GetIntoNature: It's a small world, for ornithologists
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Day 2 of my trip to Ecuador back in September found me at Mindo Loma ( www.mindolomacloudforest.com ) about two hours from Quito. I was the only person there, but the lodge manager told me a group was arriving the next day.
As promised, a small bus pulled in and about 10 people emerged the following day. All carried impressive cameras and lenses.
The leader entered the lodge as I ate lunch, and we exchanged pleasantries. He was a big burly guy named Tom, from Montana. He said his group included people from Montana, North Dakota and Oklahoma.
Tom looked familiar and suddenly my brain raced back to the early 1980s when I taught at Oklahoma State.
"Are you Tom Ulrich?" I asked.
Tom is one of the world's great wildlife photographers ( www.tomulrichphotos.com ). I explained that we had met in Stillwater more than 25 years ago when he visited to give one of his slide programs. So we compared notes and reminisced a bit. Small world.
As we talked, I noticed a member of his group passing in the background. He was an older man with a full beard and glasses. Knowing that some of the group were from Oklahoma, again a spark of recognition flashed through my mind.
"Is that guy from Oklahoma?" I asked. Tom nodded yes. "Is his name John?" Again, Tom nodded yes. "Is his name John Thornton?" "It sure is," Tom said.
John Thornton was a senior member of the OSU zoology faculty when I arrived in 1980. We both taught courses in general biology, so we interacted regularly. And now 31 years later, we met again 2,500 miles from home.
The reason for this column is to give readers a chance to see a wonderful slide show that John created after his trip to Ecuador.
"I've finally gotten some of my photos organized into a slide show where family and friends can view it," he said, in a recent email.
The link is http://www.photodex.com/share/zooljwt ." (Windows operating system only. Choose Trip C.) Enjoy.
The music accompanying the images is from "Images and Reflections, Vol. 3" by Australian naturalist and musician Robert Boyd ( www.robertboydmusic.com ). Send comments about John's slide show directly to zooljwt@aim.com .
First Published January 22, 2012 12:00 am
