[cobirds] Thankful for Joe

Like many of you, I am deeply saddened to hear of Joe’s passing.  We have lost a pillar of our birding community, one that cannot be replicated.  I thought of using “icon” to describe what he meant to our community, but if you knew Joe, he was far too humble to want to be considered that way – I always had to remind myself that he was an MD, and not just an ordinary Joe, which he was not.

 

As I began to resurface in the birding World after a nearly 20 year hiatus to focus on career and family, it was Joe who recalled who I was and the times we spent with my Mom in the field and around DFO meetings many decades earlier.  I had gotten snared into helping resurrect eBird in Wyoming, he recognized my name, and reached out as he too was handling a piece of the puzzle there by managing the “Hotspots” for the State.   That was Joe, always thoughtful, supportive, and funny as hell.

 

I tried to think of a story that best captured his persona, but then recalled a brief email exchange that I think captured how he viewed the World.  Rather than paraphrasing, here it is in his own words (see below).

 

So on this day of Thanksgiving, I am thankful to have known Joe and all he brought into our collective lives.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving and save a toast for Joe, he would also be thankful of you.

 

Good Birding,

Doug

 

Doug,

 

For North Korea, I figured that if Dear Leader (aka Little Rocket Man) loses interest in NBA basketball and gets interested in birding, he

will dump Dennis Rodman and I'll be the new Dennis Rodman.

Joe

 

On Thu, Dec 7, 2017 at 12:52 PM, Joe Roller <jroller9@gmail.com> wrote:

I thought that might pique your interest.

Actually I am managing 100% of the eBird hotspots in the Peoples Republic, which is ZERO.

If you look at the hotspot map, there is one right by the border, in China.

 

eBird sent out a list of countries that lacked hotspot reviewers, so I signed up for all the conflict zones - as a lark.

I get suggestions and manage the Palestinian Territories too, and some are in Arabic.

Rrepublic of Georgia is fun, and I learned some new geography.

Have met some nice folks around the world.

 

I tried to sign up fore the Vatican, but it was taken already.

Castle Gondolfo is crying out for a hotspot there.

 

Former Denver Cardinal Chaput is a birder.

 

Joe

 

On Thu, Dec 7, 2017 at 12:36 PM, Doug Ward <dougward@frontier.com> wrote:

Joe,

 

Thanks for the feedback. Sooo, how many Hotspots are you managing in North Korea, and more importantly, how did you get that designation?  Hope things are going well for you; one of these days we need to hook up and do some birding.

 

Cheers,

Doug

 

PS – Missed you at the last DFO meeting; my first in like 25-30 years!

---

From: Joe Roller <jroller9@gmail.com>
To: Doug Ward <dougward@frontier.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 7, 2017 10:47 AM
Subject: Thanks, Doug, for your eBird hotspot suggestion!

 

I tweaked the name, using the same format as the other hotspots and inlets around the reservoir.

and approved your suggestion, so it's now CO's newest eBird hotspot.

 

"Dillon Reservoir--Snake River Inlet"

 

Thanks and best regards, 

Joe Roller, 

Volunteer eBird hotspot reviewer for CO, WY, Republic of Georgia, Yemen and North Korea