Norm Barrett

[frank lospalluto]

Hey all,

Some sad news for our birding community : Norm Barrett passed away yesterday 12/26.

Norm was a kind, knowledgeable, meticulous birder, naturalist, biologist and just a great human being. He will be missed.

frank

[Ron Ketchum]

A nice guy and a great birder.

Ron Ketchum

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 27, 2025, at 8:47 AM, frank lospalluto <fdlosp...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[eulrich44]

Oh no. Sad to hear of this. Condolences to his family and friends. 😢

Erin

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[Keiko Thurston]

Norm taught me many things about birds and dragonflies at Ave. G pond. He was one of kindest persons to me. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 27, 2025, at 7:20 PM, eulrich44 <eulr...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Russ Namitz]

Thank you, Frank, for passing along this sad news to the birding community. 

As fate may have it, I was actually driving south through Jackson County on Dec 26^th and thinking of Norm.  As we passed MedCo access to Lost Creek Lake, I commented to my wife about a fond memory of Norm Barrett and Mountain Quail.

During my brief tenure in Medord about 10 years ago, I had the pleasure of being an honorary member of the BINOSAURS, an annual Bird-A-Thon team comprised of long-time Rogue Valley birders Norm Barrett, Howard Sands, Gary Shaffer and Jim Livadaudais. We were leaving Lost Creek Lake, heading to Ashland and we had missed Mountain Quail.  Norm piped up that once he had seen a flock of Mountain Quail fly across the highway and maybe we would get lucky. That drew a few chuckles and smart aleck comments from the group members, but in less than a minute, it happened; the one and only sighting of MOUNTAIN QUAIL of the day with a pair flying across the highway!  We were all incredulous and grinning, like we had just thrown up a Hail Mary half-court shot and heard the ball swish through the net.  Birding with this group was always a hoot; the side conversations, stories, yarns and good-natured ribbing were almost as important as the birdwatching...almost.

Norman was kind and generous with a great sense of humor and was always a pleasure to be around and bird with. His patience and vast knowledge of various aspects of the natural world was much appreciated.  He will be missed.

Good birding,

Russ Namitz

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From: rv-b...@googlegroups.com <rv-b...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of frank lospalluto <fdlosp...@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2025 8:46 AM
To: Rogue Valley Birds <rv-b...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [RV Birds] Norm Barrett

 

[kent...@gmail.com]

Shortly after moving to the area, Norm led a CBC group at my place and found 30 birds, including a Coopers, Sharp-shinned,, and Great-horned.  I had no idea they were there. He was excited and kind in telling me about it. He exemplified everything good about birding -- exciting, sharing, knowledgeable, and welcoming. Its hard to imagine he's gone.

[Kristi Mergenthaler]

My condolences to Norm's family and the members of the Binosaurs. Norm was extraordinarily twinkly, kind, fun, and a talented educator. I will never forget watching him give a pub talk in Medford about dragonfly sex - spectacular, and he nailed it, totally understood the audience and venue. A big loss for our region, for the birds and wildlife he loved. I will miss him very much.