I wish to advise the birding community that in the early hours of this morning Fred Smith died peacefully in his sleep. Having reached ninety in March, Fred suffered a major stroke yesterday and did not re-awake. As many would be aware, he was amongst the best field observers of his generation and it was my very great pleasure to bird with him on a regular basis for more than forty years. I will miss his gentle sense of humour and will retain some wonderful memories of our times together with the birds.
John Barkla
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Thanks John, and I’m very sad to hear about Fred. We’ll all miss him. Along with so many others, I’ve greatly enjoyed his friendship, advice, guidance and support from the very first time I arrived in Melbourne in 1973. Fred introduced me to many of the local wader places including the WTP. And I remember how incredulous I was when he and Bob Swindley told me that was one of the few places where Orange-bellied Parrots could be found in winter, and how right they unfortunately proved to be.
Many people have said how generous Fred was with his time, and I certainly echo that. Also what a giant he was in terms of showing what a huge contribution birders can make to our knowledge, in the days when there were no good field guides and some people still believed that specimens were needed to confirm the identity of difficult species like waders! Fred led the way in dispelling that archaic belief. His field observations were meticulous, and he shared them with others in the field and through publications. Mike Carter listed some of the birds he has added to the Australian list, especially waders. I think it’s quite amazing that one person should be responsible for adding every one of the world’s three phalarope species to the list of this continent! That’s an achievement that would be hard to beat anywhere, but it didn’t stop there. And Fred remained modest, full of quiet dry humour and keen to help others who shared his passion for birds.
Many happy memories of Fred, including on our Twitchathon team and chance meetings at good birding spots. We’ll miss him greatly but his contributions will live on. Sorry I’ll miss the funeral as I’ll be overseas, but I will be thinking of Fred and am sure many good stories will be told.
Richard.
Richard Loyn richard.loyn@bigpond.com
Very sorry to hear about the passing of Fred this morning. He was one of the real originals who helped pioneer the way for good field identification of birds. His love of waders particularly was a big influence on the direction I went in birding. The challenge of bird ID was something that I have always been interested in, & his reports of all those rare waders he found in the journal ‘Bird Watcher’ was something that inspired me to get out into the field & see the birds for myself when I was very young. The detail & carefulness in the bird descriptions in that journal was well ahead of his time. His immense knowledge and dedication into birdwatching & willingness to impart his knowledge will be very sorely missed. My sympathies go out to his family & friends. It was a pleasure to know & bird watch with him down at The Farm.-Kevin Bartram
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I have lost count of the number of times that on a Saturday when driving along the tracks at the Western Treatment Plant we would encounter John Barkla’s vehicle, almost inevitably with Alison in the front and Fred in the back. In 2011 Ruth and I participated in the (previously BOCA) Challenge Bird Count with John Barkla’s team that included Fred – this was particularly significant to us because Fred had been part of this event since the first time it had been run in 1948. Subsequently at a dinner hosted by John and Alison, Ruth and I got to know Fred a little more, and learnt of his exploits in earlier years – in particular his identification of Sarus Crane in Australia (previously they had simply been dismissed as Brolgas), and of finding and identifying innumerable rare waders – especially at the Western Treatment Plant. Fred was already frail by the time we met him, but, until this year, he was certainly still an active birder – who else has Plains-wanderer on their Western Treatment Plant list in daylight – especially as an 87 year old?!
Vale Fred Smith.
Paul Dodd & Ruth Woodrow Docklands, Victoria
Fred was world famous for his observations on waders (which we now call shorebirds) when I moved to Victoria from the UK with my family in 1964. Within days of arriving I gained employment in Kew where Fred lived so immediately took advantage of that proximity to call on him at home. And so started an enduring friendship. Fred was his own, and rather a private man, so it was difficult to get close. He had no car and couldn’t drive (never learnt) and so relied on others for transport. In those early days I would pick him up and he would show me around the swamps around the mouth of the Yarra and then west of Melbourne further afield to the Werribee Sewage Farm and the salt-works at Altona and around Geelong. We made several camping trips to northern Victoria and into NSW. He also introduced me to the swamps SE of Melbourne where I still conduct regular surveys. His renowned expertise was with waders, being instrumental in finding and publishing several firsts for Australia and Victoria. Without checking, those that come to mind include Lesser Yellowlegs, White-rumped Sandpiper, Baird’s Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Wilson’s Phalarope and Grey Phalarope. I was with Fred and others at Lake Murdeduke in the Western District of Victoria when a Ruff was found. At the time we thought that it too was a first but we later learned that one was seen a week previously on a wetland along the Murray. We co-authored that observation. In my case, I think I learned more from Fred about crakes and rails than any other group of birds. As my interests turned to centre more on seabirds and so to the Mornington Peninsula, eastern Victoria and south-eastern NSW our physical association faded but we still shared our experiences via the telephone.
Thanks Fred, I’ll miss you!
Mike Carter 30 Canadian Bay Road Mount Eliza VIC 3930 Tel (03) 9787 7136
I only ever met him on a couple of occasions as I moved away from Victoria many years ago, but do know that from my earliest teenager years interested in birds and on joining the Bird Observers Club hearing and reading of Mr Fred Smiths knowledge and skill as a birdwatcher. I recall him leading a number of outings in my early days of birding and being inspired by him and his knowledge.
I have read many an article penned by him.
No doubt the birding community has lost a champion.
David Taylor Brisbane
David and Marg Taylor Brisbane
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Thank you John, for telling us of Fred Smith’s death. I shall always remember him leading birding parties – often at a very fast walk – and how worthwhile it was to keep up with him. At Anglesea many years ago, behind the cliffs, where a Peregrine made repeated Stuka dives at us, and Fred hustled us on because we were close to her nest. Many many times at Werribee, including the time we saw Cox’s Sandpiper (should have been Fred’s Sandpiper!) at Ryan’s Swamp. Finding him and his bike at Wilson’s Reserve – a female Scarlet Robin appeared and he remarked that he’d never seen one there before, or at Banyule Swamp, again by bike… His helpfulness to beginners and others, and his immense knowledge so willingly shared – I hope he will never be forgotten. My sympathy to family and friends.
Anthea Fleming
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Sad news indeed John – I was on a BirdLife outing today when the news came through and everyone who knew him had fond recollections of his great skill everyone. We will all miss him
Dave
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I’m sorry to hear of Fred Smith’s passing. I well remember our trip to Leanyer Sewage Ponds with one of the Beruldsen brothers and another birder some years ago. Although they’d been in the Top End for some weeks Fred was the only one to not see a new bird.
When I spotted a garganey, a new species for him, Fred was so excited. But it was slumped on the ground and obviously near death, and so there was a rush to get Fred to the scope. We joked that if it had died before he saw it I would have had to rush over to give the bird mouth to beak resuscitation! They all then went off to celebrate with an iced coffee.
Vale Fred Denise L Goodfellow
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Very sad news.He was a true Gentleman and very kind, and generous with his birding knowledge.
David Richardson
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