Winter Meeting - Member Night!

The Brookline Bird Club will hold its annual Winter meeting on Friday, January 29, 2016 from 7:30PM – 9:00PM at the John Glenn Middle School, 99 McMahon Rd, Bedford, MA. Before the meeting there will be a Social Hour (from 6:30 – 7:30) with food and drinks.
This year, we will have our ever popular Member’s Night. Our members' night program will highlight members sharing their birding experiences, with presentations including photographs, videos, and more. BBC members have the spotlight to showcase their talents whether it be a story about a recent birding trip, photography, art or literary work, etc.

Upcoming Events

We are running a new trip in February (rescheduled from January) this year to look for Alcids, Fulmar, possible Skuas and any rarities. There are still a few spots open. The captain is very cautious. If it is too cold or windy or choppy, we will postpone it to Sunday, or cancel it with a full refund to those who do sign up. So please SIGN UP NOW! See the pelagics page for further information.

2015-2016 CBC Schedule

BBC members are encouraged to participate in the 116th Christmas Bird Count, which will take place from December 14, 2015 through January 5, 2016. Sponsored by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. More than 30 count circles are located entirely or partly within Massachusetts. Count dates confirmed as of press time are listed below; changes can happen, however, so participants should contact the count compiler at least a week in advance. Compilers, contact the webmaster if you have an update.

Date to Be Determined

Andover: Donna Cooper (978) 470-2717
Groton-Oxbow: Ron Lockwood (978) 779-5367
Mid-Cape Cod: Peter Trimble and Jeremiah Trimble
Newport County, RI/Westport, MA: Robert Emerson (401) 455-0700
Plymouth: Trevor Lloyd-Evans (508) 224-6521
Stellwagen Bank: Simon Perkins (978) 369-1284
Truro: Mark Faherty
Tuckernuck: Simon Perkins (978) 369-1284
Worcester: John Liller

Monday, December 14

Sturbridge: Mark Lynch (snow/ice storm date December 15)

Saturday, December 19

Athol: Dave Small (978) 413-1772
Buzzard’s Bay: Jeremiah Trimble (508) 498-9646
Central Berkshire: Holly Higganbotham and Bob Wood (413) 684-3724
Millis:Elissa Landre
Northern Berkshire: Pam Weatherbee (413) 458-3538
Quincy: Glenn d’Entremont (781) 344-5857
Springfield: George C. Kingston (413) 525-6742

Sunday, December 20

Cape Ann: Jim Barber, Jim Berry
Cape Cod: Blair Nikula
Greater Boston: Robert Stymeist
Northhampton: Jan Ortiz and Janice Jorgensen

Saturday, December 26

Cobble Mountain: Seth Kellogg (413) 569-3335
Westminster: Charles Caron

Sunday, December 27

Greenfield: Mark Fairbrother (413) 367-2695
Marshfield: Sue MacCallum (781) 837-9400
Nantucket: Ken Blackshaw (508) 238-0209 and Edie Ray (meeting the night before)
Newburyport: Tom Young (603) 424-4512
Taunton/Middleboro: James Sweeney

Friday, January 1

Southern Berkshire: Rene Laubach (413) 623-8803

Saturday, January 2

Quabbin: Scott Surner (413) 256-5438
Uxbridge: Strickland Wheelock

Sunday, January 3

Concord: Norman Levey (website)

2014 Statistical Report

By Robert H. Stymeist, Statistician

During 2014, the Brookline Bird Club listed 301 species of birds on 218 reported trips. A total of 259 trips were scheduled, 16 trips were cancelled by weather, and 27 trips unfortunately went unreported which is more than 10% of the trips scheduled. In Massachusetts the club listed a total of 290 species. The additional 11 birds seen out of state were Ring-necked Pheasant and Bicknell’s Thrush in Vermont, Spruce Grouse, Northern Goshawk, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Atlantic Puffin, Arctic Tern, and Red Crossbill from Maine, and Black-backed Woodpecker, Gray Jay, and Boreal Chickadee from both Vermont and Maine. Overall 2014 was about average in terms of the number of trips scheduled and a little less in the number of birds reported. In comparison last year the club celebrated its 100th year anniversary with an all-out effort for a big year; a total of 298 trips were scheduled with 19 impromptu trips added in search of rarities for a total of 317 trips, ironically the same number of species recorded in Massachusetts during 2013. In 2014 there were 45 all-day, 148 morning, 15 afternoon or evening, six pelagic, and four weekend trips. There were two impromptu trips organized, one to Cuttyhunk Island and one overnight pelagic.

One new species, Red-billed Tropicbird, was added to the overall Brookline Bird Club list of birds. This sighting on the August Hydrographer Canyon trip was just the sixth record for Massachusetts. The club recorded only its second Fork-tailed Flycatcher on May 14 at Mount Auburn Cemetery; the only other record was on Bill Drummond’s 1994 big May Day trip when he extended his Plum Island trip to Kittery Point, Maine.

Some of the more unusual species noted in 2014 included Ross’s Goose and Cackling Goose in Ipswich, a Tri-colored Heron, a Gull-billed Tern and a Summer Tanager all from Plum Island, and from the extreme pelagic trips, besides the tropicbird the only sightings of White-faced, Leach’s and Band-rumped Storm-Petrels, Audubon’s Shearwater, and South Polar Skua.

The club visited Essex County most often, with a total of 74 trips (39 to Newburyport and Plum Island area, 26 to Cape Ann, and trips to Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, three trips to Ipswich, three to Nahant, and visits to Boxford, Manchester, and Topsfield). The trips in Essex County accounted for 224 species, which is 77% of all the birds reported on club trips. Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge was second with 35 trips totaling 110 species including 24 species of warblers. There were 27 trips scheduled in the metropolitan Boston area. Twenty-eight trips to Cape Cod and the South Shore recorded 214 species. There were 15 trips in the Sudbury River Valley area, which includes Great Meadows NWR, Oxbow NWR, and the Assabet NWR and ten trips to areas in both central and western Massachusetts. There were seven pelagic trips scheduled for a combined total of 71 species including ten species that were not found anywhere else but on the high seas.

Out-of-state trips included weekend trips to the Machias area and to the Rangeley Lakes region in Maine, and a weekend trip criss-crossing the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. The combined total number of species on the Maine trips was 149 and included some boreal birds such as Spruce Grouse, Black-backed Woodpecker, Gray Jay, and Boreal Chickadee. Ida Giriunas led her 31st annual club trip to the Machias area, which includes the famous Machias Seal Island and recorded over 2,000 Atlantic Puffins! Ida and Eddie Giles have been leading these great trips for many years affording club members the opportunity to see some northern forest and ocean birds that don’t nest in Massachusetts. A weekend trip to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont was new this year after a hiatus of 29 years (for several years up until 1985 John Kennedy led our members to the famous Moose Bog). This year we recorded 108 species including the club’s only Bicknell’s Thrush and Ring-necked Pheasants. The Vermont trip logged in 18 different warblers, several Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, and great looks at a close moose. There was just one trip scheduled in New Hampshire. On November 2 Steve and Jane Mirick led their annual late fall trip along the coast. Though the weather was miserable they found a very late Laughing Gull among the 38 species that day.

Missing from the club list of routinely seen species in 2014 were Cattle Egret, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Black Vulture, Marbled Godwit, Stilt Sandpiper, Wilson’s Phalarope, Common Nighthawk, Connecticut and Cerulean Warblers, Dickcissel and Seaside Sparrow. Five other species, Ring-necked Pheasant, Northern Goshawk, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Arctic Tern, and Red Crossbill were not seen on any Massachusetts trip but were noted from Vermont and Maine.

Highlights from the 2014 Brookline Bird Club Year

Laura de la Flor and Mark Burns as always kicked off 2014 by leading their 18th annual January 1 birding trip. Thirty-five members bundled up for a cold New Year’s Day of birding; after a welcoming toast of sparkling apple cider the group got down to birding and tallied a nice list of 62 species to start off the year. A Ross’s Goose that was discovered in Ipswich on Christmas Day 2013 was the club’s first target. Lucky for us the goose was not seen after the New Year. Other highlights included a Cackling Goose, a Black-headed Gull, eight Snowy Owls, and an adult Red-headed Woodpecker. January 2014 was the coldest in ten years with several big snowstorms, yet our club leaders recorded 88 species by the end of the month! The annual Owl Prowl was a victim of the snow and had to be cancelled as well as four other scheduled trips.

On February 9, Glenn d’Entremont led a trip throughout the south shore starting in Scituate with snow falling; they ended up in Middleboro with a total of 77 species. Highlights included a drake Barrow’s Goldeneye, three Snowy and five Short-eared owls, and 13 Eastern Meadowlarks. In March the club scheduled Woodcock walks in Stoughton, Reading, and in the Blue Hills as well as the annual Massachusetts Waterfowl Prowl, this year just on Cape Cod.

The 2014 winter meeting of the club was on Friday, February 28, at the Bedford Middle School. Nearly 200 members packed the school auditorium to hear Norman Smith talk about his research on Snowy and Saw-whet Owls. Prior to that Shawn Carey presented his latest documentary on migrating shorebirds. After the talk Norman walked around the audience with a Snowy Owl. The spring meeting at the Harvard Museum of Natural History on April 11 featured our own Neil Hayward, who presented a fascinating and humorous account of his “Accidental Big Year”; Neil tallied an amazing 750 year birds during 2013. The guest speaker at the fall lecture meeting at Harvard on October 24 was Andrew Vitz, the Massachusetts State Ornithologist, who discussed bird conservation in the state focusing on Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, and Piping Plovers.

Seven pelagic trips recorded 71 species; the extreme pelagic trips are the most exciting. The July trip recorded eight Band-rumped Storm-Petrels and a small shearwater that may have been Barolo’s but the photos proved inconclusive. The August trip logged in 100 Audubon’s Shearwaters, the highest number for any effort in Massachusetts, and the first club record of Red-billed Tropicbird. To top it off the group enjoyed excellent looks at a Whale Shark and a Tiger Shark. The November trip to Nantucket Shoals witnessed an estimated 100,000 Long-tailed Ducks and 60,000 Common Eider feeding in the rips off Monomoy.

Summer trips were highlighted by evening trips to Plum Island searching for early migrating shorebirds and flocks of herons flying to roost.  On July 14 on Plum the club recorded the only American Avocet, and other noteworthy shorebirds included a Baird’s Sandpiper and the only Hudsonian Godwit on August 21. A Gull-billed Tern was found on Jonathan Center’s Plum Island trip on August 30. Labor Day Weekend is the traditional time for Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Long-billed Dowitcher. The club recorded the Buffy but dipped on the dowitcher.

The fall migration started off with a two-day Cape Cod Blitz hitting the hot spots on the outer Cape from Wellfleet to Provincetown. A total of 103 species were seen including six Philadelphia Vireos, a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and “thousands” of seabirds noted offshore. New this year was a Wednesday morning survey of Danehy Park in Cambridge led by Karsten Hartel and co-sponsored with the Menotomy Bird Club; they listed the only Nelson’s Sparrow of the year. October brings the sparrows and frequent visits to community gardens in Wayland and Newton as well as Cumberland Farms and Bolton Flats.

November and December found our members visiting Cape Ann with six trips and six trips to the Plum Island and Newburyport area. On November 8, Ida had a bright and beautiful day with the first Snowy Owl of the season, as well as a Barred Owl and Rough-legged Hawks.

At the end of the year the club suspends scheduled trips so that our members can participate in the Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs). There are 34 count circles in Massachusetts.  

A total of 62 leaders guided our members around the state throughout the year. All of our dedicated leaders deserve a special thank-you including several leaders that deserve recognition for not only many years of leading but the number of trips each year they lead. Ida Giriunas and Glenn d’Entremont tied for the most with 20 trips, followed by Linda Ferraresso with 14, then Jonathan Center and Eddie Giles with 12. Bill Drummond, Bob Petersen, and Peter Van Demark each led 10 trips. Another 11 dedicated leaders accounted for six or more trips each.

The biggest trip list this year was Glenn d’Entremont’s South Shore Century Run, recording 121 species on May 10. This trip, entirely within Plymouth County, recorded the club’s only Worm-eating Warbler and Vesper Sparrows for 2014. 

In the following table you can see which trip in each month recorded the most species; this may help in planning for a big year of birding.

January 1	Essex County	62 species	Laura de la Flor, leader
February 9	Scituate-Plymouth	77 species	Glenn d’Entremont, leader
March 16	Waterfowl Prowl	44 species	Eddie Giles, leader
April 27	Suffolk County	76 species	Bob Stymeist, leader
May 10	South Shore Century Run	121 species	Glenn d’Entremont, leader
June 21	Mt. Greylock area	72 species	Glenn d’Entremont, leader
July 26	Plymouth Beach	49 species	Glenn d’Entremont, leader
August 21	Plum Island	60 species	Bill Drummond, leader
September 13	Wellfleet	87 species	Bob Stymeist, leader
October 4	Outer Cape Cod	87 species	Glenn d’Entremont, leader
November 5	Boston	51 species	Bob Stymeist, leader
December 17	Cape Ann	40 species	Neil Hayward, leader

According to ebird, a total of 369 species were observed and reported by birders across the state during 2014; the Brookline Bird Club recorded nearly 79% of that total—pretty impressive! No new birds were added to the official state list, but some highlights included just the second record of Pacific Golden Plover, the third record of Common Ringed Plover, and the fourth record of Cassin’s Kingbird.

Weather-wise 2014 was the warmest year worldwide on record. Ironically, of the large inhabited land areas, only the eastern half of the United States recorded below-average temperatures in 2014, a mirror image of the unusual heat in the west. January and February saw record snowfall, nearly 45 inches in Boston alone. March continued with cold temperatures. In the first week of spring Cape Cod was hit with a blizzard with gusts reaching 83 m.p.h. on Nantucket, which also recorded the most March snowfall ever with 9.5 inches! April finally saw some warm temperatures and May was nearly perfect for birding—no extreme heat, good southwest winds, and little rain. June was a great month for breeding birds with no cold spells and very little rain. July saw the first hurricane of the season when Arthur had winds of over 80 m.p.h. September and October saw several powerful thunderstorms including a nor’easter in late October that caused a great deal of coastal damage. November brought us the first major snowstorm with some areas receiving up to 16 inches the day before Thanksgiving. December was warmer than average and most Christmas Bird Counts experienced good weather.

Buy a Duck Stamp!

The BBC is now selling Duck Stamps and holders.

The current Stamp is valid from July 2015 – June 2016. Entrance to any national wildlife refuge in the United States is free when you show your Stamp.
As birders, we treasure our birding visits to national wildlife refuges locally and nationally. Of the 26 refuges in New England, 11 are in Massachusetts, including Parker River, Monomoy, Great Meadows, Oxbow, and Assabet River. By purchasing a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp each year, often referred to as the Duck Stamp, we contribute to the purchase or leasing of newly protected lands.
See the Stamp Page for more details and ordering information

Herman D'Entremont Remembered

Our beloved Herman D'Entremont passed away on January 8.



Glenn d'Entremont gave this speech at the 2010 meeting in recognition of Herman's service to the club. It is a fitting tribute:
It was around 1960 when a young man out hunting saw something beautiful at the other end of his sights.  Wanting to learn more about the birds he was hunting, Herman almost stumbled upon a group of bird watchers called the Brookline Bird Club.  I think he found them in the Boston Globe which announced a bird walk at GMNWR led by a teenager named Peter Alden.  He soon discovered there were more birds than ducks.  They made sounds, too.  He traded his gun for binoculars and a telescope.

During the 60's he was a quick learn and hobnobbed with the best of the times at what became his favorite birding spot-Plum Island and adjacent Newburyport.  In short time he was leading trips helping out those beginners like the leaders before did with him.  Herman became one of the elite, one of those that beginners, intermediates and even experts would ask an opinion from and get an accurate answer.  My friend Dave Brown recalls returning to Massachusetts in 1967 and ìasked Herman for info on Black Rail!  Without any pomp and circumstance, as if trying to theorize and predict where to find one, he simply said "I don't know.  If you find out anything, let me know."

Herman's hearing was excellent, his hearing is still good, and he has good command of bird song and chip notes.  He could identify most of the birds he heard.  He was inspiration for one to learn bird sound.  This coming at a time when one had to learn song the old fashioned way; by chasing down the sound and seeing it's source.

During the late 60's, 70's and early 80's there were none better.  He was in company of such notables as Dick & Dora Hale, Larry Jodrey, Gerry Soucy, Herman Weissberg, Stella Garrett, Evelyn Pyburn, Dennis & David Oliver, Nancy & Alden Clayton, Ruth Emery,  Rod Sommers, Warren Harrington, & Ida Giriunas just to name a few.

He volunteered his time not only as a leader but also as a board member of the Brookline Bird Club for over 20 years, Bird Observer of Eastern Massachusetts (now Bird Observer) for about 20 years, program chairman for almost 30 years of the now defunct Needham Bird Club (finding 9 programs a year without a budget!), and assisting at the banding station at Manomet.

Herman gives of himself as well.  He would take young birders in his International Travellall to all corners of the state, driving out of his way to pick them up and drop them off; as much as 45 minutes each way!  Imagine going to Plum Island from Newton via Braintree.  Once he moved to Somerville he has befriended visiting birders opening his home for them to stay and then go birding on their free time.

Herman has done extensive travel to all parts of the continent and the world.  He has been to 49 states missing just Hawaii and has been in most of the Canadian provinces.  He might not know, but I guess he is well past 700 species in North America north of Mexico and he has been to Mexico a couple of times as well as Costa Rica and Belize.  As for Massachusetts he is probably over 430 species.  Over the years any bird of note always got a glimpse of Herman during it's stay.

His work with novice birders, young or old, is second to none.  His quiet demeanor draws people toward him and he always helps locate birds for those having difficulty or not recognizing bird song.  If he knows you have not seen a bird and he locates it, then he tries hard to get you on it.  Always the patient birder, staying just five more minutes, to locate what others have passed by.

Herman would lead interesting trips.  He would see a need and fill it.  No hawk watches; lead a trip to Mt. Tom in September.  Want to see Arctic Tern; lead a trip to Plymouth Beach in early June.  Want to see pelagics; organize boat trips.  Want to see those warblers racing through Mt Auburn in May on their breeding grounds; lead a trip to Mt. Greylock.  Shorebirds in August; lead a trip to Monomoy.  He never tires of showing new birds to anyone; novices always welcome.

Herman has several legacies.  He may be single handedly responsible for the pelagic trips we do.  At a time when no one was running any, he took it on himself to locate boat captains which would take a group of birders.  Imagine, if you will, for $20 one could go on four pelagic trips.  There was one on the first Sunday in June, and last Sundays in July, September, and October.  They would fill fast.  As I mentioned earlier of his generosity he would not charge me.  Of course I was in charge of the chum.  We would have clunky walky-talkies to talk between the cabin and back.  Keeping the antenna out of people's eyes was a challenge on the bouncing sea.

Another legacy of another kind is the Where to Goes in Bird Observer.  Herman authored the very first, A Good Day at Cape Ann, in 1972.

And there is a nephew who has a passing interest in birds.  I think his name is Duane.  My cousin Duane would come on some of the pelagic trips and occasionally to Plum Island.  On a more personal note, I was an 11 year-old brat Herman took on a field trip to the banding station in Manomet on October 5, 1968 which led to a life long love of all things outdoors, but mostly birds.  Over the years we would have our in car debates as we traveled the state.  He is amazingly well versed in current affairs.  I enjoyed taking up an opposing view even though I did not agree with it just to debate.  He seemed to like this as much as birds.  Over the years he has become more of a friend and confidant than just my mother's brother.

Many of the trips I lead are trips Herman led for years.  Plymouth Beach, I will be walking my 42nd BBC trip this spring, Mt Greylock, South Beach (until Monomoy becomes the shorebird mecca again), and the Jamaica Plain section of the Boston CBC.

Herman is an iconic figure in the birding world and the BBC.  Every knows him, every one likes him, every one wishes him well.  There is never a harsh word against his character.

Over the years, the Brookline Bird Club has not had a better ambassador.  It was always the two Hermans passing out bluebooks; D'Entremont and Weissberg.  I don't know who was responsible for more new members; it doesn't really matter.  A lot of us in the audience are probably here because of Herman or someone like him.

So, it was not a great surprise to receive an email out of the blue, if you will, in late August.

(The email has been lost, but the general content is obvious)

I don't think I have had the privilege on meeting Mr. Dailey.  But this could have been written 40 years ago.  So it gives me great honor to be the one to thank Herman on behalf of the Brookline Bird Club and its' membership.  If you were a drinking person we could have a toast!  We thank you, Herman , for the almost 50 years of dedication, leadership, guidance, comraderie, knowledge, friendship, and all around nice guy.  We salute you.


Here are some remembrances from some of Herman's many friends:
Doug Chickering:
Lois and I want to extend our sympathies to Herman D’Entremont’s family at his passing. We had the good fortune of knowing Herman. His unselfish and gentle nature are well known and have been deeply appreciated by all who knew him. These qualities have already been touched upon and I can add but little to these observations. He was already a mainstay of the birding community when I first started this magnificent journey and Lois and I encountered him often in the field. I cannot remember how many birds we shared during those years and although I didn’t know him as well as others I still felt that he was friend; as he was a friend to everyone. In his last years he became more than a friend; he became an example of courage and how to live. Even as he wasted away before our eyes the fire for birding within him burned brightly. To the end he never wavered in his determination to see the next bird which contains a lesson for us all. We will miss Herman.
Steve Grinley:
Herman and I have been friends for more than fifty years.  We met in the early sixties at Mount Auburn Cemetery, where I did a lot of my early birding.  Herman told me about the Brookline Bird Club and together with Bob Stymeist, and the late Charlie Parker of Cambridge, we became a birding foursome.  Herman had the wheels, which I thought was a big Suburban, but Herman recently corrected me that it was an International.  Either way it was a large SUV that got about 8 miles per gallon (if that).  It wasn’t so bad back then since gas was only 25 cents a gallon.
Every Sunday, we would go birding, enjoying each other’s company and learning about birds along the way.  Usually one of those days, we would head to Newburyport, travelling up Route 1, before there was Route 95, where we would join a BBC trip.  In winter, it was Cape Ann on a BBC trip led by Dick and Dora Hale, Dick and Mary Lou Barnett, or Larry Jodrey and Jerry Soucy.
We traveled to all corners of the state with Herman.  The Massachusetts Year List was the driving force behind our efforts back then.  We were reaching for the holy grail of 300 birds, which was seldom achieved back in those days.  We were content to break the 250 or 275 mark.  We often traveled to Cape, Cod, the Westport /Dartmouth area, and to the Berkshires.  We would go on Lee Jameson’s Mt. Greylock Camping weekend in June and sleep in Herman’s huge SUV.   We went on the spring Martha’s Vineyard Weekend and the fall Nantucket Weekends.
In addition to our travels, we also shared stakeouts for numerous feeder birds including green-tailed towhee, black-crested titmouse, varied thrush and European goldfinch.
I also remember several out-of-state trips that we took.  One was to the Connecticut Lakes in northern New Hampshire on a July 4th Weekend.  We slept in the SUV then as well, and I remember the rude awakening in the middle of the night by some local pranksters who lit fireworks near our car.  But we were happy to find Gray Jays and Boreal Chickadees for our life lists.
We also made trips to Delaware and Maryland for Swainson’s and Yellow-throated Warblers, Brown–headed Nuthatch, and, yes, even for red-bellied woodpecker back then.  We went to Arcadia in Maine in mid-winter, and trudged through waist high snow to find our first American Three-toed Woodpecker together.
Glenn called Herman an ambassador and Herman certainly was that.  He shared birds and birding with everyone we met.  He was the best ambassador that the Brookline Bird Club ever had.  Maybe it was the dollar dues and free field trips that inspired Herman to share the news.  He always carried Blue Books in his glove box and whipped one out every chance he got to spread the good word about the BCC.
In more recent years, Herman traveled with his wife Eva, but also with Oakes Spalding.  Herman and Oakes were the odd couple for sure.  Oakes has trouble hearing and Herman’s ear continued to be sharp as a tack, even as his health declined.  Many a time they would come into the store, argue about a bird one saw or heard, but the other did not, and make me play moderator, or even referee.  They seemed to disagree more than they agreed, but they were also great friends to each other.
As Parkinson’s took away Herman’s mobility, it never dulled his senses and his enthusiasm for birds.  The last time that we saw Herman was on December 27.  Margo and I had just come out of the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary after seeing the Townsend’s Warbler and Herman was having his lunch in his car in the parking lot.  Eva informed us, however, that he wasn’t eating, and I knew that wasn’t good.  We told Herman that the Townsend’s Warbler was still there, and that it was number 300 for Margo. Herman smiled.  In his almost inaudible whisper, he said that he was around 260 or so, as best that I could make out.
As Margo went to the car to get warm, I helped Eva navigate Herman’s wheel chair over the tree roots in the paths of the sanctuary and up the steep hill to where the warbler was coming to a suet feeder.  Eva went to the fence to get closer for a photo while I stayed on the path with Herman to try to get him on the bird.  The bird moved about above the fence, but I wasn’t sure that Herman could see it.  Then I realized that Herman was two feet lower than me, so I crouched and could direct him better on where to look.
After the warbler finally showed itself well, I asked Herman if he had good views of the bird.  Herman smiled and nodded and shook my hand as a thank you.  Another bird that we were able to share together.
I was pleased to learn that Herman will be interned at Mount Auburn Cemetery.  I can say goodbye to Herman near the very same spot where we first said hello more than fifty years ago.  Thank you Herman for our friendship, for all the birds we encountered together, and for all the good times and memories that we shared.  Rest in peace my good friend.
Blair Nikula:
Although I did not know Herman well, my acquaintance with him goes back over four decades.  He led the first BBC trip I ever participated in.  I don't remember exactly when, but it met at Chatham Light and would have been in either 1969 or 1970, when I was in my late teens.  I also participated in most of the various pelagic trips he organized in the 1970's (he could legitimately be considered one of the pioneers of New England pelagic birding).  He seemed a kind and gentle soul, and very much the gentleman.
My admiration for him grew on the rare occasions I encountered him more recently, his body so contorted that it was bent almost to a 90 degree angle.  It was painful just to observe, and I can only imagine the extreme discomfort he was enduring, yet he soldiered on, still smiling, with the ever-present twinkle in his eye, doggedly pursuing his life's passion - a great example for all.
Barbara Howell:
The birding world and the Brookline Bird Club in particular has lost a giant. Herman D'Entremont was a teacher, role model and friend to so many of us. He was a true, old-fashioned birder who went by his intellect, eyes and ears to find his own birds and shared them and his birding tips with others. Birders like Herman are few and far-between today. Despite struggling with age and illness, he kept going, doing what he loved. We will truly miss him.
Paul Roberts:
Herman D’Entremont will be sorely missed. Herman was a an important formative force in the life of generations of birders in Massachusetts. His enthusiasm for birding and birders was limitless and contagious; not self-serving or competitive. Most people came to know Herman through his roles in the Brookline Bird Club, leading many local field trips, overnight trips to the farthest corners of the state, and being a true pioneer in organizing pelagic birding trips. Herman also was the best birding friend a new birder could have. He always welcomed new, inexperienced birders and worked to help them see birds and understand what they were seeing. He was perhaps most important as a “birding ambassador” was when using landlines in birding was innovative. Herman was a “good natured” birding companion. We perhaps did not fully appreciate his fortitude and courage – and his incredibly deep love of birds – until his later years, when he battled poor health and physical limitations. With all the changes at Wachusett Mountain, this year Eva was able to bring Herman up to the observation tower on the summit for a day’s hawk watching.
Herman was a memorable factor in the birding lives of my wife Julie and me when he continually helped us and many others on our first BBC trips, and while he served as a long-term director of the BBC. In the 1970s, early birding years for both of us, we shared an important close friendship with Dick Butler, an incredibly intelligent and capable birder who asked lots of questions about birds and their behavior that we didn’t hear others asking. dick was always forcing one to think about what they saw and what it was doing and had been through. Dick assiduously studied and documented behavior at crow roosts when we had large and impressive roosts. (Shockingly little has been written about what has happened to crows in Massachusetts and the northeast. Dick would have pursued the issue.) Dick and Herman birded together for years until Dick passed at an incredibly young age in 1978.
If there were a Mt Rushmore for the Brookline Bird Club, Herman’s visage would be there. When Julie and I saw our first American Bittern with Herman, we were “condemned” to a lifetime of calling them “Bit’-ens”, because that’s what Herman said it was.
Thank you, Herman. You are missed, and our condolences to Eva, Glen, and the entire D’Entremont family. In Herman’s view, that would include thousands of birders. He was that kind of guy.