Coopmans’s Elaenia (1 Viewer)

coopmansi
Paul Coopmans (1967-2007) Belgian field-ornithologist, tour-leader, expert on Neotropical birds (subsp. Myiopagis olallai).

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Etymology. The epithet honors the late Paul Coopmans (1967–2007) in recognition of his ...

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Calalp said:

Anyone of our Dutch friends feel like translating it?

Or at least the beginning of it .. ?
:scribe:

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Paul Coopmans
(1962 – 2007)

A year ago, we suddenly had to say goodbye to Paul Coopmans, member of Natuurpunt, but to the vast majority of our members an unknown. As a token of appreciation for his groundbreaking pioneering work, we have chosen to remember this sad birthday with the following contribution in gratitude.​

Paul was born on June 7, 1962 and spent his childhood in the woods, heath and dunes of Snepkenshof in Lichtaart, near Snepkensvijver. His love for nature was already ingrained from next to the front door and it was therefore no surprise that Paul, gifted and quick to grasp, studied biology in Antwerp, studies that he completed in 1984 with a thesis about the great tit. He decided to take environmental remediation in Ghent for another year and came into contact with fellows who, like himself, wanted to spread their wings to get to know the wide world.
Through the years, Paul was, among other things, fascinated by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. In 1985 he got the chance of his life! Ecotourism was already on the rise and Ecuador was eagerly looking for Spanish-speaking biologists who could accompany nature lovers on cruise ships on and around the Galápagos Islands. He bought an assimil booklet of Spanish and was able in no time to manage verbally. Out of some 100 candidates, 5 were selected ... Paul was among them! For two years he acted there as a gladly seen guide. He continued his explorations after '86 in the Amazon basin of eastern Ecuador and eventually settled in the capital Quito in the late 1980s.

Paul was an avid autodidact; he was constantly learning from books, magazines and field guides and gradually his knowledge of the South American birds grew to proportions that gave hime a growing reputation in specialized circles. In his study room you literally stumbled over the literature (he also owned a duplicate of almost everything), but Paul knew where everything was. He began to focus hard on the study of bird sounds, especially when he was able to use very sophisticated recording equipment from '89, which he had received from the renowned Comell Laboratory of Ornithology in New York. Some travel agencies had not failed to notice. For a while Paul guided bird trips for Victor Emmanuel (USA), but around 1990 he finally chose Birdquest (UK).

In the following 15 years, Paul guided more than 70 nature and bird travels, the majority in South American countries. His phenomenal gift for learning to listen to what he wanted to distinguish in the 'cacophony of the singing rainforest', even from a great distance, became gradually legendary. He was known as an optimist who wandered from morning to night for his traveling companions and, as an ambience bringer, he used a fine and dry sense of humor that immediately charmed everyone.

It could not last long ... Strong suspicions arose in June 1992 and 2 years later they resulted in the formal confirmation: Paul had discovered a new bird species, a kind of Tyrant flycatcher! He also provided a fundamental contribution to the completion of the two-part reference work The Birds of Ecuador by Ridgeley and Greenfield, in which he took care of all sound descriptions, and realized with John V. Moore Nature Recordings an impressive series of CD's bird sounds from Ecuador, a titanic work at which he worked with his team for 10 years. The original recordings - recently deposited in the Macauly Library of Natural Sounds in New York - include more than 300 hours of recording!
Paul continued to amaze ... not published yet are his suggestions to review the status of a whole range of species and subspecies. There is still a lot of homework waiting for science (including DNA research); votes already went on to give Paul's name to a possible new species that would be discovered under his impulse.
Through his publications and travel guidance he also indirectly denounced the needs and threats of the rainforest, in so far as he was personally involved in the purchase of whole pieces of valuable jungle in recent years.

As a staff leader at Birdquest, he was fortunately still able to attend the 25th anniversary of this organization in March 2006 in Tanzania. Then fate struck ...
Paul died in Herentals on the night of January 1-2, 2007 after a long, lingering illness that he suffered courageously. Until the last few weeks he was still eager to check his mails ... typically Paul! During the farewell in the St. Waldetrudis Church in Herentals on January 6, we all listened to the long speeches of his colleague Mark Van Beirs and Birdquest chairman Mark Beamon. Not only Paul's cordiality and professionalism were clearly in the forefront of each argument, as were the sometimes funny anecdotes during adventurous tours.
As one of the best bird experts in South America, he leaves a huge void in the international community that deals with ornithology at the highest level. At 44, he could still have realized so many ambitious plans... His name, as an ornithologist with world renown from his own ranks, will still often be quoted... inextricably linked to his beloved home base, the rainforests of the Andes.

The thoughts of our local residents at Snepkenshof still go to his wife Syama and his two sons, Nicolas and Diego, who with this so painful loss still have to take up the thread in their lives. He was so conscientious in his job, so devoted he was also as a husband and father. To them in Ecuador and to his mother Chris and brother Bert at Snepkenshof we want to continue to wish, also on behalf of the local department, much strength. - LM

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l_raty said:

I vote 1962.
snipAnd you simply don't complete a biology degree at 17...)

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njlarsen said:

There are people who finish a bachelor level degree at that age, but not a PhD to the best of my knowledge.

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coopmansi
Paul Coopmans (1962-2007) Belgian field-ornithologist, tour-leader, expert on Neotropical birds (subsp. Myiopagis olallai).

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The “rattle” call of brachyptera ... was distinctly different from calls of all other taxa in the genus examined and was the vocalization that led the late Paul Coopmans (pers. comm.) to suggest that brachyptera should be elevated to species rank even before its distinctive dawn song was recorded.

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