Tributes to Jim Haw
It's with a heavy heart I share the news that Jim Haw passed away on January 9, 2017. Jim began birding in high school and was already an accomplished birder when he moved to Fort Wayne in the early 1970s. He birded the state with the likes of Ken Brock and other skilled birders - a relatively small group in the 1970's - and birded extensively in northeast Indiana. Ever since I met him in 1994, I've considered him the Dean of Northeast Indiana Birding/Birders. He knew his birds and where to find them. Importantly, he kept records. If you wanted to know about northeast Indiana bird records from the early 1970's onward Jim Haw was the source of the information.
The best thing about Jim was that he graciously shared his time and knowledge. He was field trip leader for Stockbridge Audubon for many years, gave many bird programs, served on the Indiana Bird Records Committee, compiled the Ft. Wayne Christmas Count for decades, and patiently and willingly tutored new birders. Two of those new birders he mentored were Jeff McCoy and myself. Of course, there were scores more besides the two of us who learned a lot from Jim. In the days before email and the internet, it was always exciting for a new birder like me to call Jim to tell him about an uncommon/rare bird that I had found and for Jim to activate the rare bird alert phone tree. I vividly recall the printed phone tree diagram that was in two parts: one section for people who wanted to know about all "good" birds and another for those who just wanted to know about the real rarities only. Of course, Jim was the top of the tree and all good finds were reported to him first.
Although I have participated in numerous Christmas Bird Counts over the years none have been like the Fort Wayne count. During the day I got to bird with Ted Heemstra, my other birding mentor who passed in May 2016, and Jeff McCoy. At the end of the day we assembled at Franke Park for a chili supper and to learn what species had been seen by the various teams. Jim made the compiling of the list suspenseful and fun. When I moved from Fort Wayne to Indy in 1998, I still participated in the Ft. Wayne Christmas Count a few more years because it was such fun and I greatly enjoyed Jim's performance at the end of the day.
Jim was a quiet, soft-spoken man with a funny G-rated sense of humor. He was an excellent birder who unfortunately slowed down after his retirement due to health problems. In recent years his outings were of shorter duration and more by car but he was still finding King Rails and other good birds. I speak for many others when I say that Jim will be greatly missed as a birder and as a friend.
His funeral service is Saturday, January 21 in Fort Wayne and he will be buried in his native Missouri. His obituary is at the link.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/fortwayne/obituary.aspx?n=james-alfred-haw-ph-d&pid=183633581
Don Gorney
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The best thing about Jim was that he graciously shared his time and knowledge. He was field trip leader for Stockbridge Audubon for many years, gave many bird programs, served on the Indiana Bird Records Committee, compiled the Ft. Wayne Christmas Count for decades, and patiently and willingly tutored new birders. Two of those new birders he mentored were Jeff McCoy and myself. Of course, there were scores more besides the two of us who learned a lot from Jim. In the days before email and the internet, it was always exciting for a new birder like me to call Jim to tell him about an uncommon/rare bird that I had found and for Jim to activate the rare bird alert phone tree. I vividly recall the printed phone tree diagram that was in two parts: one section for people who wanted to know about all "good" birds and another for those who just wanted to know about the real rarities only. Of course, Jim was the top of the tree and all good finds were reported to him first.
Although I have participated in numerous Christmas Bird Counts over the years none have been like the Fort Wayne count. During the day I got to bird with Ted Heemstra, my other birding mentor who passed in May 2016, and Jeff McCoy. At the end of the day we assembled at Franke Park for a chili supper and to learn what species had been seen by the various teams. Jim made the compiling of the list suspenseful and fun. When I moved from Fort Wayne to Indy in 1998, I still participated in the Ft. Wayne Christmas Count a few more years because it was such fun and I greatly enjoyed Jim's performance at the end of the day.
Jim was a quiet, soft-spoken man with a funny G-rated sense of humor. He was an excellent birder who unfortunately slowed down after his retirement due to health problems. In recent years his outings were of shorter duration and more by car but he was still finding King Rails and other good birds. I speak for many others when I say that Jim will be greatly missed as a birder and as a friend.
His funeral service is Saturday, January 21 in Fort Wayne and he will be buried in his native Missouri. His obituary is at the link.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/fortwayne/obituary.aspx?n=james-alfred-haw-ph-d&pid=183633581
Don Gorney
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Well said Don, and many fond memories invoked.
I vividly recall my first encounter with the great Jim Haw...
While wandering the trails of Fox Island (and still just a neophyte with a casual interest in birds) I spotted
someone with binoculars - my first
actual birdwatcher!
We discussed the birds we had been seeing and I excitedly began telling him about this book I just got called "Indiana Birds and Their Haunts" and
all the incredible rarities in it that I wished I could someday see.
I mentioned specifically the NE Indiana section where most of the rarities were credited to one person, a name I even
now held in great respect, and I asked this birder if he knew Jim Haw.
After patiently smiling and nodding through all of this he replied, "I am
Jim Haw".
He invited me to join the Stockbridge Audubon field trip at Fox Island the next weekend and I was hot on his heels wanting to know everything he knew
about birds. Before long I was leading trips myself. The rest is history.
He was the ultimate mentor and he kept everyone entertained with his endless clever puns and quips. I particularly appreciated his dry wit, the best kind of wit.
Oh dear...
I will dearly miss him.
Jeff McCoy
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I vividly recall my first encounter with the great Jim Haw...
While wandering the trails of Fox Island (and still just a neophyte with a casual interest in birds) I spotted
someone with binoculars - my first
actual birdwatcher!
We discussed the birds we had been seeing and I excitedly began telling him about this book I just got called "Indiana Birds and Their Haunts" and
all the incredible rarities in it that I wished I could someday see.
I mentioned specifically the NE Indiana section where most of the rarities were credited to one person, a name I even
now held in great respect, and I asked this birder if he knew Jim Haw.
After patiently smiling and nodding through all of this he replied, "I am
Jim Haw".
He invited me to join the Stockbridge Audubon field trip at Fox Island the next weekend and I was hot on his heels wanting to know everything he knew
about birds. Before long I was leading trips myself. The rest is history.
He was the ultimate mentor and he kept everyone entertained with his endless clever puns and quips. I particularly appreciated his dry wit, the best kind of wit.
Oh dear...
I will dearly miss him.
Jeff McCoy
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I met Jim Haw for the first time in 1980, before I was a "birder"...or even a "bird watcher". I was finishing up my B.S. in biology at IPFW and had filled one of my last elective slots with a U.S. History course he was teaching that semester. I sat next to a fellow biology major, a self-proclaimed birder, and before class, Jim would often initiate conversation with her about which, where, and when birds were being seen and by whom. Of course, the bird names meant nothing to me at the time, nor did the observer names he likely mentioned. (I can only imagine now that those names included the likes of Ken Brock, Ed Hopkins, and, closer to home, Jeff Moore, Doug Rood, Sandy Schacht, and Ted Heemstra.) But, despite my total ignorance of the "hobby" and its enthusiasts, it was very obvious to me at the time that Jim was very passionate about it. Not surprising now, that passion seemed to grow as that spring semester-- and that spring migration--progressed through April and May.
I worked for one of my ecology profs that following summer, and that same fellow biology major would point out all the summering birds our group would encounter as we sampled ponds scattered across NE Indiana. Perhaps it was the killer looks at a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak that triggered my interest, but I found myself attending the occasional Stockbridge Audubon field trip not long afterward. It was on those where I experienced not only again Jim Haw's passion for birding, but also his extensive knowledge, his amazing talent, and his incredible patience and generosity in mentoring new birders, myself and many others included. Even as our skills and confidence grew, Jim was always available to provide some perspective and some encouragement in helping us with our various birding conundrums. But, too, he was often eager to know what others, beginner or not, thought about certain topics, whether it be discussion of an ID, or what birding stop to try next, or even whether it was time for lunch.
Through those field trips, as well as through other special birding activities like CBCs, May Day Counts, and Breeding Bird Surveys, many of us grew close enough over the years that we started going on extended birding trips together. Jim was always the planner. Though he always invited input from the group as to where and when we wanted to go and what birds or places we wanted to see, Jim always planned the specifics, the gritty details that make a rough idea become a pleasant memory. Because of him, I saw many corners of the country, many incredible places, and so many amazing birds that I would never have seen otherwise.
And what great times, so deeply ingrained in my mind. The skunk that we couldn't get our vehicle around as it wobbled down the road ahead of us as we descended a slope at Cave Creek Canyon. The Elf Owl one night in south Texas that flew through our vehicle's barely opened window to end up on the dash. The list of rarities that we got on another Texas trip, where we went five-for-five on the potential group lifers (tough to do in a week when most of your group has life lists in the mid-700s). The silly trip songs that Jim would write (cute) and then attempt to sing (hilarious). Even at the end of a day, when the group was tired, grimy, and hungry, laughter was never more than tortured pun, of which Jim reigned supreme, away.
I'm sure many other members of the birding community have their own stories of how Jim affected their lives, as well as their own special memories of their experiences with him. But, as for me, let me just end simply with:
Jim, I will miss your expertise, your leadership, your dry wit, your friendship. And maybe someday I will even miss your singing.
Rest in peace,
Rodger Rang
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If there is a Mt Rushmore or Hall of Fame for Birders, Jim Haw will surely
be there offering profound wisdom and perhaps some Far out puns. Thanks for
all your contributions. You will be missed!
Sam Schwartz
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be there offering profound wisdom and perhaps some Far out puns. Thanks for
all your contributions. You will be missed!
Sam Schwartz
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I, too, am sad to hear of Jim's passing. Fred Wooley, Sam Plew, and I were just talking about him when we participated in the Pigeon River F&W Christmas Bird Count early January. I met Jim when I first began working with Fred at Pokagon's Nature Center in 1985. He participated in all of our Christmas Bird Counts and I always enjoyed his visits to the nature center or when he called with important bird information. Many times when he stopped in to the nature center he always said he had a fair day of birding but then went on to list 15 species he and Sandy had seen. That would have been an excellent birding outing for me! He was soft-spoken and funny and such a wonderful person to learn more about birding. He will be missed!
Thanks for sharing,
Rita Smith
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Thanks for sharing,
Rita Smith
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