Local birding legend gives wings to multiple generations
Submitted photo
Many thanks to the Ralph K. Bell Bird Club of Greene County and to the entire Bell family for including us in a great spring bird count on May 23.
Although I have attended both the Christmas bird count as well as the spring event back when Ralph was still alive, this one was extra special. As you might have read in past installments, the namesake of the scholarship holds a special place in our hearts. Mr. Bell was a legend in the world of birding, with the bird banding station at Dolly Sods, W.Va., named in his honor. He was also a great friend. Celebrating his legacy made the day all the more special.
The bird club recently presented two scholarships to graduating seniors from local high schools. The scholarships were presented to Matthew Wassil of West Greene and Emma Bates of Carmichaels.
Matthew Wassil is president of the West Greene National Honor Society and a member of the science club. Wassil finished third in his graduating class and is a standout in three sports for the Pioneers. Matthew played football, basketball and baseball and was a captain on the gridiron as well as the hardwood. The graduating senior is also a dedicated member of the Saint Mathias Parish of Waynesburg where he has served as an assistant with the CCD program. He has taken part in service projects with the faith-based non-profit organization Second Sam Nine in Waynesburg, most notably in raising funds and furnishing supplies to its participants. Matthew will attend Penn State at University Park, where he plans to major in mechanical engineering. Matthew is the son of Michael and Jessica Wassil and the brother of Mark. The Wassils make their home in Nineveh.
Emma Bates graduated valedictorian from Carmichaels High School as well as serving as class president. She was elected to the homecoming court this past fall. Emma has been a four-year member of the Mikes’ Envirothon team and this spring, her Carmichaels Environthon team, of which she is captain, finished tops in Greene County as well as third in the state competition. She is a founding member of the Merciful Mikes Christian student organization. Emma will attend Grove City College in the fall, double majoring in communications and history and double minoring in writing and musical theatre. She is the daughter of Kelly and this outdoors writer.
The most interesting and moving portion of the morning was the reading of the scholarship application essays by the recipients, to the crowd in attendance, prior to the bird walk. The two essays were quite different and yet at the same time both prose shared the theme and content relating to personal relationships formed with birders.
Wassil’s essay was based on his love of turkey vultures, a passion shared with his grandfather, Bob Andrew. Matthew stated in his essay that the return of the vultures in the spring coincides with the passing of grandpap and how sighting the return of the turkey vultures reminds him of and brings him closer to his late granddad. Admittedly, Matthew says that vultures are not normally held in such loving regard by most folks but that their kindred love of the buzzard was something unique to him and his grandfather. “I can’t help but think of my grandfather when I look up and see one of the big birds circling” he said.
Emma wrote of her experiences as a life long learner and her love of birds as fostered by Mr. Bell. Although Bates knew early on that avian matters were not to be her career path of choice, her love of the outdoors and more specifically, birding, was encouraged by Bell and his mentoring of her at an early age. “I can remember riding over the farm in the old Jeep, and sitting on Ralph’s lap in his kitchen, learning about birds,” recalled Emma.
Attendees were treated to lunch by the bird club and got the chance to socialize with the membership in Ralph’s old homestead, headquarters for the bird club that honors him. I had not been inside his digs for quite some time so it was especially moving to return to the place that held so many wonderful memories for me as a kid. It was a morning of old friends and new, learning new information and sampling technology, and enjoying, as well as appreciating, the outdoors via birding.
These days, my mornings as a retired guy have been taken up with my Merlin App, listening to the many bird songs that I did not know existed in our little valley on Jensen Hollow. If you are not familiar with Merlin, it is an app that captures and identifies various bird calls and songs of species frequenting the area. Not only does the app tell you what bird is making the call but it gives the user a picture of said bird, repeats the call on command, and allows the user to access more information related to that particular species.
Ralph tried to make me a birder of sorts for years but it did not take within his lifetime. What he did do was plant the seeds for my curiosity, as well as hundreds of other folks, which would germinate many years later, causing me to become more of a bird watcher than I ever dreamed possible. Being color blind (like Ralph) his encouragement, use of Roger Tory Peterson’s field guide that included bird shapes and silhouettes, flight patterns and song identification, made me more of a birder than I could have fathomed. Coupling that with the modern day intricacies of the Merlin App has lent so much more to the birding experience.
Ralph would be pleased with the fruits of his scholarship program being allocated to such quality young folks as Emma and Matthew. Additionally, I’m sure Ralph would relish in the fact that his love of birding is living on in the next generation and that such a modern marvel as the Merlin App is furthering this knowledge and appreciation of birding. Looking back at those pictures of Ralph holding my three-year-old Emma’s hand, sharing his decades of wisdom makes me realize how truly blessed we have been to be included in Ralph’s birding community.
Dave Bates writes a weekly outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter. He can be reached at alphaomegashootingsolutions@gmail.com