Wednesday 15 July 2009

Cumnock birder Jim Woods dies suddenly

I was extremely saddened today to hear of the death of Cumnock birder Jim Woods. He died yesterday morning, quite unexpectedly of a heart attack. I am sure that all in the Ayrshire birding community who knew Jim will share my sadness at the loss of one of that county's best bird photographers, quite apart from the enthusiasm and sense of fun which he always brought to local birding.

In terms of rarity finds, Jim will be best remembered for his August 1990 adult Caspian Tern at Doonfoot but for me, I shall always remember his keenness on the Isles of Scilly, a location he visited, often with his family members, each October. He was particularly helpful to me, and regularly supplied me with his latest bird and natural history images. I last saw him in October last year when he was over the moon at coinciding with the Alder Flycatcher twitch.

The funeral is at Ayr Crematorium on Monday 20th July, at 1.15 pm for anyone who would like to attend,

Lee G R Evans