It is with considerable sadness
that we heard this evening that Graham Rees (Mr Strumble) has passed away.
Graham, among many things, was a former county recorder and editor of the Pembs
Bird Report, a founder member of the Welsh Ornithological Society, the Welsh
Rarities Advisory Group, joint author of Birds of Pembrokeshire, and
instrumental in the establishment of the Pembs Bird Group.
I hope Lyndon Lomax (who was
chairman of the Bird Group Committee at the time) does not mind, but below is a
copy of a citation that the Bird Group compiled for a Lifetime Achievement
Award that Graham received from WOS back in 2012. It hopefully gives a flavour
of what Graham was about.
His passing is incredibly sad
news indeed.
Bob Haycock
Chairman Pembs Bird Group
Committee
Graham’s name will
always be synonymous with “Strumble Head” (Mr Strumble as he is affectionately
referred to by fellow “Strumblers”) having spent many years, days and hours
patiently observing and recording the remarkable avian passage that occurs
there. His Strumble observations of
common scoter passage, for example, have provided useful pointers to the timing
and numbers of these birds likely to be present in Carmarthen Bay.
As well as being a founder
member of WOS and the WRAG and a former BTO Rep for Pembrokeshire, between 1981
and 2007 Graham was County Recorder and editor of the Pembrokeshire Bird
report, a position he shared with Jack Donovan for many years.
Amongst Graham’s other
important life-time achievements has been the establishment of the
Pembrokeshire Bird Group and organisation of two County-wide breeding bird
surveys. The first (1984-88) was published in Birds of Pembrokeshire (1994) for
which Graham was joint Author with JWD. The second about 20 years later
(2003-07) was published by the Pembrokeshire Bird Group in 2009.
Graham may not be an
exponent of the digital photography age but he has produced many fine sketches
and paintings, illustrating the details of birds he has observed in various
parts of the world. He is currently at the forefront towards the production of a
WeB-based “Pembrokeshire Avifauna” - delving into his notebooks and diaries etc
to update accounts on species migration patterns and so on. Hopefully, Graham’s
legacy – a lifetime of diligently recording and translating what he sees - will
enthuse and inspire others to do the same.
Pembrokeshire Bird Group