BUCR Field Observers and Researchers:
Barbara Hart Stedman
In Memoriam
Barbara Anne Hart Stedman died suddenly and unexpectedly 20 March 2012 in Cookeville, Tennessee, her city of residence since 1987. Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, 1 September 1936, Barb came to bird study while living in Gulf Breeze in the Florida panhandle during the early 1970s. She participated in the Pensacola Christmas Bird Count 14 December 1974, the first of about 130 CBCs that she would take part in until her last CBC on 23 December 2011 (Table 1). Many of these counts were located at various sites in and near the Florida panhandle, including Cedar Key, St. Marks NWR, Apalachicola-St. Vincent Island NWR, Port St. Joe, Marianna, Bay County, and Choctawhatchee Bay, as well as Pensacola. In Tennessee she regularly took part in CBCs conducted in the UCR and less regularly in other parts of the state. Besides her CBC efforts, Barb was also a dedicated participant in the North American Breeding Bird Survey. She conducted a few BBSs in Alabama, Kentucky, and West Virginia, but her main focus of BBS effort was Florida, where she conducted 138 BBSs from the early 1990s to 2011, mainly in the panhandle. Shortly after Barb's death, Keith Pardieck, director the the BBS, characterized her two-decade long contributions to the BBS effort in Florida as "spectacular." She was looking forward to conducting her usual eight BBSs in Florida and one in Kentucky when her untimely death took place. Besides counting birds at St. Vincent Island NWR during many CBCs and on many BBSs, she spent many additional days during many seasons on that island collecting point count data for the refuge. It is to be hoped that the voluminous records she accumulated and archived in the refuge files will also be archived in some more accessible manner.
A major contribution that Barb made during the period from 2003 to 2007 involved bird inventories in eight National Park Service units located in Alabama (Little River Canyon National Preserve [see photo of her surveying birds there 7 August 2003] and Russell Cave National Monument [see photo of her at that site 6 August 2003]), Georgia/Tennessee (Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Battlefield), Kentucky/Tennessee (Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area), and Tennessee (besides her beloved Obed Wild and Scenic River, these included Stones River National Battlefield [see photo of her surveying birds there 17 July 2003], Shiloh National Military Park, and Fort Donelson National Battlefield). The field work for all of these sites except the Big South Fork was conducted by Barb, who was on the road frequently during those years.
Barb made almost daily entries in a bird log for her home on Lakeland Drive in Putnam County, Tennessee, for more than two decades (1989-2012); most of the entries are in the form of an alpha code for each of the species that she saw or heard during a particular day. Click on this link to see photo of her making notations 25 December 2002, and click on this link to see photo of the page where her notations were made that day; she is probably writing in the entry for Brown Creeper (BRCR) near the bottom of the page; this entry is in her handwriting as are the entries for Winter Wren (WIWR), Eastern Towhee (EATO), Carolina Wren (CARW), Red-bellied Woodpecker (RBWO), Downy Woodpecker (DOWO), House Finch (HOFI), and Canada Goose (CAGO), as well as the weather data at the top of the page; the other entries are in the handwriting of her husband, who shared the task of making entries about the birds found in the yard each day.
She will be remembered for her green knee boots, worn winter and summer during field work, for her bright and cheerful smile, for her thoughtful consideration toward all, and for her unstinting dedication to the birdlife of Florida, Tennessee, and other states.
Table 1. Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) on which Barbara Anne Hart [Johnson] Stedman was a Participant.
Date Location of CBC Notes
14 December 1974 Pensacola, FL As Barbara Johnson
20 December 1975 Bay County, FL As Barbara Johnson with SJS
27 December 1975 Marianna, FL As Barbara Johnson with SJS
30 December 1975 St. Marks NWR, FL As Barbara Johnson with SJS
18 December 1976 Marianna, FL With SJS
19 December 1976 Choctawhatchee Bay, FL With SJS
26 December 1976 Birmingham, AL With SJS
1 January 1977 Bay County, FL With SJS
17 December 1977 Choctawhatchee Bay, FL With SJS
26 December 1977 Marianna, FL With SJS
16 December 1978 Marianna, FL With SJS
17 December 1978 Choctawhatchee Bay, FL With SJS
23 December 1978 Ft. Morgan, AL With SJS
29 December 1978 Bay County, FL With SJS
21 December 1980 Columbia Estuary, OR/WA With SJS, Dave Roe, and Sharon Roe
2 January 1981 Bay County, FL With SJS
19 December 1981 Marianna, FL With SJS
28 December 1981 Port St. Joe, FL Co-compiler w/ SJS; w/ Brian Johnson [son]
30 December 1981 Bay County, FL With SJS, Brian Johnson
1 January 1983 Hiwassee, TN With SJS
17 December 1983 Marianna, FL With SJS
28 December 1983 Port St. Joe, FL Co-compiler with SJS
16 December 1984 Noxubee, MS With SJS
29 December 1984 Hickory-Priest, TN With SJS, David Vogt
21 December 1985 Cross Creeks NWR, TN With SJS
27 December 1985 Port St. Joe, FL
1 January 1986 Hiwassee, TN With SJS
5 January 1986 Noxubee, MS With SJS
27 December 1986 Bay County, FL With SJS
29 December 1986 Port St. Joe, FL Co-compiler with SJS
17 December 1987 Cookeville, TN
20 December 1987 Cross Creeks NWR, TN With SJS
22 December 1987 Savannah, TN With SJS
29 December 1987 Port St. Joe, FL
2 January 1988 Noxubee, MS With SJS
17 December 1988 Marianna, FL
28 December 1988 Port St. Joe, FL
31 December 1988 Bay County, FL With SJS
28 December 1989 Port St. Joe, FL
2 January 1990 Cookeville, TN
18 December 1990 Cookeville, TN
27 December 1990 Port St. Joe, FL
17 December 1991 Cookeville, TN
30 December 1991 Port St. Joe, FL
21 December 1992 Cookeville, TN
30 December 1992 Port St. Joe, FL
2 January 1993 Cedar Key, FL With SJS
21 December 1993 Cookeville, TN
29 December 1993 Port St. Joe, FL
21 December 1994 Cookeville, TN
28 December 1994 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
29 December 1994 Port St. Joe, FL
21 December 1995 Cookeville, TN
28 December 1995 Port St. Joe, FL
29 December 1995 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
20 December 1996 Cookeville, TN
27 December 1996 Port St. Joe, FL
28 December 1996 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
20 December 1997 Cookeville, TN
28 December 1997 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
19 December 1998 Cookeville, TN
28 December 1998 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
29 December 1998 Port St. Joe, FL
18 December 1999 Cookeville, TN
22 December 1999 Clay County, TN
28 December 1999 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
29 December 1999 Port St. Joe, FL
16 December 2000 Cookeville, TN
19 December 2000 Clay County, TN
28 December 2000 Port St. Joe, FL
29 December 2000 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
15 December 2001 Cookeville, TN
18 December 2001 Clay County, TN
27 December 2001 Port St. Joe, FL
28 December 2001 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
14 December 2002 Cookeville, TN
18 December 2002 Clay County, TN
29 December 2002 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
30 December 2002 Port St. Joe, FL
18 December 2003 Clay County, TN
20 December 2003 Cookeville, TN
28 December 2003 Port St. Joe, FL
29 December 2003 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
16 December 2004 Clay County, TN
18 December 2004 Cookeville, TN
21 December 2004 White County, TN
28 December 2004 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
29 December 2004 Port St. Joe, FL
14 December 2005 Clay County, TN
17 December 2005 Cookeville, TN
22 December 2005 White County, TN
28 December 2005 Port St. Joe, FL
29 December 2005 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
14 December 2006 Clay County, TN
16 December 2006 Cookeville, TN
21 December 2006 White County, TN
23 December 2006 Crossville, TN
27 December 2006 Port St. Joe, FL
28 December 2006 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
15 December 2007 Cookeville, TN
18 December 2007 Clay County, TN
20 December 2007 White County, TN
22 December 2007 Crossville, TN
28 December 2007 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
29 December 2007 Port St. Joe, FL
15 December 2008 Clay County, TN
17 December 2008 Crossville, TN
20 December 2008 Cookeville, TN
22 December 2008 White County, TN
27 December 2008 Port St. Joe, FL
28 December 2008 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
16 December 2009 Clay County, TN
19 December 2009 Cookeville, TN
21 December 2009 White County, TN
23 December 2009 Crossville, TN
27 December 2009 Port St. Joe, FL
28 December 2009 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
18 December 2010 Cookeville, TN
20 December 2010 DeKalb County, TN
23 December 2010 Crossville, TN
27 December 2010 Apalachicola/SVI, FL
28 December 2010 Port St. Joe, FL
14 December 2011 Russell-Adair, KY
15 December 2011 Clay County, TN
17 December 2011 Cookeville, TN
19 December 2011 White County, TN
21 December 2011 Crossville, TN
23 December 2011 DeKalb, TN
Anderson, B., R. Tankersly, L. Perry, K. Miles, B. Enderle, S. Carr, J. York, B. Stedman, C. Nicholson, J. Taulman, G. Crichton, B. Swafford, C. Hunter, and B. Ford. 2000. Draft Northern Cumberland Plateau Bird Conservation Plan. Version 1.0. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arlington, Virginia. 57 pp.
Mitchell, L. J., and B. H. Stedman. 1993. Mature Maple-Beech Forest. Journal of Field Ornithology 64: 57−58.
Stedman, B. H. 1983. Unusual Interaction between Two Buteos. Florida Field Naturalist 11:55.
Stedman, B. H. 1997. Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Pp. 160-162 in The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Tennessee. C. P. Nicholson, ed. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee.
Stedman, B. H. 1997. Winter Wren. Pp. 236-238 in The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Tennessee. C. P. Nicholson, ed. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee.
Stedman, B. H., and S. J. Stedman. 1981. Notes on the Raptor Migration at Chilhowee Mountain. Migrant 52 (2): 38−40.
Stedman, S. J., A. R. Hoff, and B. H. Stedman. 1985. Red-shouldered Hawk Migration at Chilhowee Mountain, Tennessee: A Clarification. Migrant 56 (4): 98−100.
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 1986. Preventing window-strikes by birds. Migrant 57 (1): 18.
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 1990. Mature Deciduous-coniferous Forest with Stream. Journal of Field Ornithology 62 (Supplement): 17−18 [Winter Bird Population Study].
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 1991. Mature Deciduous-coniferous Forest with Stream. Journal of Field Ornithology 63 (Supplement): 18−19 [WBPS], 86 [Breeding Bird Census].
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 1992. Mature Deciduous-coniferous Forest with Stream. Journal of Field Ornithology 64 (Supplement): 18-19 [WBPS], 81−82 [BBC].
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 1994. Mature Deciduous-coniferous Forest with Stream. Journal of Field Ornithology 65 (Supplement): 23 [WBPS], 95 [BBC].
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 1996. A Survey of Winter Birds in Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Kentucky Warbler 72 (1): 25−32.
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 2002. Notes on the Birds of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and the Obed National Wild and Scenic River. Privately printed, Cookeville, Tennessee, 146 + viii pp.
Watson, J. K., S. J. Stedman, B. H. Stedman, and OWSR Resource Management Staff. 2003. Draft Avian Conservation Implementation Plan for Obed Wild and Scenic River. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 2005. Final Report of the Bird Inventory: Stones River National Battlefield, 2003–2005. Web-published report for the National Park Service.
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 2006. Final Report of the Bird Inventory: Russell Cave National Monument, 2003–2005. Web-published report for the National Park Service.
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 2006. Final Report of the Bird Inventory: Little River Canyon National Preserve, 2003–2005. Web-published report for the National Park Service.
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 2006. Final Report of the Bird Inventory: Fort Donelson National Battlefield, 2003–2005. Web-published report for the National Park Service.
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 2006. Final Report of the Bird Inventory: Shiloh National Military Park, 2003–2005. Web-published report for the National Park Service.
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 2007. Final Report of the Bird Inventory: Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, 2003–2005. Web-published report for the National Park Service.
Stedman, S. J., and B. H. Stedman. 2007. Final Report of the Bird Inventory: Obed Wild and Scenic River, 2003–2005. Web-published report for the National Park Service.
Stedman, S. J., K. A. Calhoon, and B. H. Stedman. 2007. Final Report of the Bird Inventory: Chattanooga and Chickamauga National Military Park, 2004–2006. Web-published report for the National Park Service.
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