Kathleen Shaw Anderson, 1923–2018

Kathleen Anderson at her beloved Wolf Trap Hill Farm, May 11, 2019 (photograph by Shawn P. Carey). Kathleen S. (Betty) Anderson, whose long history of working with birds in Massachusetts led to the founding of the Manomet Bird Observatory (MBO) (now Manomet Inc.) in 1969, died on August 24, 2018, at the age of 95. She was an Elective Member (1994) and Fellow (2005) of the American Ornithological Society. Kathleen was born in Livingston, Montana, on June 15, 1923, but soon moved with her family to Massachusetts. She spent most of her long life there, punctuated by frequent vacations in Montana. Her early years exposed her to family ranching in the west and family cranberry bogs in the east. In October 1949, Kathleen encountered a group of birders from the Massachusetts Audubon Society (MAS) (now Mass Audubon) at the Lakeville Ponds, an encounter that sparked a lifelong interest in birds. She promptly joined the MAS and remained an active member for over 65 yr. Following completion of her education at the Burdett Business School in Massachusetts, Kathleen’s first foray into professional biology, in 1957, was at the Encephalitis Field Station of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. There, she employed her bird banding skills to trap and take blood samples from swamp breeding birds to determine whether they were significant carriers of encephalitis-causing arboviruses. Later she began teaching at MAS sanctuaries and in public schools of southeastern Massachusetts. In the early 1960s, Kathleen, with the encouragement of James Baird, Chandler Robbins, and Aaron Bagg, established an Operation Recovery banding station in a clump of pines on Duxbury Beach of Cape Cod Bay. Among the volunteers at the banding station were John and Rosalie Fiske, who suggested she move the banding operation to a family summer home on 18 acres of coastal shrubbery, forest, and wetlands at Manomet, a village on the southern coast of Plymouth, Massachusetts. By 1966, as many as 50 mist nets were set up along the winding trails through the property. The MBO was formally established at the site in 1969 with Kathleen as the founding Executive Director, a position she held until 1983. Early studies included not just the banding of migrant land-birds, but also counts of fall migrant scoters and seabirds along the shore, shorebird censuses, and an innovative study of birds as sensitive indicators of gamma radiation from the nearby nuclear power station. From the outset Kathleen also recognized the importance of developing long-term datasets. As the observatory became more financially stable, the 2 authors were hired in 1972, B.A.H. to lead shorebird research and T.L.L.-E. for land-birds. Today, at age 50, Manomet Inc. has 2 campuses (Manomet, MA, and Brunswick, ME), a staff of about 35, and employs dozens of volunteers annually to fulfil its mission to “apply science and engage people to sustain our world.” Kathleen published more than 50 scientific papers and numerous articles in magazines and popular journals during her career. One paper in American Birds (31:135–136), co-authored with Archie Hagar, described their 1976 sighting of 2 Eskimo Curlews (Numenius borealis) at North Point, James Bay, Ontario, which is thought to be the last reliable sighting of this now extinct species. When she and her husband, Paul, purchased Wolf Trap Hill Farm, a 104-acre tract of fields and forest in Middleboro, MA, which also included a portion of Little Cedar Swamp, Kathleen began keeping a detailed daily journal on the status and phenology of all the animals and plants there. This journal provided 5 climate scientists with the data to chronicle the effects of 65 yr of climate change on birds, amphibians, insects, and plants of Wolf Trap Hill Farm (The Wilson Bulletin 116:224–231), a demonstration of the value of “citizen science.” Kathleen and Paul raised their 2 children, Timothy and Kathleen, on Wolf Trap Hill Farm. Kathleen was active in numerous ornithological and conservation organizations. She was a Life Member of the Wilson Ornithological Society and served as the Chair of the Nominating Committee (1981) and the Resolutions Committee (1982–1984); Secretary (1982–1987) of the International Council for Bird Preservation/US Section; 4-term Councilor for the Northeastern Bird-Banding Association; Councilor (1979–1981) of the Eastern Bird Banding Association; President of the South Shore Bird Club (Massachusetts); Director (1983) of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary; Director (1985) of the North American Loon Fund; Associate Director (1984) of Mass Audubon; and board member of the New England Wildflower Society, American Birding Association, and Plymouth County Wildlands Trust (now the Wildlands Trust). From 1981 to 2018 she was a member and eventually Chair of the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program’s Advisory Committee. She was also an Elected Member (1974) and President (1988) of the Nuttall Ornithological Club. It is worth noting that the somewhat austere rules of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, which had not admitted women as members or even permitted them to attend regular meetings, began to crumble by 1970. After much internal discussion and a questionnaire to club members, the so-called “Phalarope Conspiracy” resulted in the admission of Kathleen and 4 other eminently qualified women to club membership in 1974. In 1988, Kathleen was elected President and subsequently elected an Honorary Member (2008) in recognition of her service to the club and ornithology. Kathleen’s manifold contributions in the fields of ornithology and conservation resulted in her receipt of numerous awards. These include the Arthur A. Allen Award, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (1984); the George Haydock Award, Lloyd Center for Environmental Studies (1997); the Governor Francis W. Sargent Award, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (1997); and the Allen H. Morgan Award, Mass Audubon (2009). Kathleen will be remembered by many volunteers, interns, undergraduates, and graduate students who were lucky enough to learn from her and share her abundant joie de vivre. That certainly goes for the MBO staff who worked for her, and for all who accompanied her on “work” or just “fun” travels throughout the Americas and beyond. Her influence underpinned the trajectories of many lives for those who worked for her, particularly her trust in her staff. “No” was a rare word in her office; “let’s try” was her mantra. When she attended the 100th anniversary meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union in 1983, she calculated that a quarter of the participants had some prior association with the MBO. She later said, “Manomet was everywhere, students giving papers and becoming known for their research. I’d say that was one of the greatest rewards.” We thank Wayne R. Petersen, William E. Davis Jr., numerous contributors to MBO reports and newsletters, and the many friends and colleagues who knew her and learned from Kathleen Anderson’s unbounded fount of knowledge and enthusiasm for their contributions to this memorial essay. Her life has left an indelible mark on all who knew her. Memorials Editor: Ted Anderson, [email protected]

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