Mary Gustafson

[Laura Bies]

From the Bird Banding Lab - 

We announce with regret, the passing of Mary Gustafson in November of 2022. Mary worked in the BBL for just over ten years and for a few of those years held the position of Acting Chief. Mary began working for the BBL in 1995 as a biologist. Initially, she handled auxiliary marking, banding schedule editing (biological data), band procurement as well as coordinating special authorizations to band hummingbirds. When Mary came to the BBL, she already had extensive banding experience, including work at Ontario’s Long Point and New Jersey’s Cape May bird observatories. Mary was very passionate about her profession; mainly a passerine and hummingbird bander, she was an integral part of the BBL staff. When the BBL shifted from a hierarchical to relational database, Mary’s contributions were an essential part of those re-engineering efforts. Mary left the BBL in late August of 2005 for a position with the State of Texas and to become a professional bird guide in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Her excitement and enthusiasm for birding and avian science was clear in every position she held, including those of president of the Lower Rio Grande Valley RBA, editor of South Texas’ e-Bird, and committee member for the Texas Bird Records and American Birding Association Checklist, among many other important roles in the ornithological scientific community. Certainly, Mary will be sorely and forever missed by the BBL team, the ornithological community, and her friends and family.