Thunder Cape Bird Observatory. Photo © Unknown

Dave Hussell

David was a tremendous supporter of the Thunder Cape Bird Observatory right from his first visit to the Cape in July of 1991, when he accompanied Dave Shepherd and several local naturalists on the first reconnoitering trip to the cape to “check it out”. He has been back once or twice every year since then, to volunteer for several days, and do some banding. He has been TCBO’s primary technical advisor and a co-author of the Observatory’s monitoring protocol, and gives final approval for any changes made to it. He is also a generous financial supporter of TCBO.

David, originally from England, was a keen birder, bird bander and ornithologist for many years. He helped set up Canada’s first bird observatory, at Long Point on Lake Erie in 1960, and served as Long Point Bird Observatory’s first Executive Director from 1974 to 1982. After moving to the MNR, he maintained his interest and expertise in bird banding, and through a standardized approach to monitoring, has been able to convince the MNR’s scientific community that counting and banding migrants is a legitimate method of avian population monitoring. David wrote numerous scientific papers on ornithological subjects ranging from population monitoring through bird behaviour and molt sequences, mostly based on his bird banding experiences.

David passed on in 2015 but his legacy at Thunder Cape lives on.

Photo of Dave Hussell
David Hussell examines an American Three-toed Woodpecker