Fellow birders, I am asking you to participate in a very special�event this week. As many of you may�already know, Bruce Barker has been�fighting a tough battle against a rare and very aggressive cancer.�Sadly, treatments�have been unsuccessful and he is currently in home hospice and not able to have�visitors. However, a plan has been hatched for the Maine birding community to let�Bruce know we are�all thinking of him and show our appreciation for all he has�done by taking him birding vicariously�with us over the next week. With the�blessing of Bruce’s family, we have set up an eBird account named��Birding For�Bruce� (username: BirdingForBruce) that we hope you will all share any birding�you do�from 10-15 July. Our goal is to collectively make a big contribution of�checklists and breeding records�during this time period, and at the end of the week�summarize our observations in a final write up to�share with Bruce so he can�see the places, species, and breeding codes we were able to document in his�honor.
Bruce has been a tremendously helpful member of our community.�From birding with him on�Monhegan, co-leading walks for the Acadia Birding�Festival, or chasing rare birds in Penobscot County,�I’ll absolutely miss his�company. He has always been the kind of birder to go beyond his own pursuits�in�helping others see their targets � I can vividly remember him assisting�unstable festival participants�aboard the Friendship V trying to spot their�lifer Common Murres among the hundred-plus Razorbills�on Petit Manan. Bruce�wouldn’t give up on pointing out those birds until everyone was happy and I�hope we can raise his spirits a bit by helping him bird this week.
I’ve been amazed to learn his reach beyond the birding community�and what an impact he had as a�pioneer of Karate in Maine. Those peers started�a Facebook page where his students, friends and�colleagues have shared thoughts�and images�(facebook.com/groups/174990016481077/) and also a GoFundMe�page set up to raise�money to help Bruce and his family with medical expenses�and support:�gofundme.com/bruce-barkersfight-against-cancer
Bruce has also been an avid eBirder, having submitted over 2000�checklists in the last few years, and�was planning on being a big part of the�Maine Bird Atlas. He had volunteered to be a regional�coordinator but had to�step back when his health began deteriorating. Again, please consider sharing�any eBird and Maine Bird Atlas checklists from now until July 15th with the username: BirdingForBruce.
Here are instructions on sharing lists if this is new to you: https://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/1010555-understanding-the-ebird-checklist-sharing-process
Thank you and may your positive thoughts be with Bruce, his wife�Sharon, and his family.
-Doug Hitchcox
