By Don Gorney
It’s with a heavy heart I share the news that Jim Haw passed away on January 9, 2017. Jim began birding in high school and was already an accomplished birder when he moved to Fort Wayne in the early 1970s. He birded the state with the likes of Ken Brock and other skilled birders – a relatively small group in the 1970s – and he birded extensively in northeast Indiana. Ever since I met him in 1994, I’ve considered him the Dean of Northeast Indiana Birding/Birders. He knew his birds and where to find them. Importantly, he kept records. If you wanted to know about northeast Indiana bird records from the early 1970s onward Jim Haw was the source of the information.
The best thing about Jim was that he graciously shared his time and knowledge. He was field trip leader for Stockbridge Audubon for many years, gave many bird programs, served on the Indiana Bird Records Committee, compiled the Ft. Wayne Christmas Count for decades, and patiently and willingly tutored new birders. Two of those new birders he mentored were Jeff McCoy and myself. Of course, there were scores more besides the two of us who learned a lot from Jim. In the days before email and the internet, it was always exciting for a new birder like me to call Jim to tell him about an uncommon/rare bird that I had found and for Jim to activate the rare bird alert phone tree. I vividly recall the printed phones tree diagram that was in two parts: one section for people who wanted to know about all “good” birds and another for those who just wanted to know about the real rarities only. Of course, Jim was the top of the tree and all good finds were reported to him first.
Although I have participated in numerous Christmas Bird Counts over the years none have been like the Fort Wayne count. During the day I got to bird with Ted Heemstra, my other birding mentor who passed in May 2016, and Jeff McCoy. At the end of the day we assembled at Franke Park for a chili supper and to learn what species had been seen by the various teams. Jim made the compiling of the list suspenseful and fun. When I moved from Fort Wayne to Indy in 1998, I still participated in the Ft. Wayne Christmas Count a few more years because it was fun and I greatly enjoyed Jim’s performance at the end of the day.
Jim was a quiet, soft-spoken man with a funny G-rated sense of humor. He was an excellent birder who unfortunately slowed down after his retirement due to health problems. In recent years his outings were shorter duration and more by car but he was still finding King Rails and other good birds. I speak for many others when I say that Jim will be greatly missed as a birder and as a friend.
Friends of the Limberlost 