I served on the Connecticut Rare Records Committee from its inception 
in 1985 to 1995 and have been a member of the New York State Avian 
Records Committee since 1989. I have also been involved with numerous 
avian and environmental projects in the region and have provided edi¬ 
torial assistance for various published works relative to birds. I remain 
extremely active in the field, fortunately still enjoying birding immense¬ 
ly and still learning. 
WILLIE D'ANNA 
I have been birding seriously for nearly twenty years and enjoying 
every minute of it. While I have lived in western New York my entire 
birding life, yearly trips have taken me to every corner of North America. 
The Buffalo Ornithological Society (BOS), one of the first groups to make 
use of the written verification system, helped me to develop good bird¬ 
ing skills during my early years. As an active birder discovering several 
rare and unseasonal birds, I got plenty of experience with the verification 
process. While birding on your own is a great way to learn, having an 
eager companion is even better. I have been fortunate to have my life- 
partner, Betsy Potter, along on most of my days in the field. 
Warblers were the first birds that I really studied hard. Next came 
shorebirds. In recent years gulls have been my main focus with the late 
fall and early winter finding me on the Niagara River at every opportu¬ 
nity. For over ten years I compiled bird sighting records for the BOS and 
wrote the Region One report for The Kingbird for four years. Currently, I 
write the "Highlights of the Season" for The Kingbird. I have written var¬ 
ious other articles for The Kingbird, Birder's Journal, Texas Birds, and 
Ontario Birds and contributed several species accounts to Bull's Birds of 
New York State. 
My education culminated with a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from 
the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1984. Since that time I have 
worked as a bridge design engineer for the New York State Department 
of Transportation and was part of the team that won the 1997 Bridge 
Design of the Year award from the Association for Bridge Construction 
and Design. 
The Kingbird 2000 March; 50(1) 
36 
