09/03/2026
118 years ago today, Roger Tory Peterson was born! A Jamestown native, Roger made birding accessible to millions by designing a field guide that helped anyone go outside and quickly identify the birds they saw. In his paintings, he designed his birds by setting them up facing the same way, and pointing out their defining features or "field marks" with little black arrows. A field mark could be a bright color on a wing, tail shape, beak shape, or the color of their eye ring—anything that made them unique from other similar-looking species. Roger Tory Peterson also did a lot for the early Environmental Movement, performing research on the effects of DDT on wildlife and how the harmful chemical brought birds like the American osprey to the brink of extinction. Audubon Magazine described him perfectly in a 1961 issue: “As a naturalist, Peterson has the soul of an artist and as an artist the soul of a naturalist.”
Happy birthday, Roger!
