On a very sad note I note the passing of Marion
Van Wagner ("MVW" to readers of our Monthly Records).
Marion contributed her monthly records to the club from 1958
through June 2002, participated in the May Census for over 50
years, and in my humble opinion was the best Dutchess County
field observer of the 20th Century. She taught us all so much
with her acute hearing, that sometimes I almost thought that
she could identify warblers by the sound of their feathers ruffling.
She and Eleanor Pink were always our local experts when it came
to fall warblers. Marion and I birded together for forty years
and it was "the greatest."
Otis Waterman
Wings Over Dutchess, September
2002
Marion was a charter member of the Ralph T. Waterman
Bird Club. The currently active members of the bird club greatly
appreciate the legacy left by Marion and the other club founders.
Marion's most long-term role was field trip chairman. She and
her committee led trips every Wednesday year round. She knew
where in the county to go for the best birds each season of the
year. Our club's observation records are full of reports from
Marion's trips around the county with Eleanor Pink, Florence
Germond, Helen Manson, Otis Waterman, Mary Yegella, Millie Sturcken,
Dot Fleury, and others. They regularly visited the Hudson River,
Thompson Pond, Tamarack, Cruger Island, and many back roads all
over the county. And of course, she attracted many interesting
species to her very bird-friendly yard.
Marion's lively sense of humor and great love of
everything in nature (except snakes) made her a wonderful birding
companion and mentor. We'll all miss her.
Barbara Butler
Wings Over Dutchess, September 2002
Our dear friend Marion Van Wagner passed away on
August 30, 2002. Marion was a member of Ralph T. Waterman's bird
identification classes in the 1950s and a charter member of our
club. She chaired the field trip committee for many years and
was a teacher to many of us when we were new birders.
Our memories of Marion include her joy at identifying
a flock of warblers flitting through the trees at Pond Gut; her
delight at the first bloodroot at Stissing Mountain; her wonder
over a tree filled with scarlet tanagers at Cary Arboretum; and
the wacky fun on Wings trips to Arizona, Churchill and Grand
Manan. We will always value the gift of Marion's knowledge and
friendship. Happy birding, Marion!
Millie
Sturcken and all your friends
in the Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club
Wings Over Dutchess, September 2002
I first met Marion at Rainbow's End Nursery School
10 years ago. Marion's great-grandson, Kyle, was in the same
class with my son, Doug. One morning, this tall gray-haired lady
brought her "Show and Tell" in a shoebox to share with
the class. It was a dead Eastern Screech Owl in the red phase
coloration. Marion's Owl and her great knowledge about birds
sparked my interest in this wonderful bird club that she loved
so dearly and made me become interested in birds. Thank you,
Marion.
Barbara
Mansell
Wings Over Dutchess, September 2002
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