Nature Done Wright

By Jim Wright

Special to The Record | USA TODAY NETWORK – NEW JERSEY

    Here’s to the late great Frank Chapman, long-time North Jersey resident and pillar of 20th-century ornithology. Although he died eight decades ago, his name is still in the news and his legacy lives on.

    Today marks the start of the 124th annual Christmas Bird Count, an event the Chapman invented in 1900 as an alternative to a traditional “side hunt,” an informal competition to see how many wild birds you could shoot on December 25.

   The bird count, which runs until Jan. 5, is the longest-running bird census in the world. Last year, nearly 80,000 observers tallied more than 40 million birds representing about 2,500 species. 

   Researchers use the information to chart how bird populations have changed both numerically and geographically – and have documented the recent declines in bird populations.   

   Chapman is the subject of two recent books. “The Man Who Loved Birds,” a comprehensive biography by James Huffstodt, was published last year, and the children’s book “Counting Birds: The Idea that Helped Save Our Feathered Friends,” by Heidi Semple, was published in 2018.

   “Chapman is rightly known for the CBC, but he accomplished so much more,” says Huffstodt. “He was also a noted author, a pioneer photographer, an innovative museum curator, and an influential conservationist.” 

   A self-educated ornithologist, Chapman was born and raised in West Englewood (now Teaneck). He fell in love with watching birds in his childhood. After a brief banking career, he got a job at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and eventually became curator of the bird department.

    One of his innovations was to revolutionize how taxidermed birds were displayed. Instead of simply attaching them to perches, he created habitat groups, which presented the birds in three-dimensional re-creations of their natural surroundings.

   In 1899, Chapman created Bird-Lore Magazine, the forerunner of today’s Audubon magazine. Included in the first issue was an article on how an increasingly popular technology called photography was revolutionizing bird-watching. 

   Chapman was also an ardent conservationist. He helped persuade Teddy Roosevelt to create the first federal bird preserve (on Florida’s Pelican Island) and advised the president on the creation of 30 more preserves that would eventually become the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System. 

    Chapman, who died in 1945, is buried in Brookside Cemetery in Englewood.

   In Chapman’s honor, the Bergen County Audubon Society is sponsoring a free Zoom discussion of Huffstodt’s book tonight, featuring the author, Stephen Quinn of the American Museum of Natural History, Bergen County Audubon’s Don Torino, and yours truly.  

  The online event begins at 7:30 p.m. To register, email Torino at greatauk4@gmail.com.

   The Bird Watcher column appears every other Thursday. Jim’s latest book, "The Screech Owl Companion,"  was published in October by Timber Press. Email Jim at celeryfarm@gmail.com.