The loss of Paul Coopmans is bound to hit some of us harder than others. He=
was one of those field ornithologists whose contributions to birding and b=
irders far surpasses what his published record will show. John Moore's coll=
aborations highlight an important part of what Paul uncovered in his birdin=
g life and I know that John will miss him as much as any of us. Visions of =
Paul perched on top of a truck roof absorbing and divulging birds for his c=
lients on the Manu road in Peru will remain one of my favourite memories of=
Paul.
For those of us in Naturerecordists, Paul's interest and contributions may =
seem on the fringe of what the group discusses in the main, but Paul was a =
field worker after my own heart. Our interest in the group has always been =
similar. We wanted to know everything we could so we could get the best rec=
ordings we could out of the field while we were leading tours, doing invent=
ory, etc. He knew the value of sound when it came to bird ID and how import=
ant it was to their conservation. And it created an incredible hunger for k=
nowledge that was his trademark. The MacAuley Library was a beneficiary of =
his field work, and it was a bit of humorous fun that we teased him about t=
aking almost as much sound out of it as he put in (which was prodigous). He=
couldn't get enough to appease his hunger for bird sound, and I know exact=
ly how that feels.
The main beneficiaries of Paul's gifts will be the countless number of peop=
le that had the privilege to bird with him, through the world's biggest tou=
r companies to his many friends and acquaintances. He has influenced so man=
y that his contribution to ornithological conservation will be of the best =
kind - seed for all of the contributions made by everyone that ever enjoyed=
his company in the field. I miss him already.
Scott Connop
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