Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History
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 “Birding, after all, is just a game. Going beyond that is what is important.”The Daily Reflector, Greenville, NC Nov. 6, 1988 “A naturalist must always be a realist.” New York Alive, Jan-Feb, 1988 “Butterflies fly too; they are elegant and vibrant, but they don’t sing. And flowers, lovely though they may be, are rooted to the earth. To me, as a youngster, chafing under the regimentation of the classroom and the demands of a stern father, birds seemed to have it all. They are attractive, they sound off with spirit, and they can fly wherever they choose, whenever they choose. Ever since that day in April, well over sixty years ago, birds have dominated my daily thoughts, filled my dreams, and dominated my reading.” A speech to the NYS Legislature, Albany, NY, June 17, 1987 “Reluctant at first to accept a straitjacket of a world I did not comprehend, I finally, with the help of my hobby, made some sort of peace with society.” Used in US News & World Report article, Aug.12, 1996 “Watching birds has sharpened my senses, made my hearing far more acute than most, my eyes more perceptive, my reactions quicker. This awareness has radiated far beyond the birds, embracing nearly everything that is alive, from my fellow humans to the least beetle or cricket.” A speech to the NYS Legislature, Albany, NY, June 17, 1987 “Birds, with their high rate of metabolism and furious pace of living, demonstrate perhaps better than any other animals the life forces. They are indicators, quickly reflecting changes in the environment that we all share. They are sort of an early warning system, sending out signals when things are out of kilter.” A speech to the NYS Legislature, Albany, NY, June 15, 1987 “It is inevitable that the perceptive person who watches birds, or mammals, or fish, or butterflies, becomes an environmentalist.” A speech to the NYS Legislature, Albany, NY, June 15, 1987 “If birds were removed, the balance of nature as we know it would be drastically upset. I, for one, would find the world quite desolate if there were no birds.” A speech to the NYS Legislature, Albany, NY, June 15, 1987 “Many people go through life as though they are wearing blinders. Their eyes are open, yet they may see nothing of their wild associates. Their ears, attuned to motor cars and traffic, seldom catch the music of nature, the singing of birds, frogs, or crickets, or the wind.” A speech to the NYS Legislature, Albany, NY, June 15, 1987 “Birds, it must be admitted, are the most exciting and most deserving of the vertebrates; they are perhaps the best entre into the study of natural history, and a very good wedge into conservation awareness.” A speech to the NYS Legislature, Albany, NY, June 15, 1987 “I am dismayed by some of those who embrace the environmental ethic, who like the idea, but can scarcely identify a dozen birds or even fewer plants or animals. Instant environmentalists, we might call them. To build a house, you must have the materials. In conservation and environmental awareness, this must come from feelings, things, and concepts. The feelings come first, then the names of things—the birds, animals, and plants, and then what they do. Later, the concepts.” A speech to the NYS Legislature, Albany, NY, June 15, 1987 “The humane person, the civilized person, readily accepts not only the humane ethic, as we think of it, but also the conservationist’s philosophy, as well as the environmentalists’s point of view. They are overlapping and interlocking. All are essential to a better and more civilized world—a reverence for life.” A speech to the NYS Legislature, Albany, NY, June 15, 1987 “The observation of birds can take many forms. It can be an art, a science, an environmental ethic, a recreation, or a sport, depending on the person. I know a priest in the Rio Grande Valley, who insists it can also be a religious experience. I can see that. As another devout friend puts it, God’s first gospel, long before the Bible was written, was the book of nature-life.” A speech to the NYS Legislature, Albany, NY, June 15, 1987 “The birds are HIS heavenly messengers, not unlike the angels which are always pictured with feathered wings.” A speech to the NYS Legislature, Albany, NY, June 15, 1987 “Birds have been the focus of my life ever since I was a boy of eleven. I can remember the day in early April, even the hour, when I became hooked. On a Saturday morning, during one of my youthful explorations, I spotted a bundle of brown feathers clinging to a tree. It was a flicker, tired from migration. The bird was sleeping with its bill tucked under the loose feathers of its back, but I thought it was dead. I poked it with my finger; instantly this inert thing jerked its head around, looked at me wildly, then took off in a flash of gold. It was like resurrection! What had seemed dead was very much alive. Ever since then, birds have seemed to me the most vivid expression of life.” A speech to the NYS Legislature, Albany, NY, June 17, 1987 “There has been a tremendous renaissance in nature study in recent years; it has been called a form of escapism, and perhaps it is in a way, but not an escape from reality; but rather, a return to reality; a flight from unreal things.” “It’s hard to say what will get a person interested in birds. In my case it was a flicker I saw when I was 11. I thought it was dead. One moment it was just a bundle of brown feathers. Then suddenly it exploded into life, and I was hooked.” On penguins: “Comical’ — ‘Adorable’ — ‘The little fellow in the dress suit,’ et cetera. It is tempting to be anthropomorphic about penguins. Using human comparisons, it is easy to think of them as little clowns, the ridiculous dwarfs that enliven the circus, waddling with baggy pants across the arena for our amusement. They are far from that; they are not little people dressed in feathers. They are highly specialized birds dedicated to penguinism, a life molded by the cold impersonal sea, harsh climate, and the crowded colonies in which they reproduce.” Penguins, 1 “Except in the case of Audubon it had been fashionable to look down on nature painters. But painters are as important as the literate writers in presenting the grandeur of the world. Can anyone remember what Audubon wrote about the Wild Turkey?” “Birds don’t reciprocate your interest…They can certainly live without me, but I don’t think I could live without birds.” “We are too close to ourselves, much of the time, to see our proper relation to the natural world, on which we depend for survival. Watching birds and other animals seems to clarify my perspective.” “Birds are far more than cardinals and orioles to brighten the garden. They are indicators of the environment—a sort of ecological litmus.” “The Blue Jay is a favorite; it was the first bird I drew. When I was eleven I copied a color plate by Fuertes.” “I’ve always enjoyed photography because there’s an immediacy to it. It’s like hunting, but you’re not taking life; you’re recording life.” “I am first a teacher.” At the 10-12-96 RTPI Board of Trustees meeting Virginia Peterson stated that RTP often said this. “I consider myself to have been the bridge between the shotgun and the binoculars in bird watching. Before I came along, the primary way to observe birds was to shoot them and stuff them.” Quoted by The Buffalo News 7/30/1996 “If you get bored with birds, you’re bored with life.” “Birds are eloquent expressions of life and vitality, and watching them makes you a bit more alive. And they have wings—that gives them a mobility, a freedom, we’d give our souls to have!” Quoted by Bruce Fellman in Standard-Times, North Kingstown, RI 8/8/1996 “Reluctant at first to accept the straightjacket of a world I did not comprehend, I finally, with the help of my hobby, made some sort of peace with society.” Quoted by Sheboygan Press 8/7/1996 “It is my opinion that the study of natural history should be the primary avenue for creating environmentalists.” Quoted by Brigitte Greenberg, Associated Press writer 7/30/1996 About birdwatchers “Whether they are princes, tycoons, housewives or kids, they tend to be a bit more civilized, a bit more aware, than most non-watchers.” Quoted by Richard Severo, The New York Times 7/30/1996 “The philosophy that I have worked under most of my life is that the serious study of natural history is an activity which has far-reaching effects in every aspect of a person’s life. It ultimately makes people protective of the environment in a very committed way. It is my opinion that the study of natural history should be the primary avenue for creating environmentalists." "Birds have wings; they’re free; they can fly where they want when they want. They have the kind of mobility many people envy." |
