Don Whitehead was a biologist, conservationist, naturalist, birder, father, husband, and friend. He will be missed on so many levels.

Don’s achievements as a biologist were impressive. After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1954, he did doctoral work at Harvard University and postdoctoral work in Denmark and Norway with some of the leading researchers in paleobotany and paleoecology at that time. After teaching at Williams College in Massachusetts for 7 years, Don began his Indiana University career in 1967. He did groundbreaking work incorporating pollen analysis in the investigation of the paleoclimatology of the southeastern U.S., published a pivotal paper on wind pollination, and integrated paleoecological and paleolimnological approaches in extensive studies on watersheds and associated lakes in the Berkshire and Adirondack Mountains of the northeast.

Don’s work in the Adirondacks demonstrated that acidity of lakes had changed substantially over the past 12,000 years and that diatoms were particularly susceptible to changes in pH. In the midst of rising national concerns about acid rain in the 1980s, Don headed a multi-million, multi-university, multi-investigator project looking into lake acidification—the PIRLA project (Paleolimnological Investigations of Recent Lake Acidification)—which was funded by a number of sources. Funds from the Electric Power Research Institute alone brought in more than $3 million to IU. The PIRLA project demonstrated unambiguously that recent acid deposition from industrial sources had resulted in the rapid acidification of lakes throughout New England as well as in southeastern Canada.

In the late 1980s, Don’s research shifted dramatically to focus on a lifelong passion of his—birds. He and his lab members concentrated on the effects of forest fragmentation on the reproductive success of locally breeding Neotropical migrant songbirds. The Whitehead lab, often in collaboration with researchers from other universities, published many important papers on forest fragmentation, including a seminal paper in Science.

Throughout his life, Don remained an avid environmentalist. He was involved in local conservation groups such as Sassafras Audubon Society and Sycamore Land Trust. In 2008, Don was presented the Lifetime Conservationist Award by Sassafras Audubon Society (SAS): “Given for a lifetime of commitment and dedication to the cause of conservation in South-Central Indiana.” At the same time, another award was named in his honor: the Donald R. Whitehead Conservationist of the Year, which is now given annually to a deserving community member who is actively involved in avian conservation.

In addition to Don’s extensive knowledge about the identification and natural history of birds, he had an extensive knowledge of all of the local flora and fauna. He was actively involved in SAS, leading countless bird walks starting in the 1970s and continuing through 4.5 decades. He loved showing participants as many species as possible and welcomed experienced and novice birders alike. He introduced so many people to birding and with that, a love of nature! Don compiled the Lake Monroe Christmas Bird Count (CBC) for 35 years, recruiting numerous volunteers annually. He started a wonderful tradition of having a potluck dinner/tally at the end of the day at which participants could report sightings and share stories of the day. CBC data constitute an extremely important database, providing long-term information about the distribution of wintering species worldwide. In addition to compiling data for the Lake Monroe count, Don participated annually in other area counts, including Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area, McCormick’s Creek State Park, Patoka Lake, and Sullivan County.

Besides participating in numerous CBCs, Don was involved in other “citizen-science” events designed to monitor avian populations. He conducted several Breeding Bird Survey routes annually, from which data are incorporated into a valuable long-term database covering breeding birds nationwide. He volunteered to help coordinate Indiana’s first Breeding Bird Atlas, an ambitious project designed to atlas all of the breeding birds in the state on a very fine scale. On a local level, Don participated in the Monroe County Birdathon for years, a fun local competition run by Monroe County Parks and Recreation Department to raise funds for local charities. We were on Don’s team many years running but in later years branched out and had our own team with the expressed intent of beating Don Whitehead’s team! Fun competition that Don enjoyed wholeheartedly.

Don loved to travel to see birds. We went on numerous birding trips with Don and his wife Betsy prior to and after his retirement: from pelagic (oceanic) trips off of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, to southeastern Arizona for week-long crazy birding adventures with Russ Titus and Lee Sterrenburg, and a very memorable 3-day pelagic trip out of San Diego on the Searcher with Susan’s parents, Don and Betsy, and a number of local SAS members (David Daniels, Nancy Martin, Bob Kissel, and Ellie Baker), and former IU graduate student, Dan Cristol, and his dad Allen. Don and Betsy traveled east regularly, not only to visit family in New England, but also to hit local birding hotspots like Cape May Point.

While his love of birds was always strongest, Don joined others of us locally in a passion for butterflies. He was a big supporter of Jeff Belth, a local butterfly expert who wrote the definitive identification and natural history book Butterflies of Indiana. In true Whitehead fashion, Don hosted a wonderful book-signing party for Jeff as we all toasted the completion of a much-needed field guide on butterflies of the area.

Don was a fantastic cook and an ardent canner, growing tomatoes and other raw materials in an extensive backyard garden. Each year, he prepared many quarts of salsa; ketchup; and BBQ, puttanesca, and marinara sauces. Over the past 15 years, we have shared Don’s garden space. After sweaty hours working in the garden, we would routinely have a lovely happy hour with Don and Betsy, chatting about local events, politics, recent bird sightings, upcoming trips, and—of course—sports. Being a New Englander at heart, Don was a loyal Boston Red Sox fan—a passion he shared with Susan and a rivalry he relished with Jim, a New York Yankees fan. Don was also a big supporter of IU sports, closely following the IU track team, as well as the baseball, basketball, and football teams.

Don will be missed by so many. He taught so many of us so much. It is hard to express the impact he had on the local as well as the statewide birding community. And this is not to mention his impact as a scientist and teacher, which was noteworthy! His legacy will live on in the knowledge and love of birds he passed on to his students, his acquaintances, his dearest friends, and his family. We tip our hat to you, Dr. Whitehead, and will think of you when we see warblers migrating through in the spring, nesting wrens declaring their territories in the summer, shorebirds coming through in the fall, and rare loons and scoters flying by in the winter!