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The Holy Order of Loggerhead Shrikes was founded in the late 1960's as a radical splinter group of teenage birders in Washington DC. Jon Higman, Don Simonson and Byron Swift started the club as an offshoot of the Maryland Ornithological Society, Montgomery County Chapter (now known as the Montgomery Bird Club). One afternoon after high school, Don, loitering in the old Audubon Naturalist bookshop on Wisconsin Avenue, encountered Byron looking for the latest Arthur C. Bent Life Histories reprint volume. Together with a third high schooler, Jon, they launched the Shrikes.
Unretouched photo of HOLS founder and Team Captain Don Simonson, c. 1968.
These disaffected youths were early practitioners of the dark art which is known today as guerrilla birding. Their heros included Phil Dumont, Carl Carlson, Chandler S. Robbins, Roger Tory Peterson and Frank and John Craighead (who had graduated from the same high school which Jon and Don attended in Washington DC). The name and symbol of the Shrike, which impales its prey, including songbirds, was chosen as a counterweight to the stereotype "chickadee" birdwatcher. Early Shrike strikes included Grim Grinds, Century Runs, and ultimately the Holy Order of Loggerhead Shrikes Expeditionary Force (HOLSEF), a ten-day nonstop birding marathon from DC to the Florida Keys and back.
When Byron and Don decided to "get the band back together" to compete in the World Series of Birding (WSB) in 2000, they revived the name - Holy Order of Loggerhead Shrikes World Series of Birding Team.
"Once
a Shrike, Always a Shrike" |
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| Year | Roster | # Species | Notes |
| 2006 WSB | Gordon Gover John Hubbell Andy Rabin |
134 | A 2nd place finish in our first attempt at the Cape Island Cup! Team attributes fine finish to improved diet that included fewer Krimpets for Andy, a pre-big day meatball sub ("The Nectar of the Gods") for Gordon, and John's potent health shake, consisting of Metamucil, Rogaine and Viagra. |
| 2006 GTBC | Roy J. Rodriguez Danny Hoehne Ben Lizdas Sean Smith |
194 | A 2nd place finish! The lower coast of Texas will never be the same. Recently retired Team Captain and Texas scout Don Simonson praised the southern branch of the Shrikes, but vowed not to return to Texas until George Bush's "environmentally safe" statewide outdoor air-conditioning policy is implemented. |
| 2005 WSB | Don Simonson Gordon Gover John Hubbell Andy Rabin |
150 | The team retains its "slow and steady wins the race" attitude. Don's gimpy knee is blamed for the team's failure to get 200 species, so Don talks about getting a bionic knee for next year's event. Jealous, each of the other team members request funding from Eagle Optics for bionic organs of their own. Story developing... |
| 2004 WSB | Don Simonson Gordon Gover John Hubbell Andy Rabin |
148 | The team's rental van gets stuck in a stagnant-water-filled ditch late at night and requires towing. John tells the rental company that the smell in the van is due to "swamp gas". |
| 2003 WSB | Don Simonson Gordon Gover John Hubbell Andy Rabin |
156 | Our best year ever, though rumors quickly spread that the team had an unfair advantage due to steroid use. |
| 2002 WSB | Don Simonson Gordon Gover Jim Green Andy Rabin |
151 | We birded the entire state of NJ this year. |
| 2001 WSB | Don Simonson Byron Swift Jim Green Andy Rabin |
147 | The team actually travelled with a cameraperson this year and may someday be featured in a documentary about the WSB. |
| 2000 WSB | Don Simonson Byron Swift Jim Green |
150 | Records from this year were lost. Jim was quoted as saying, "My dog ate them." Don seems to recall winning that year, yet WSB records clearly show this to be pure fabrication. Don's Screech Owl call was also featured on Comedy Central's The Daily Show! |
| 1997 WSB | Don Simonson | 134 | Don went stag to the big dance and hooked up with the Cape May Bird Observatory team. |
| 1968 Dazed and Confused | Jim Higman Don Simonson Byron Swift |
??? | There was no World Series of Birding yet, but the team did several big days and a marathon East Coast trip. Only a few brain cells survive from this era, along with a couple of pages from the Florida Trip Log (cover, page 1). |
