula’s bravery in speaking up for birds. If she sees a situation where birds are stressed she goes immediately to work, whether it is a road crew upsetting breeding hawks, or cattle disrupting Coal Creek nesting birds, or excessive use of tapes during breeding season. Paula defends birds in her gentle, smiling way, even if that ruffles a few human feathers.

One example. Last July Paula noticed a dark-morph Swainson’s hawk nesting in her neighborhood, quite a find. Then she noticed a big, noisy asphalt paving crew mobilized to replace the street below the nest, the next day. (Years ago I used to hire such companies and know that they are tough and impatient. Stopping them at the last minute is like trying to stop General George S. Patton from crossing the Rhine.) Paul stopped them in their tracks! I gave her my informal “Tiananmen Square Award for Bravery in the Face of Heavy Machinery.” The hawks successfully fledged a couple of chicks, and the road got replaced later in the summer. We love you, Paula. Keep up your good work!

Tom Wilberding
Boulder, Colorado