Spring 2010 - Braddock Bay Bird Observatory

Volunteer Spotlight
Tom Verhulst
Tom’s involvement with BBBO began when his
friend and neighbor Kathleen Holt invited him
to accompany her several times when she was
scheduled to scribe at BBBO. Tom immediately
appreciated being able to get close-up views of the
birds being handled at the banding station, and he
found the research fascinating. But he says what
really got him hooked was “the chance to hang out
with a great bunch of very nice people who know a
lot about birds and are always willing to share their
knowledge with me.”
Tom and his wife Jeanne served as Peace Corps
Volunteers years ago (she in Brazil, Tom in Malaysia),
and they continue to enjoy traveling, to all 50 states
and about 15 other countries so far. They now
have even more freedom to do this, as Tom retired
in 2006 after about 35 years of working for the
federal government (first with the Peace Corps as a
volunteer, a trainer, a recruiter, and an administrator
and then “finally succumbing to the siren call of
the glamorous world of mail delivery” by joining
the U.S. Postal Service). Tom sings in a community
choir, the Rochester Oratorio Society, and he and
his wife regularly attend Rochester Philharmonic
classical concerts and are eagerly anticipating the
Rochester International Jazz Festival in June. Nonmusical
interests include watching soccer (the World
Cup is coming up!) and doing The New York Times
crossword puzzle.
Tom and his wife became interested in birds by
enjoying being outdoors, here in Rochester and
wherever they traveled. It then seemed like a good
idea to not just be out in the fresh air but also to really
take notice of what they were seeing, which in many
places was birds. The next step, of course, was to try
to identify what they were seeing. So Tom says “it was
kind of a slippery slope to becoming the enthusiastic
novice birders we consider ourselves to be.”
Tom says his most memorable experience at BBBO
was being there the day that the NPR Science
Friday crew came to visit, seeing what went into
producing the video, feeling the generally pumpedup
atmosphere, and being proud to participate
in a small way as BBBO got some well deserved
recognition.
Like all of us at BBBO, Tom would love to work in
the expanded facility that’s on the drawing board and
says “more room would be great.” Like others, he
does sometimes find the noise levels make it hard to
hear the information being dictated by the banders.
“Perhaps we need to find a way to gently remind staff
and visitors to keep their voices down.”
What others on the staff notice and particularly
appreciate is his excellent but gentle skill in training
new scribes, his sharp eyes at catching occasional
errors, and his smile and good humor! Thank you for
all your hard work, Tom! - Betsy Brooks
“Any day I get to see a bird I haven’t seen before, or a
rare one, or a particularly beautiful one, is exciting,
as is any day I learn more about birds and their
behavior.” - BBBO Volunteer Tom Verhulst.