Book explores life of hero of American ornithology
I am reading the fascinating biography of a remarkable man who researched and helped to preserve several species of birds, among them the greater sandhill crane, the whooping crane and the Kirtland’s Warbler.
He was Dr. Larry Walkinshaw, member of a pioneer Michigan family. His life and achievements are all the more impressive because they took place against the background of the Great Depression. His hard-earned formal education included the difficult choice of first becoming a dentist to support his family. Ornithology research and field documentation were not a second choice but a co-choice by him for a career.
Lowell M. Schake, author of the book, is another remarkable man. He was Walkinshaw’s son-in-law. He and Wendy, his wife are residents of Port Aransas [Texas]. The book, “On the Wings of Cranes: Larry Walkinshaw’s Life Story,” will be featured in Corpus Christi Northwest Library’s Amateur Birding Series, the first of which will take place Nov. 15. Schake is a retired Texas A&M University college professor.
Schake, in writing this biography, fully used the abundant notes and documentation of research by his subject, a dedicated scholar, and worked it into the minute history of the family.
Walkinshaw’s interests began early and he was faithful to them all his life. A favorite book in boyhood was “Two Little Savages,” by E. T. Seton. Walkinshaw was later able to tell the author what inspiration he had found in his works.
One of his most remarkable skils was his ability to inspire others to cooperate and work with him. He led with total enthusiam in many public projects, was a dedicated Boy Scout leader, and was a member of many boards, including service as president of the Wilson Ornithological Society.
Walkinshaw’s pioneer ancestors settled around the Big Marsh in Michigan, so he spent many of his early years exploring the territory. Here he found bird nests and observed the development of their habitants. He felt a strong conviction and a compulsion to learn more about everything natural that came his way. As an adult he almost single-handedly saved the marsh from a fire.
On another occasion, he and his wife, Clara, found an anbandoned cranelet and raised it to adulthood. The little chick was named Brownie and became totally imprinted on human beings. Wendy (Walkinshaw’s daughter and Schake’s wife) was 3 years old at the time and remembers her little bird sister well.
Of special interest is a chapter on Walkinshaw’s field techniques. Dr. George Archibald said of this aspect, “His mother taught him how to take field notes.”
Another friend commented, “I swear Larry never filled his boots, he glided through the cattails with his hands folded…never getting stuck in the mud. He reminded me of St. Peter, walking on water.”
Accounts of sometimes perilous adventures always enjoyed by Walkinshaw make this book a page-turner. It has extensive extras including the catalog of acronyms and abbreviations, a list of characters who are famous or well-known friends and fellow scientist with whom Walkinshaw worked. Black and white snapshots and family portraits add to the insider feel given to the reader.
Of special interest are the chapters about Walkinshaw’s research at Aransas Wildlife Refuge and with the whooping crane. There are anecdotes of revelance to his writing two books, “The Sandhill Crane” and “Cranes of the World.” The book was edited by Walkinshaw’s son James R. Walkinshaw. This very complete, yet readable, book was obviously a labor of love, collecting the episodes and work of one of the heros of American Ornithology.
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Published in the weekly BIRD WATCH column of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Saturday, October 11, 2008, City Edition, Home & Garden Section, page 8E. Authored by columinist Phyllis Yochem, a Corpus Christi resident in ‘America’s Birdiest Region’, who has studied birds since 1960.
