My first bird book was the little Golden Guide to Birds by Herbert Zim. I was helping my younger brother David with a 5th grade teacher who asked every kid to go out and find 30 birds in town (which every student should do). We were in a Concord woodlot when we saw and heard a bird I had not seen before. Flipping through my Zim there it was in full color, a thrush with a reddish crown and bold black spots on a snow white breast. Our first Wood Thrush. I became a close friend to Roger Tory Peterson for years and was pleased to have his wife Virginia say the Wood Thrush was her favorite bird. To come full circle I had lunch with Herbert Zim at the Cosmos Club in Washington DC.

I still love hearing the ever fewer Wood Thrushes and think back to that magic moment when we marveled at that sighting . It triggered me wanting to see (and hear) every bird in that little book and dozens of other field guides worldwide.