Uncle Harlin's 692nd Bird: The Rufous-Backed Robin

Rufous-Backed Robin
Wikipedia

Dan Kopp, one of my late Uncle Harlin's birding friends, provided me with a link to a brief article about Harlin: "Life Lister Almost 700 – Birds, That Is!" Field Notes: For Members of the Nature Conservancy in Arizona (Spring 2015). Here are some of those field notes:

[O]n January 17, [2015,] 87-year-old Harlin Perryman came to the Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve from his home in Sacramento, California. He was searching for the rufous-backed robin, which would be the 692nd bird on his life list . . . . Jim and Gloria Lawrence, the bird walk leaders that morning, directed Harlin to the preserve's Spring Trail, where they had seen that bird earlier in the morning. Once there, Harlin saw his 692nd bird . . . . "Harlin got the bird bug when he was 67 . . . . He was out cycling and was almost hit by a bird with red on its wings. He wasn't sure what it was, so he bought a birding identification book and was hooked . . . . Harlin has a big smile and enjoys telling his story, which is an inspiration to all of us who became interested in birding late in life," [says Keith Krejci, the preserve's site host].

Apparently, Harlin had been visiting the preserve for the past twenty years. The article has a photo of Harlin smiling big and looking very Cherokee. I don't know if the photo was recent, and I wish I could reproduce it here, but I can't do that with pdf files. Go there, and take a look.

I wonder if Harlin reached 700 . . .