Apparently the intersection of espionage and naturalists goes beyond the fictional 007 being named for the author of Birds of the West Indies, James Bond. A fascinating blog post on spying naturalists and spies posing as naturalists is up on The New York Times’ Opinionator.
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.
Wright, Rick (2009) Birder undercover: the life and times of Alexander Milton Ross. Birding 41(2): 46-50.
And then there’s Alger Hiss and the Prothonotary, of course.
Rick, I totally expect your next beat blogger post to be titled “Alger Hiss and the Prothonotary”.
The tale of how the Prothonotary Warbler became involved in politics is one of my favorite bird-related stories!