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.
