Person of the Week: Vernon Laux

Aug. 27, 2004 -- 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.