Person of the Week: Vernon Laux
Bird Watcher Vernon Laux Makes Rare Find
By Peter Jennings
Aug. 27, 2004
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The 50 million birders of America have a lot to thank Vernon Laux for. Some of them are probably pretty jealous.
"The red-footed falcon was not on anybody's radar screen," Laux said. "There had never been one seen before in either North or South America. This is the first one for the hemisphere. It was just like a mind-blowing experience to say, 'Oh my God, it is a red-footed falcon.' "
A few weeks ago, Laux, who lives on the island of Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts, was out with friends looking at birds, when he spotted one he didn't recognize.
He took a picture and sent it to some experts. Lo and behold, Laux had seen a red-footed falcon.
"We were celebrating, eating steak tips, smoking cigars, it was really fun," Laux said. "This really is a once-in-a-lifetime deal to find a bird like this, so don't expect to happen again."
It was a very big deal because red-footed falcons usually migrate between the grasslands of Africa and Eastern Europe. The bird, who was only 13 months old, was really off course.
"A red-footed falcon!" said Laux. "It's like a Martian walking around among us here and it's so out of the box."
As soon as word got out, thousands of birders from around the country flocked to Martha's Vineyard to see for themselves.
"Somebody asked me what's so great about this. So I said, 'You know, falcons are sexy, raptors are great,' and I said, 'This ain't no stinkin' sparrow or flycatcher. This is an honest-to-God beautiful falcon!'"
Pretty soon the falcon had a nickname: "Red Sox."
Migration Theories
But how did he get here? There are a lot of theories.
Red Sox was most likely hatched in Ukraine and then migrated via Israel — where they are seen quite often — to southern Africa, most likely around Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. It's a bit like going south for the winter.
When the weather changed, most of the red-footed falcons headed back to Ukraine, where they would mate and start the process all over again. But that was not the case for Red Sox: There was an outbreak of locusts in western Africa this year.
The falcons love locusts and Red Sox was distracted. After that he likely got caught up in the dust storms over the Sahara Desert, which left him disoriented. He was pushed out to sea as a result. When he began to look for land, he went west instead of east.
The guy is hardly a year old and he's been to four continents. No wonder people love birding.
"Just to get away from the cars and malls and do something different, like, 'Let's go to a beach and look for shore birds,'" Laux said. "People do want to connect with nature, especially people who live in urban areas."
Love at First Sight
Laux, 50, is a real estate agent when he's not looking at birds. When he was a boy he saw a cedar waxwing. Pretty soon, he was the only birder on the football team.
"I was a defensive tackle and I remember I had to get into a fight when I was a sophomore with some of the seniors because they didn't like it that I watched birds," he said.
Today he writes articles about birds. He recently wrote a book, and he will go almost anywhere to see a bird he hasn't seen before.
At the beginning of this week, Laux had a feeling that Red Sox was beginning to look antsy. On Tuesday, the bird left Martha's Vineyard.
The theory is that Red Sox will be headed south. He certainly made the biggest impression on Martha's Vineyard since Bill Clinton vacationed there.
"This bird sort of took people out of themselves," Laux said. "It was like a shooting star, a celestial event and it really, I was amazed how it just grew. The bird turned into a star, it was amazing."
