[MASSBIRD] Good bye, Guillemot

[GLENN D'ENTREMONT]

For over 35 years I have been a subscriber to an amateur newsletter about Maine natural history.  It is the official newsletter of the Sorrento Scientific Society which has never held any official meeting or elected any governing body.  For a few years in the late 1980s there was an informal picnic at some place in Maine which Herman & I attended once.

It is bi-monthly coming in the mail March, May, July, September, November and January covering the two months just past.

This is the child of labor of William "Bill" Townsend, a now retired high (?) school teacher.  He has a passion for the heavens as there is always the first section of Astronomy to alert us of what to see in the next two months; planets, comets, meteor showers, etc.  He includes a chart of average temps and rainfall over the entire state from selected places.  Also a chart of buoy water temps and the locations.  There is even a section on earthquakes.

He has a network of reporters who send in their sightings and reports.  It is a throwback to the typed mimeographed newsletter of the 1960/70s.  I found out about this from Herman who was getting this.

The "organization" has one of the coolest car decals; an outline of Maine with a Black Gullimot across it in bold black & white.  He still has some and has offered them; free with a paid subscription of $5 per year (I would send him $10) or for $1.50 he'll get his costs back and send you one.

I always look forward to getting this 8 1/2 X 11 folded in half and closed with tape newsletter and spend a couple of lunch hours reading the reports of what was where.  I got a good education of fish, seaworms, crustaceans, moths, arachnids, reptiles, etc.  I spent more time googling stuff than reading.

The largest section of the 10 pages is the birds which covers 6 or7 pages.  In the past he would summarize the Maine CBCs which he stopped in the 90s when electronic versions made finding the info easier.

As the years turned to decades I began wondering who would take this project over when Bill decided to actually retire.

Well, the time has come.  I received my last copy; Vol50 #4, July-August 2020.  A half century of Maine natural history in a quick read.

I will miss receiving this journal in the future.

Thank you, Mr. Townsend.

Glenn

Glenn d'Entremont: gdentr...@comcast.net Stoughton, MA

[red...@comcast.net]

I have been a subscriber/member for many years and have given subscriptions to friends. I think I have only submitted reports to Bill a few times, but I always have looked forward to the Guillemot’s arrival. I always learned something and always was in awe of Bill’s efforts in putting the Guillemot out, single-handedly compiling all those data points and weaving them into a thoughtful, quirky, and enjoyable read.  

 

Data from the Guillemot was used in the Birds of Maine by Peter Vickery, et al., just published jointly by Princeton University Press and the Nuttall Ornithological Club.  If anyone ever writes the Invertebrates of Maine, I hope they have access to the Guillemot. And I hope that the raw data from all of those reports are made available for phenological studies.

 

I will miss the Guillemot in the coming years, but I proudly display the society’s sticker on my car, and my membership in the Sorrento Scientific Society will remain on my C.v.

 

Thanks Bill.

 

David Larson

Bradford, MA

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lar...@nuttallclub.org