MEMBER PROFILE: Rick Fournier

The Foundation has always felt like family

In 1991, Rick Fournier participated in a docent training led by Mark Silberstein. He recalls dropping in for visits at the Elkhorn Slough Foundation trailer in those early days, when ESF comprised two staff members and a desk piled high with papers. “The Foundation has always felt like family,” says Rick, remembering the warmth of his reception each time. Rick served a stint as a Board Member of the Foundation and led successful efforts to engage business and corporate support.

Rick started and coordinated the original Monterey Bay Birding Festival, which then received its funding and administrative support from the Elkhorn Slough Foundation. Initially, he had mixed feelings when the Foundation turned over the reins of the annual birding celebration to run as its own independent nonprofit.

“That was around the time ESF became a land trust and shifted its focus to conserving land,” Rick recalls. “I remember feeling disappointed at the time, but it was the best decision the Elkhorn Slough Foundation has ever made. Thanks to that, we now have more than 4,000 acres of habitat protected for birds and wildlife.”

While many regular visitors to the slough recognize Rick as the expert birder leading Reserve “Early Bird” tours and ESF birding walks, Rick has also supported the Foundation’s work by surveying several ESF properties — including Seamist, Catellus, and Elkhorn Highlands Reserve — to document their birds and wildlife.

This year, after 25 years of dedicated volunteer service, Rick has stepped back from leading monthly Early Bird tours to spend time with family and travel to birding hotspots, among other pursuits. Rick is also finding ways to enjoy birding in a time of “social distance.”

Rick remains an active Reserve docent and Foundation volunteer, and we are deeply grateful for his dedication and commitment to birding and the Elkhorn Slough. We wish him happy birding, and hope he will always regard himself as we do — an esteemed member of the Elkhorn Slough family.

For now, we are unable to hold events like the birding walk pictured. Yet thanks to Rick, we have a few tips for birding in a time of social distance:

Exercise regularly

Use your daily walk or other outdoor time as an opportunity to get in a little birding.

Study bird structure

Even when a bird is distant or poorly lit, you can often observe the form and structure of its beak, body, and movement.

Listen up

Quiet your mind and tune your ears to the songs and calls of our resident and migratory birds.

Hit the books

Take advantage of time at home to study field guides and birding websites.

Enjoy!

Whether watching your backyard bird feeder or the open skies, stay curious, awaken your sense of wonder, and have fun birding!