From the Winter 2024 issue of Living Bird magazine. Subscribe now.
In July 2023, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology community lost a dear friend and colleague when Tom Johnson passed away unexpectedly at the age of 35.
Tom’s exceptional skills in photography, bird identification, and as a birding tour guide are driven by his love of being out in nature. Johnson generously contributed more than 10,000 photos, audio, and video recordings to the Cornell Lab over two decades, from his high school years to his 2010 graduation from Cornell University and more.
“Beyond his formidable skills and awe-inspiring passion for birding, Tom was an even more outstanding human being,” wrote Ian Owens, the Cornell Lab’s executive director. “His warmth, thoughtfulness, humility, and generosity of spirit made him an exemplary ambassador for birds and the natural world and a dear friend to many.”
An Eye for Beauty
“Tom has an easy, warm way about him, immediately making anyone with him feel comfortable,” said Brian Sullivan, a Cornell Lab digital publications project leader and a close friend of Johnson’s. “He had the kind of charisma that made others feel seen and heard. He wanted us to continue to see all the beauty around us—the heartbeat of the planet he loved so much, the beauty that never escaped his eyes.”
All photos by Tom Johnson. Tap/click the links to view larger images via their Macaulay Library archive page.
Warbler in Flight
From an early age, Tom seemed to possess a natural gift for taking bird pictures. By the time he was an undergraduate at Cornell, in the late 2000s, he was able to capture split-second flight shots of tiny birds as they moved against the limitless sky. Nothing is more impressive than his warbler photos, many of them taken at dawn from the observation platform at Higbee Beach in his beloved Cape May, New Jersey. For most of us, getting a well-lit, well-focused flight shot of any kind is cause for celebration; over the years, Tom has captured excellent flight shots of more than 20 warbler species, including rare treasures such as Cerulean, Connecticut, and Golden-winged Warblers.
Perhaps the single best illustration of Tom’s personality, talent, and dedication is a photo of a Prothonotary Warbler he found in the middle of the night on a boat south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. As noted in an eBird checklist from the day, Tom heard the bird’s chip note in his sleep and woke up at 2:30 a.m. Taking his camera to investigate, he captured this dramatic flight shot, in almost total darkness, miles. from the ground.
A Connection With Sea Birds
For several years after Tom’s graduation, he served as a seabird observer on NOAA research ships—an opportunity to sharpen his formidable observational skills on some of the most notorious challenges in bird identification. . Tom is nicknamed “Albatross” by his fellow Field Guides, and his connection to these vast, restless, and indescribably beautiful creatures is clear in the photographs he brings home. A bird like a Southern Royal Albatross may look big, but against the endless sweep of a gray ocean even this massive seabird is a challenge to capture in a camera frame.
Boundaries of Identity
Birding is all about noticing the details—it’s what brings a sense of discovery and possibility to every trip outside. Tom’s eye for detail was unparalleled, and his ability to focus on barely perceptible differences or irregularities meant he often spotted rare birds that others might have passed over. Imagine watching a swooping swallow and realizing that it is not a Cliff Swallow, or the similar Cave Swallow, but a hybrid of the two? Or stand on a beach in Nome, Alaska, and pick through a hundred White-winged Scoters to find five nearly identical Stejneger’s Scoters. Tom’s eBird checklist describes a finely tuned eye, noting the Stejneger’s varying head shape, eye flare, and flank color. (While also noting, with characteristic enthusiasm, that what was seen was “very beautiful.”)
A World of Ability
Tom spent about 10 years guiding birding tours for Field Guides, traveling to at least 15 countries on about 120 trips (read a memoir from Field Guides). In his 35 years, he gathered a huge store of knowledge and experience that he shared with anyone in his warm and encouraging way.
“The fields of ornithology and birding combined have suffered a tremendous loss,” Sullivan said, “because Tom was one of those rare people who had the mix of skills needed to break down the boundaries between these two worlds— he skillfully communicated the magic of birds and the power of science to anyone in his path.” Tom has extensive knowledge and enthusiasm that spans from the tropics to the poles.
One of the great privileges of working at the Cornell Lab is the opportunity to work with so many talented young birders and ornithologists who come here to study. Tom was one of the smartest, and we all thought we’d be learning from him for decades to come. We are grateful for the time we had with Tom, and join his family, friends, and the wider birding community in remembering his life.