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All of our board members volunteer their time to support TRC through various board member functions. But the board members have passions for the rainforests and its creatures that go beyond running an organization that saves them. Meet board member John Delevoryas who follows his passion for tropical birds all the way down to the rain forests. We are excited to share his passion here with his stunning tropical bird photographs, sounds and adventures to get these photos for the world to see. We are proud to showcase our fourth tropical bird feature:
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Barred Ant Shrike
In May of 2000, during the end of the dry season in the Yucatan, my friend Luis Tellez and I were scouting an area in western Quintana Roo near the Chicanna Mayan ruins. This time Luis came prepared with his DAT recorder and shotgun microphone. As soon as he heard a particular bird song, he would record it, play it back which was sure to elicit a reaction from the bird he taped. It would be not an uncommon sight to see the bird emerge, hopping mad that a rival male was invading his territory! Perfect photo op! This happened sure enough with the elusive Barred Ant Shrike, whose chattering I heard many times in the underbrush. Not only did the distinctive male, with his striated costume, show up, but also his female companion, which has a dark brown back and tan underparts with striations similar to the male's, but only around the malar area (cheek bone). If it weren't for Luis, I would never have captured his image. The only other photo opportunity was in Costa Rica in 1992. It was the female as seen from a great distance.
John Delevoryas
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© 2001 John Delevoryas.
(Click the photo for full-frame larger version.)
Hear the Barred Ant Shrike
Bird recording courtesy of Luis Tellez.
The flash plug-in is required to hear the sounds. If you do not see the play button above left, please download the free Flash Player from macromedia.com. Note that it will take a minute or so to load the file.
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After receiving the Rosenberg and Loeb prizes for outstanding pianism upon graduating from the Juilliard School of Music in 1949, Delevoryas joined the piano faculty of its Preparatory Division. In 1955 he accepted a position on the faculty of the music department at San Jose State University, where he performed and taught piano (also theory and music appreciation), eventually becoming Chairman of the Keyboard Division, until his retirement in 1990. During his tenure there, he performed numerous solo recitals, in chamber-music groups, and as soloist with orchestras in the United States and in Europe. This past March, 2000, he collaborated with Bin Huang, distinguished violinist, in the three sonatas for violin and piano by Johannes Brahms. CD's are available.
Bird photography emerged as an avocation stemming from a lifelong passion for birds which was instilled in him by his mother. From 1985 to the present, he has traveled to every continent except Antarctica, at first with Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris, and from 1996, on his own. He states: "To see a bird is one thing; to capture its image is an endless quest." It is a privilege to be able to share these images with all of you dedicated to preserving the rainforests where these marvelous creatures live!
My Philosophy
By John Delevoryas
My love for birds goes back to my childhood when my mother introduced us to them by pointing them out and having us purchase small cards from Perry Pictures Company in Boston, Massachusetts. One memorable summer, an Orchard Oriole suspended his sac-like nest from a huge oak tree in our yard and we saw the cycle from building the nest to the time the immature birds fledged.
Much later, when I could afford it, I bought a pair of binoculars which unveiled the many personalities of these creatures close-up. Because of their inherent fear of man, they frustrated our attempts to touch and hold them. Now, as pets and through mist-netting, people do handle them, but they are prisoners. It is not the same as being close to them in the wild. I feel photography is the means to capture their images in their native habitats.
The greatest variety of colorful birds abounds in the tropics, particularly the tropical rainforests. Photography of birds there is a difficult challenge, but with improved equipment, it is a most exhilarating experience to "touch" them for a few seconds, leave without spooking them, eventually share their images with others, and once in a while, having one fly into close range, as if it was posing for the camera!
As indicators of the health of our planet, how much longer will they be with us to flash their colors and sing their songs?
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