Tanner talk

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This Wednesday, February 4 at 7 p.m., I'll do a talk about "Jim Tanner and the ivory-billed woodpecker" for the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS) in Room 117 of the UT Veterinary Building. (Across the hall from Pendergrass Library).

The presentation is about Jim's life, particularly his three-year study of the South's legendary Ghost Bird while a PhD candidate at Cornell. His fieldwork and research funded by the first Audubon Research Fellowship, took place 1937 through '39. Tanner's findings were first published in 1942 in his "The Ivory-billed Woodpecker," a book that is still in print.

Dr. Tanner taught at the University of Tennessee for over 30 years. He was also a loyal member of KTOS. Nancy, his widow and my good friend, is still very active in the club.

Photo of ivory-bill nestling "Sonny Boy" on the head of J.J. Kuhn by Dr. James T. Tanner, courtesy of Nancy Tanner.

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