Sad news

[squirl033]

It is with sadness that I inform you all of the passing of long-time member and bird photographer Bill Anderson. Bill was a prolific photographer, a major contributor to this site, and a fine person. Three days ago, unfortunately, he lost a battle with cancer.

I met him many times at his favorite haunt, the Edmonds marsh, as well as out on the fishing pier, or up at Pine Ridge Park in Edmonds. He was invariably cheerful, friendly, and more than happy to share information about birds, photography, or life in general. He introduced me to "Wesley", the male Anna's hummingbird who hung out near the marsh and loved to have his picture taken, and to "Katie", the female kingfisher who frequented the marina nearby, and didn't seem bothered by people as so many of her species do. He loved wildlife, but birds especially, and was a regular fixture on the viewing platforms overlooking the marsh, and his photos were regularly published in the local paper, as well as displayed in many venues in the city. He was also deeply involved in organizing the Edmonds Bird Fest. He will be sorely missed by those who knew him. Rest in peace, Bill...

 

[RickyRed2057]

My condolences. I just new Bill a short time thru the forum. R.J

 

[John999R]

Here is something I wrote to Bill in private messaging on the website:
RIP Bill, I found the news by accident on Ducati. ms. Many people there were saddened by your passing. I really appreciated knowing you and your passion for bird photography. I loved looking at your photos, all of them, but especially photos that followed the life cycles of the local Bald Eagles in your area. You cataloged Eagle's nests from eggs to fledging and shared with us amazing photos of them. I'm still amazed at the scale in terms of where you set up with your long lens and when you pointed to where the Eagle's nest was located and despite having 20/13 vision at that time, I expected the nest would be somewhat easy to spot because Bald Eagles are large birds, so I figured their nests would be even larger. I was taken back when I finally did spot it but with the aid of my own 400mm telephoto lens and 1.4 extender. Without the lens, it looked like it was a mile away, a tiny dot amongst the branches high up in a tall tree. Then you put it all together and it was amazing to feel like you were only ten feet away from the nest. The skill employed, the reach and sharpness of your Canon 500mm telephoto lens, sometimes coupled with your 1.4 extender captured the world of the Bald Eagle up close and personal. It was a fitting end of a great day after hanging out at one of Bill's favorite places of solitude, the Edmonds Marsh. Bill, I think it would be fitting to post a bench there in your honor. I believe you did more than anyone to bring

I liked your accompanying photo comments about individual birds and also tips on camera settings and other helpful information that I personally used at a later time. I also appreciated the love and compassion you showed your son Darrin. He often joined up with you and you put in the extra time teaching him about photography, but I'm sure you shared a wealth of life knowledge too. No doubt he will miss you dearly.

We certainly had some common interests, that's for sure. Both of us had careers in law enforcement, you with the FBI and me with municipal police. Also the love of motorcycle riding and having the misfortune of crashing too. I don't recall much conversation about our career work, from my perspective it was way more fun talking about wildlife and your bird photography than chasing bad people. I suppose we did good things by going after bad things and the appreciation of nature balanced out our life experiences. Your passion for bird photography was a good influence on me since I already liked birds in the first place. You knew my camera hobby centered around astrophotography, so it made for interesting conversation and comparisons.

Goodbye, my friend, I was glad we were able to meet up in person a couple of times over the years. You and your fantastic photography, including the backyard images and comments will be sorely missed. My thoughts go out to your family and friends.