[mou] Orwin Rustad

[Dave Bartkey]

Hi everyone,

  I just wanted to share the news of the passing of Orwin Rustad with the
Minnesota birding community. He was 95 years old. For those unfamiliar,
Orwin was the founder of River Bend Nature Center here in Faribault, as well
as the creator of the Outdoor Classroom Nature Trails at Shattuck-St. Mary's
School. He, along with Dr. George Rysgaard, started the Rice County
Christmas Bird Count in 1951 and he never missed a single count since its
inception. Orwin also had a hand in the formation of the original Rice
County Bird Club.

 

  Orwin earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from St. Olaf College
in Northfield in 1942, and his master's degree in science education from the
U of M in 1953. He also studied ornithology at Cornell University, and
studied geology and natural history at Oslo University in Norway. Over the
years, Orwin received numerous awards; many from local organizations, but he
won the WCCO Good Neighbor Award as well.

 

  Orwin had a great interest in phenology, but his first love was birds and
his interests started as a child of 11 years old, hearing an unfamiliar
birdcall, tracking down the bird and sketching it. He sent the sketch to the
US Biological Survey in Washington D.C. and was delighted to get a response
describing the bird as a Horned Lark. In his 1997 book, "A Journal of
Natural Events in Southeast Minnesota", Orwin describes the Horned Lark as
his favorite bird. (Incidentally, Orwin's book was published right around
the time I started birding, and words can't describe what an impact that
book had on my life!) Along with his interests and studies of birds, mammals
and plant-life, Orwin also banded birds for 47 years. 

 

  Our neck-of-the-woods wouldn't be anywhere near as special as they are
without the vision and accomplishments of Orwin Rustad. He will be missed,
but his legacy will live on here for a long, long time.

 

Good birding,

 

Dave Bartkey

Faribault, MN

screechowl at charter.net 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20080708/838991d9/attachment.html