Bird

An Eye for Magnificence: Remembering Tom Johnson

5 January 2024
theplutoscience.com

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two pink-tinged gulls stand on snowtwo pink-tinged gulls stand on snow
Most birders dream of seeing one Ross’s Gull at a time. Tom Johnson’s adventurous spirit and impeccable digicam expertise captured this lovely picture from Alaska’s North Slope. Picture by Tom Johnson / Macaulay Library.

From the Winter 2024 challenge of Residing Chicken journal. Subscribe now.

In July 2023, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology neighborhood misplaced an expensive good friend and colleague when Tom Johnson handed away unexpectedly on the age of 35.

Tom’s extraordinary expertise in images, chicken identification, and as a birding tour information had been pushed by how a lot he liked being out in nature. Johnson generously contributed greater than 10,000 photographs, audio, and video recordings to the Cornell Lab over twenty years, from his highschool years by means of his 2010 commencement from Cornell College and past.

“Past his formidable expertise and provoking ardour for birding, Tom was an much more excellent individual,” wrote Ian Owens, the chief director of the Cornell Lab. “His heat, thoughtfulness, humility, and generosity of spirit made him an exemplary ambassador for birds and the pure world and an expensive good friend to many.”

An Eye for Magnificence

“Tom had a simple, heat means about him, instantly making anybody he was with really feel comfy,” says Brian Sullivan, a Cornell Lab digital publications undertaking chief and shut good friend of Johnson’s. “He had the type of charisma that made others really feel seen and heard. He would need us to maintain seeing all the sweetness round us—the heartbeat of the planet that he liked a lot, the sweetness that by no means escaped his eyes.” 

All photographs are by Tom Johnson. Faucet/click on hyperlinks to view bigger photographs by way of their Macaulay Library archive web page.

A small green hummingbird against a leafy background.A small green hummingbird against a leafy background.
Coppery-headed Emerald, Costa Rica.
A yellow-and-black songbird with a white throat.A yellow-and-black songbird with a white throat.
Silver-throated Tanager, Costa Rica.
A bright orange and black warbler on a perch.A bright orange and black warbler on a perch.
Blackburnian Warbler by Tom Johnson, courtesy Melissa Roach.
A brown and black streaked sparrow tilts its head back to sing.A brown and black streaked sparrow tilts its head back to sing.
Henslow’s Sparrow by Tom Johnson, courtesy Melissa Roach.
Closeup of a cluster of steely blue and gray birds huddled together.Closeup of a cluster of steely blue and gray birds huddled together.
Purple Martins huddled after migrating throughout the Gulf of Mexico. Picture by Tom Johnson, courtesy Melissa Roach.
A brown, yellow, and red woodpecker photographed in flight with its wings spread.A brown, yellow, and red woodpecker photographed in flight with its wings spread.
Northern Flicker by Tom Johnson, courtesy Melissa Roach.

Warblers in Flight

From an early age, Tom appeared to own a pure present for taking chicken photographs. By the point he was an undergraduate at Cornell, within the late 2000s, he was already capturing split-second flight photographs of tiny birds on the transfer towards a limitless sky. None had been extra spectacular than his warbler photographs, a lot of them taken at daybreak from the statement platform at Higbee Seashore in his beloved Cape Might, New Jersey. For many of us, getting a well-lit, well-focused flight shot of any form is trigger for celebration; over time Tom captured good flight photographs of nicely over 20 warbler species, together with seldom-seen treasures like Cerulean, Connecticut, and Golden-winged Warblers.

A small blue-olive warbler in mid-flight.A small blue-olive warbler in mid-flight.
Northern Parula, New Jersey.
A brown streaky warbler in mid-flight.A brown streaky warbler in mid-flight.
Louisiana Waterthrush, New Jersey.
A black and white warbler in mid-flight.A black and white warbler in mid-flight.
Black-and-white Warbler, New Jersey.
A warbler with an orange face in mid-flight.A warbler with an orange face in mid-flight.
Blackburnian Warbler, New Jersey.
A warbler with a gray head and yellow belly in mid-flight.A warbler with a gray head and yellow belly in mid-flight.
Connecticut Warbler, New Jersey.
A brownish warbler with a yellow rump and white tail spots in mid-flight.A brownish warbler with a yellow rump and white tail spots in mid-flight.
Yellow-rumped Warbler, New Jersey.
A black and white warbler with a yellow throat in mid-flight.A black and white warbler with a yellow throat in mid-flight.
Yellow-throated Warbler, New Jersey.
A bluish warbler in mid-flight.A bluish warbler in mid-flight.
Cerulean Warbler, New Jersey.
A mostly yellow warbler with a white-and-black tail in mid-flight.A mostly yellow warbler with a white-and-black tail in mid-flight.
Magnolia Warbler, New Jersey.
A gray warbler with yellow wingbars in mid-flight.A gray warbler with yellow wingbars in mid-flight.
Golden-winged Warbler, New Jersey.
A mostly yellow bird in flight against a black sky.A mostly yellow bird in flight against a black sky.
Prothonotary Warbler, Atlantic Ocean.

Maybe the one finest illustration of Tom’s character, expertise, and dedication is a photograph of a Prothonotary Warbler he discovered in the midst of the night time on a ship south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. As famous on an eBird guidelines from the day, Tom heard the chicken’s chip be aware in his sleep and awoke at 2:30 a.m. Taking his digicam alongside to analyze, he ended up capturing this dramatic flight shot, in near-complete darkness, miles from land.

A Connection With Seabirds

For a number of years after Tom’s commencement he served as a seabird observer on NOAA analysis ships—a chance to sharpen his formidable observational expertise with a number of the chicken world’s most infamous identification challenges. Tom was nicknamed “Albatross” by his Area Guides colleagues, and his affinity for these wide-ranging, stressed, and ineffably swish creatures is obvious from the photographs he introduced house. A chicken like a Southern Royal Albatross could appear giant, however towards the countless sweep of a grey ocean even this huge seabird is a problem to seize in a digicam body.

An albatross glides low over waves.An albatross glides low over waves.
Southern Royal Albatross, Argentina.
A brown and white seabird against a fuzzy gray background.A brown and white seabird against a fuzzy gray background.
Trindade Petrel, New York.
Two black and white seabirds with wings spread wide fly over the sea.Two black and white seabirds with wings spread wide fly over the sea.
Bermuda Petrels, Bermuda.
a completely white seabird with black eye and small black bill flies in falling snow.a completely white seabird with black eye and small black bill flies in falling snow.
Snow Petrel by Tom Johnson, courtesy Melissa Roach.
A large black seabird with a long forked tail dives after a falling fish.A large black seabird with a long forked tail dives after a falling fish.
Magnificent Frigatebird, Trinidad and Tobago.

Frontiers of Identification

Birding is about noticing particulars—it’s what brings a way of discovery and risk to each journey outdoors. Tom’s eye for element was unparalleled, and his potential to key in on practically invisible variations or irregularities meant he usually observed uncommon birds that others might need handed by. Think about watching a swooping swallow and realizing it was not a Cliff Swallow, nor the same Cave Swallow, however a hybrid of the 2? Or standing on a seashore in Nome, Alaska, and selecting by means of 100 White-winged Scoters to search out 5 practically similar Stejneger’s Scoters. Tom’s eBird guidelines illustrates that finely tuned eye, noting the Stejneger’s completely different head form, eye blaze, and flank coloration. (Whereas additionally noting, with attribute enthusiasm, that the sighting was “extremely superior.”)

A blackish and chestnut heron with yellow legs stands on a rock.A blackish and chestnut heron with yellow legs stands on a rock.
Inexperienced x Striated Heron hybrid, Trinidad and Tobago.
A swallow with a reddish face and throat flies against blue sky.A swallow with a reddish face and throat flies against blue sky.
Cliff x Cave Swallow hybrid, Florida.
A brown and white grouse with yellow eyebrows displays in a grassland.A brown and white grouse with yellow eyebrows displays in a grassland.
Lesser x Higher Prairie-Rooster hybrid, Kansas.
A blackish-brown duck with a white crescent behind the eye and a white wing patch flies over water.A blackish-brown duck with a white crescent behind the eye and a white wing patch flies over water.
Stejneger’s Scoter, Alaska.

A World of Potential

Tom spent practically 10 years guiding birding excursions for Area Guides, touring to at the very least 15 international locations on some 120 journeys (learn a remembrance from Area Guides). In his 35 years, he amassed an incredible retailer of information and expertise that he shared with anybody in his heat and inspiring means.

“The fields of ornithology and birding mixed have suffered a large loss,” says Sullivan, “as Tom was one of many uncommon individuals who had the combination of expertise wanted to interrupt down the boundaries between these two worlds—he deftly communicated the magic of birds and the facility of science to anybody in his path.” Tom had a breadth of information and enthusiasm that spanned from the tropics to the poles.

A blackish songbird with brilliant flecks of sky-blue perches on a twig.A blackish songbird with brilliant flecks of sky-blue perches on a twig.
Spangle-cheeked Tanager, Costa Rica.
Closeup of a penguin's black, orange, and gray head.Closeup of a penguin's black, orange, and gray head.
King Penguin, South Georgia.

One of many true privileges of working on the Cornell Lab is the chance to spend time with so many proficient younger birders and ornithologists who come right here to check. Tom was one of many very brightest, and all of us assumed that we’d be studying from him for many years to come back. We’re grateful for the time we had with Tom, and we be a part of together with his household, pals, and the broader birding neighborhood in remembering his life.

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