Birdwatching in Sydney
with the Cumberland Bird Observers' Club

James Bond was an American Ornithologist (someone who studies birds) who wrote the classic field identification book "The Birds of the West Indies". When Ian Fleming wrote "Casino Royale" in 1952 at his home in Jamaica he needed a name for his fictitious spy and, seeing Bond's book in his library, decided to "borrow" the author's name.

"I was determined that my secret agent should be as anonymous a personality as possible," said Fleming. "It struck me that his [Bond's] name, brief, unromantic and yet very masculine, was just what I needed."

Bond's book is still in print and, despite being originally written in 1936, is still the only definitive bird identification book covering all the birds of the West Indies.

Bond followed his father into the career of ornithology and began surveying the birds of the West Indies in 1926. He travelled extensively through the islands for many decades spending long periods in Cuba and Hispaniola. "Virtually the entire area was explored fairly thoroughly with the exception of some of the more southern Bahamas," he wrote in 1960. "Of the native West Indian species of birds and those known to have been successfully introduced I encountered approximately 98 per cent in life."

James Bond was a Curator at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, a Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union and a member of the British Ornithologists' Union. In 1952 he received the Musgrave medal from the Institute of Jamaica and in 1954 was awarded the William Brewster medal (the most prestigious award in American ornithology) from the American Ornithologists' Union for his work on West Indian birds.

Photo:T.Peri

For a bit of fun, some CBOC members dressed up in 'James Bond' style to produce the above photo.

About the models
	Renée has a passion for the outback and has travelled across Australia's arid interior on camels four times. She is now planning her fifth camel trek - this time across the Simpson Desert. She has been CBOC's membership secretary and her favourite bird is the Budgerigar.
	Prue is a birdwatching novice. Her favourite bird is the Eclectus Parrot although she hasn't seen one in the wild yet.
	Andrew has been a birdwatcher all his life and has travelled to all states in pursuit of Australia's birdlife. He is CBOC's publicity officer and website administrator. His favourite bird is the Crimson Rosella.
	Heather has international birdwatching experience with her favourite North American bird being the oddly-named Grackle.
	Aimee is the birding scientist of the group having an undergraduate science degree and post grad diploma in environmental management. She is in the enviable position of working with birds in the areas of scientific research, environmental management and environmental consulting. She is CBOC's conservation officer and her favourite bird is the Little Shrike-Thrush "because it's a very charismatic bird with an interesting song".
	Tony, being a keen photographer, was the natural choice for our James Bond photoshoot. He does regular bird surveys in Sydney as well as Little Tern surveys at Nowra. He is a CBOC committee member and his favourite bird is the Eastern Rosella.

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