The Historical Society's recent discovery of early 20th-century journals by the Needham naturalist, Timothy Otis Fuller, may mean exciting news for birders everywhere.
Fuller's journals, written in 1904, 1906 and 1908 and put together in a compendium in 1912, are detailed notations and illustrations of Needham bird migration patterns, populations, descriptive characteristics and songs. Impressive work, considering Fuller was by trade an accountant at the Revere Sugar Company and was more well-known for his meticulously kept botanical journals.
"Fuller's best work is actually in botany," said Historical Society Executive Director, Gloria Greis. "He was doing fairly intense work following in this sort of 19th-century 'man of science' tradition ... I'm curious to know if he did journals like this for his botany."
The bird journals, which Fuller hand wrote with pencil and illustrated with pencil or watercolor, are significant finds, as they were done before the bulk of field guides were published in the 1920s and '30s, said Greis.
"What we're learning is that these seem to be very early," said Greis. "There seemed to be a cadre of what we think of as amateur naturalists because a lot of scientists weren't academically based."
The journals will provide historians and birders with a detailed look at the topography of Needham at the turn of the century, said Greis. From the journals, readers will be able to tell which areas of town land were frequented by bird populations.
Fuller made these observations, Greis explained, during a time of intense environmental transition in Needham. In the mid-1800s, much land was cleared to make way for farms. By the turn of the century, there was still much deforestation in town, but trees had filled in some of the land that had been clear-cut 50 years earlier.
Plus, Fuller drew and wrote accounts of birds such as the ivory-billed woodpecker, which is thought to be extinct, and the Bachman's warbler, which is on the endangered species list.
Shirley Pratt, historian of the now-defunct Needham Bird Club, was thrilled to hear about the uncovering of Fuller's journals, even though she said she was unfamiliar with his name.That's one of the ways to see the difference in what the bird population is now and what it was then," she said.
The journals were found in a drawer of one of the society's cabinets by volunteer Ron Hylen. "They were all freehand. He never made a mistake," said Hylen. "He drew on a music chart the notes that the birds sang. It's just phenomenally beautiful work ... I couldn't imagine how he did it as extensively as he did without making mistakes."
Greis said the society's first step is to study the journals at length to determine their scientific worth. "I'd like to know, from a professional standpoint, what their value is," she said. "About a year from now, I'd like to be able to publish them."
Fuller, who lived from 1845 to 1916, was actually one of the founders of the Needham Historical Society and a member of one of the founding town families. He was, by all accounts, said Greis, an accomplished mathematician and avid mountain climber and hiker.
"I know personal sketches of him describe him as very shy," said Greis. "He was charming and genial, but not outgoing."
Fuller's name does not appear in school attendance records, as he may have been home- schooled. He also did not attend college.
Greis said that Fuller did publish one paper in 1899 on the rare plants of Needham in "Rhodora," the journal for the New England Botanical Club. The bird guides, she said, appear to be a different story. "He doesn't seem to have made a significant effort to publish it in the formal academic sense," said Greis.
While there are no plans to put the journals on display in the society, interested birders can catch a glimpse of the pages on the society's Web site, www.needhamhistory.org.
"They're just so beautiful," said Hylen. "I can't imagine anyone doing that." |