The Ralph T. Waterman Bird club was founded in 1958 and grew in membership very quickly. Today the club has almost 400 members and offers useful information and enjoyable activities to beginners and expert birders alike.

It comes as no surprise, however, that people enjoyed birding in Dutchess County long before our club was born. While our club has symbolized birding in this county since its inception, notable birding events took place here even before the advent of the twentieth century.

History buffs will enjoy the Dutchess County birding chronology below. We follow that with perspectives and reminiscences provided by two of our most distinguished members, shedding light on the people and events that shaped the club's evolution and growth over the years.

120 Years of Birding Milestones in Dutchess County

The First 25 Years of the Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club
       by Helen Manson Andrews

Ralph T. Waterman Remembered
       by Otis Waterman

125 YEARS OF BIRDING MILESTONES IN DUTCHESS COUNTY

Top of Page

THE FIRST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS

A brief History of The Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club

by Helen Manson Andrews

Originally published in Wings Over Dutchess, April 1983

In 1949 the first Dutchess County Bird Club was formed. At that time Ralph Waterman was conducting classes in Bird Identification at the Arlington High School Adult Education Program (in the building that is now Arlington Middle School) and members of the class were part of the club. Raymond Guernsey was president, Marion VanWagner Recording Secretary and Eleanor Pink Record Chairman. Mr. Guernsey financed the first efforts and a metal box was provided for the record cards. The group met a few times each year for the next few years and some of us continued to go to the identification classes and participate in the annual spring bird census and the Christmas bird count. However, the club was loosely formed and even though we continued to send in records and have field trips, the club was in need of reorganization.

In 1958 all the available people from the classes were asked to meet at Baird State Park for a mid-summer get-together. There was quite a crowd and from that a group was formed and plans went ahead. In September a meeting was held at the Arlington High School and the present Dutchess County Bird Club was born. Officers were elected and Ray Connelly was the first president. We were off and running. Then tragedy struck. Our founder and good friend and his wife were killed in an accident in Myrtle Beach, S.C. They were on vacation and had planned to return to bird with us and guide us in this new venture. The club was renamed the Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club. We started with 71 members and the membership grew the first year. Our first bulletin was called Bird Notes and was published through the courtesy of Victor Grover. Four copies a year were issued for the first two years.

Our first bulletin, as we see it today, was printed November 1960. Mary Key, Helen Manson and Florence Germond were the bulletin committee. At first it was called The Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club News Bulletin. We put out an appeal for a name and had many suggestions, including The Chicken Hawk (Otis), The Juncoes Slate (Ray), Bird Words, Creeper's Review and Wings Over Dutchess (Sally Draney), which was unanimously chosen by the members. The dues were $3 single, $5 family.

Otis Waterman was elected president in 1960 and we had the first of many Audubon Screen Tours. The first year we had as our speaker Roger Tory Peterson. Half of the proceeds from the lectures went to the Arlington High School Scholarship Fund. In return we used the school auditorium free of charge. A Western Meadowlark was found mated to an Eastern Meadowlark female on Layton Rd. in Bangall, and caused a few traffic jams. The birds, with their offspring, were collected and taken to an aviary on Long Island for study by the Museum of Natural History. In 1961 the first telephone relay was started and called the Wild Goose Chase. It did help many of us to see rare and interesting birds.

Brad Whiting, who was our first treasurer, became president in 1962. Even though he served only one year before moving to Colorado, he was a good influence and our club membership grew to 141. Though younger in those days, and well able to make our own way, the ladies were pleased to have Brad help them over and through fences. How we missed him when he left.

Florence Germond was elected in the fall of 1963 as the first woman president. It was during her term that the memorable trip was taken to Montauk Point. We hosted the Federation of New York Bird Clubs' annual meeting, and the Bluebird Trail was started.. We gave the first scholarship to Maine Audubon Camp and published Birds of Dutchess County, 1933-1964.

Jim Key became president in 1965, and the Audubon Screen Tours continued. Alice Jones and Helen Manson put on interesting exhibits in the school lobby which attracted much attention before the lecture and during the intermission. The annual dinner was $4.00, and 65 young birds were fledged from the growing Bluebird Trail. We put on an exhibit at the first annual Sportsmen's Show, the first of many, and had an exhibit at the Arlington Scholarship Fair. In 1967 we sent the first used commemorative postage stamps to the Florida Audubon Society for the Bald Eagle Program.

Bill Strauss followed Jim as president in 1967, and the bulletin was changed to its present size, having used the longer paper that some felt was hard to file. The first Harris' Sparrow to be recorded in the county was found at a feeder in Dover Plains. Through the relay calls, many went to see it. Our good friend, George Decker, passed away. George had found the only Townsend's Solitaire ever seen in Dutchess County; the skin is in the Museum of Natural History (editor's note: another Townsend's Solitaire appeared in Dutchess in 1990, several years after this article was written). Work was done on the trail around Thompson Pond and many interesting trips were taken to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The growing Bluebird Trail fledged 124 young.

Edward Briggs was elected in the fall of 1969, and we moved to the new Arlington High School building in Freedom Plains. The first Black-legged Kittiwake was seen on the Hudson River by Davis Finch. We were privileged to have Davis living in the county. We enjoyed working and birding with him. Some of us started participating in the Connecticut Christmas Bird counts, which we did for many years. The annual dinner was $5.50 and the club purchased the ill-fated film, "Our Endangered Environment—Soil" to be shown in the schools. It was a good idea but the film was ruined at an early showing. The John Burroughs Natural History Society hosted the Federation of New York State Bird Clubs annual meeting at Mohonk, with our assistance. Mary and Jim Key reached 606 species on their Life Lists.

Otis Waterman was elected for the second time in 1971, and 135 acres were added to the Thompson Pond Nature Preserve. A second Black-legged Kittiwake was also found on the Hudson River by Jim and Mary Key. Jim Fiedler went to Maine Audubon Camp on the eleventh scholarship. The annual club dues were $4 single and $6 family. We had well over 200 members. In 1972 we had the last of the Audubon Wildlife Films. We were forced to discontinue them due to rising costs and low attendance.

Vivian Gilbert followed in 1973 and brought her youth and vitality. We held the first yard sale at Eleanor Pink's garage and it was a huge success. The money went into a Conservation Fund. The Zoological Survey of Dutchess County was conducted under the leadership of Erik Kiviat, and many of us participated. Sadly we bid Vivian and her family good-bye as they moved to Colorado.

As Vice-president Alice Jones filled out Vivian's term and was elected president in the fall of 1975. Thompson Pond Preserve was fully paid up with $50,000 raised in three years. The club was pressured to become an Audubon Chapter. After much thought and discussion it was voted to remain the Waterman Bird Club, however we are an affiliated club. The constitution and by-laws were revised and updated and we acquired a tax free status. Many hours were spent by the Education Committee to put together a birding guide, and in October 1977 Where to Bird in Dutchess County was published. An Audubon's Warbler (now a subspecies of Yellow-rumped Warbler) was found at DeOrsey's feeder, and 199 Bluebirds were fledged from the trail.

Helen Manson was elected in 1977 and the Rare Bird Alert was officially added to the list of permanent committees in the constitution. Mary Key kept us informed of any rare and unusual birds, not only in the county but elsewhere in surrounding states and Canada. The checklist of Birds of Dutchess County was revised and updated and reprinted; a hardworking committee put together a slide presentation "Symbols of the States" which was shown to many groups over the next two years. Fifty-five Turkey Vultures were found at a roost on Quaker Hill in December and January. Two good members left our area - Bob Smart and Dan Nickerson. We gave them a sendoff with an August picnic, our first annual August picnic get-together. A bluebird box building bee was held at Florence Germond's and 52 boxes were built. Plans were formulated for the Federation meeting to be held in the county in 1980.

Aline Romero was elected in the fall of 1979. Though she served only one year before they moved back to Oklahoma, she left her mark. An endowment fund was set up whereby money can be given to the club in the name of someone who has passed away. A second yard sale was held, also at Eleanor's garage and the money was used for the Federation of New York Bird Clubs' annual meeting, which was held at Holiday Hills, Pawling. It was a huge success, even the weather. It could not have been done without the cooperation of everyone. Where to Bird was revised and republished.

Meg Guernsey, whose great uncle was a guiding light many years ago, was elected in 1980. Birds of Dutchess County, 1965-1979 was published. This was the result of years of record keeping by Eleanor and compiled into book form by Otis. A Fulvous Whistling Tree Duck (known today as Fulvous Whistling-Duck) and a Northern Wheatear were found in Cruger Island area and added to our growing checklist. The New York State Breeding Bird Atlas started in 1980 and swung into high gear with Barbara Butler at the helm. 1981 was a banner year for the Bluebirds. Over 400 were fledged and banded by Florence.

Lou Endsley was elected in the fall of 1982 and quickly organized his committees. Some thought was given to raising the dues which since 1975 have been $5 single, $7.50 family. However it was found not to be necessary at this time. As we enter our twenty-fifth year as an active bird club we find many of the original members still active. Some old friends have gone and many new friends are added to our list of members. It is hoped that the club will continue for many more years.

Top of Page

RALPH T. WATERMAN REMEMBERED

by his son
Otis T. Waterman

Originally published in Wings Over Dutchess, April 1983

My father was born in 1901 in Kinderhook, N.Y. His childhood was spent in Poughkeepsie on Forbus Street and Grand Avenue where he had a large garden and met my mother, Katherine (always called Pete). He managed to finish only the eighth grade before running away to join the army during WWI at age 16. My grandmother had him returned home, being underage, but as the war ended he did enlist, serving as an aide to General Pershing on a trip to Panama after the war. Married in 1921, he took up chicken farming with Pete on the Sharon Turnpike near Millbrook, which lasted until 1933 when they (we) moved to Poughkeepsie and he started the Waterman and Heaton Insurance Agency which was succeeded by the Hill Agency.

Ralph, an outdoorsman and sportsman since childhood, spent his summers fishing on Upton Lake. He was an avid trout fisherman (particularly fly fishing) spending many hours each season on the Sprout Creek in LaGrange or the Wappingers Creek above Pleasant Valley. His interest in birds did not really commence until 1943 when he took over as Scoutmaster of Troop 2 and then 16 in Poughkeepsie. He was guiding a number of us Boy Scouts, including myself, to attain the Eagle Badge. This required a merit badge in Ornithology and identifying 40 birds in the field. He became extremely interested and took to the field almost every chance he could. His favorite birding spots then were a marsh behind our house, Ireland's farm and Brickyard Swamp, all in the Town of Poughkeepsie. The first is still there for the most part, the second is a housing development, and the third is the 44 Plaza Shopping Center.

He subsequently became an intense bird student, being helped by Allen Frost and Ray Guernsey (Meg Guernsey's great uncle), both experienced birders in the county since the nineteen-twenties. They in turn had birded with Maunsell Crosby, probably the father of Dutchess County birding, who lived at his estate, "Grasmere," southwest of Rhinebeck. Ralph was also helped by several ornithologists at Vassar College, including Ralph Palmer in particular.

Ralph first went on Dutchess County's historic (started in 1919) May Census in 1945 with George Gray, Allen Frost, Ray Guernsey and Frank Gardner. These were probably the only birders in the county at the time. I joined them in 1946 mostly as an observer of the birders.

My father's real claim to fame was the many people he taught and interested in birding in a relatively short period of time (1943-1958). He started his adult education classes at Arlington High School in 1948 at the urging of Eleanor Pink. Eleanor recalls that it was difficult to get the required ten to start the first class but its members included Marion Van Wagner, Dan Muncell, Helen Manson, Bill and Louise Chrystal, Marge King, Natale Mestechen and several more. Subsequent classes produced birders which formed the first Dutchess County Bird Club in April 1949 with Ray Guernsey as president. This club did not last for some reason, but by 1958 with more students available, the second Dutchess County Bird Club (changed to The Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club after my parents' death in an auto accident in November 1958 in Myrtle Beach, SC) was formed.

In my opinion the success of the adult education classes (Ralph also gave many talks to local groups here and in Myrtle Beach where they went in winters 1952-1958) was Ralph's charismatic nature and his intense interest in everything he did from fishing to woodworking to birding to ceramics to golf. This leadership ability manifested itself throughout his life as he was president or head of the Masons, the Kiwanis, the Dutchess Golf and Country Club, the Chamber of Commerce, First NYS Forest Practice Board, etc., etc.