Elizabeth Dickens (ornithologist) explained
Elizabeth Dickens, known as the "Bird Lady of Block Island", (born 2 Dec 1877, died 17 Jun 1963)[1] was an American ornithologist.
Early life
Dickens was born and lived her entire life on Block Island, Rhode Island. She was an eighth generation descendant of Nathaniel Dickens (1614-1692),[2] an early settler of Block Island who arrived from the mainland in 1679.[3] She was the last member of that family line to reside there, and she traveled only occasionally and then usually for reasons connected to her interest and expertise about birds.[4]
Scientific contributions
Dickens contributed to the annals of ornithology through her half-century of daily bird sightings on Block Island.[5] [6] These journals, which she began in 1912, were bequeathed by Dickens to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island and are housed at their offices in Smithfield, Rhode Island.[7]
In addition to her journals, she also accumulated a taxidermy collection of 172 mounted specimens representing many of the island's bird species.[8] [9] The Block Island School is today the home of the Elizabeth Dickens Bird Collection.[10] [11]
The Dickens-Lewis Farm Nature Preserve on Block Island, named for Elizabeth Dickens, preserves farming history on 200 acres of meadows that also provide habitat for grassland birds.[12] Roland Clement, in a 1959 Yankee Magazine article about Elizabeth Dickens, coined the title “Bird Lady of Block Island” for Miss Dickens. Her biography was written by Herbert S. Whitman.[13]
External links
Notes and References
- Book: The bird watcher's America. 1965. Pettingill. Olin Sewall.
- The Hylbom Family Ancestry Project - Elizabeth Dickens: http://hylbom.com/family/notable-kin/notable-kin-ch-to-ga/dickens-elizabeth/
- Early Block Island Families by G. Andrews Moriarity, VI THE DICKENS FAMILY. New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol 86, April 1932, pg. 174-177
- Book: The Saturday Evening Post. May 1960. Curtis Publishing Company.
- Lord, Peter. "Not for Sale" . Providence Journal.
- Book: Arthur Cleveland Bent. Life Histories of North American Marsh Birds. 1926. Courier Dover Publications. 978-0-486-21082-7. 112–.
- Kim Gaffett, "Elizabeth Dickens: a local hero, 100 years ago", The Block Island Times, 25 Dec 2012
- RINHews: The newsletter of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey. (1995) 2 (1), 4-5. "The Elizabeth Dickens bird collection"
- Stacy Baker, "The Birds of Block Island", The New York Times, 9 Mar 2012
- "Birding Takes Flight", Block Island: Close to Home, A World Away (published by the Block Island Tourism Council, 2009), p. 17
- Book: Phyllis Méras. Katherine Imbrie. Explorer's Guide Rhode Island (Sixth Edition) (Explorer's Complete). 4 June 2012. Countryman Press. 978-1-58157-786-0. 345–.
- "Of birds and rolling grasslands on Block Island", The Nashua Telegraph, 16 Aug 1984 (accessed online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19840816&id=-6crAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9PwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4153,3476002 - 14 Aug 2013)
- Herbert S. Whitman, Elizabeth Dickens: The Bird Lady of Block Island (Cornwall, Connecticut: Still Pond Press) 1982.