Category: Distinguished Ornithologists

Bruce Falls had a long career as a professional ornithologist. He also is a mammalogist, having done his doctoral studies on the White-footed Mouse at Long Point on Lake Erie, which continues to be one of his favourite birding areas. As professor of zoology at the University of Toronto, Bruce supervised many graduate students at…

George Peck has been a prominent ornithologist in Ontario for over 50 years. He is recognized for his work at the Royal Ontario Museum with the Ontario Nest Records Scheme, which he built into a major monitoring system of the breeding biology of Ontario birds. George has contributed much to the scientific knowledge of Ontario…

Murray Speirs was a leading ornithologist in Ontario for over 65 years. He is known for his meticulous recording of ornithological information. His primary interests were bird censusing and studies of American Robins, Black-capped Chickadees, Lincoln’s Sparrows and Evening Grosbeaks. Murray wrote the Lincoln’s Sparrow account in Bent’s Life Histories in 1968. He compiled Birds…

Ross James was Associate Curator of Ornithology at the Royal Ontario Museum before retiring in 1997. He continues to make significant contributions to the scientific study of birds and bird conservation in Ontario. Ross is the author of numerous scientific and popular publications, including the Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Ontario (1991), which is…

Earl Godfrey, dean of Canadian ornithologists, was the first recipient of OFO’s Distinguished Ornithologist Award in 1997. In his early years, Earl studied under Robie Tufts in his home province of Nova Scotia and then with noted taxonomist Harry Oberholser in the United States. In 1947, he became Curator of Ornithology at the National Museum…