By Jorjanna Price

Travis Audubon lost one of its longest-serving members with the passing of Mary Parker, 81. A memorial service was held May 21 at St. George’s Episcopal Church.

Mary joined Travis Audubon in 1963 while attending the University of Texas. The chapter was just a little more than a decade old, and monthly meetings consisted mainly of showing nature films. In 2015, Travis Audubon honored Mary for five decades of membership and her devotion to birds and the natural world. In return, she generously donated her collection of some 300 books and journals on ornithology and science topics.

Mary began to collect books on native plants and birds while growing up on the family ranch in Eldorado in West Texas. At UT, she and other students would go birding at Platt Ponds, now part of the Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory. Mary earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in zoology. With a Ph.D. in hand, she became one of the first women on the faculty, which was a rare sighting in the UT zoology department. She later worked at several state agencies doing environmental assessments.

Even in retirement, Mary closely monitored birdlife at her East Austin home. She used her science training to record winged visitors by date, time, and observed behavior. She didn’t have to see the birds to know which species were nearby. Mary was such an expert birder that she could identify several hundred bird calls by ear. She even recognized the sounds of Sandhill Cranes in migration.

We thank Mary Parker for her dedication to Travis Audubon and her contributions to the conservation community.