On a recent day, with an old issue of Audubon as my lunch companion, I read with interest about an ornithologist of whom I’d never heard.  This bird lover, who had died just short of his 100th birthday, was quoted as saying: 

Human life is not purposeless.  Rather, the moments of intense pleasure we experience in our encounters with nature may well justify our existence.

     It must have been my mood;  these words of Alexander Skutch went straight to my heart.   Yes!  Here was a kindred spirit.  I feel the same way.  In fact, Skutch’s words brought back memories of my younger self, who asked, as we all do,  ”Why are we humans here?”  The answer that most satisfied me back then was that we are the ones with the capacity to feel appreciation and awe at the beautiful planet Earth.

     Skutch’s words also aroused in me two perpetually painful questions.  ”Why are we humans destroying this beautiful planet?  Why isn’t it just unthinkably painful to bulldoze wetlands, forests, and waterways to make room for human activities?”  Of course I realize that these questions are simplistic.  The harm we humans are doing to the planet is not limited to overt destruction;  the daily lives of billions of us, especially those of us leading comfortable, middle class lives (myself included) form an unsustainable strain on the planet.

     I decided to learn more about this passionate nature lover, and I found his life inspiring.  Skutch left his native Baltimore in the 1920s and went to Costa Rica to work as a botanist for the United Fruit Company.  He soon became enthralled with the array of colorful birds there and decided to devote the rest of his life to studying them.

     Skutch and his wife lived simply on a farm they bought in Costa Rica, growing much of their own food and drawing their water from nearby streams.  Skutch financed his bird studies by collecting tropical plants for museums in the U.S. and Europe.

     In the world of ornithology, Skutch is best known for his discoveries of cooperation among birds.  His observations showed that many birds help other birds, usually relatives, with nest building and caring for the young.

     Skutch’s intense observations enabled him to detect differences in the appearance and behavior of mates who, at first, looked quite alike.  He realized that birds’ ability to recognize close associates as individuals was necessary for avian societies to persist.

     Skutch wrote many books describing the lives of about 300 species of birds.  He disliked statistics, instead basing his studies on detailed observations and interpretation.  In explaining his fascination with birds, Skutch once said, “they’re not unfeeling automata but sensitive creatures aware of what they do.”

     Clearly, Skutch was a man who deeply loved the natural world.  He strove to ‘tread lightly on Mother Earth.’ And he named as his favorite writer the Roman essayist and historian Plutarch because, he said, ”Plutarch believed in the integrity of non-human creatures.”

     The farm in Costa Rica where Skutch and his wife lived is now being managed as a nature preserve.-April Moore

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