Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

Sorry for the lateness this week, but I'm determined to get underway. This week's challengers are Ludlow Griscom vs. Sir Peter Scott. This week's theme will feature the philosophies and methods of two completely different men who happened to have a mutual love of birds and the natural world they shared. Griscom is probably most famous for inspiring famed bird artists and field guide author, Roger Tory Peterson to create and market his all important "Field guide to the Birds". His go-get-em style and vigor when it came to birding and identification made him an icon in the initial drives to recognize birds by distinctive field marks present on their bodies and wings and through their behavior and demeanor. Scott on the other hand is famous for starting two organizations with the goal of conservation and preservation hand in hand. While more famous for his work with waterfowl, he also had a hand in founding the World Wildlife Fund. However, the WWT was his first ...

As promised last week, I will start the competition known as the Babe Ruth of Ornithology, the tournament designed to weed out the best contributor to ornithological history and practice in the modern era. The first round competitors this week are John James Audubon and Sir Peter Scott. Both greats in within their own time, they pioneered completely different campaigns for bird awareness with Scott focusing solely on waterfowl (and by extension wetlands as well) and Audubon being known for painting a good majority of the bird species found in North America. Below are two brief bios on both contestants which I will tabulate into which has more good points than the other. Any undesirable features that might be looked down upon by today's birding public will garner negative pointage. Thus, those with more good points (worth one point each) will win the round and move on. If however, there is a tie, I will institute a random sudden death challenge which will vary dependent on circums...