Date: 10/16/25 3:20 pm From: Ryan Winkleman via groups.io <rswinkleman...> Subject: Re: [inlandcountybirds] Passing of birding legend, Gene Cardiff
As a staunch Orange County birder, I did not know Gene remotely as well as I’m sure many people in the Inland Empire did. However, I can say with confidence that I wouldn’t be here in the capacity that I’m in now if it hadn’t been for Gene Cardiff, and I’m very saddened to hear of his passing. About 15 years ago I didn’t know crap about birds and decided to enroll in what was then the Field Ornithology Certificate program at UC Riverside, for which Gene and Dori Myers were together my first instructors and my first introduction to birding. Meeting down in the collections of the San Bernardino County Museum and getting to see all the skins was a great way to observe the nuances of different birds up close and personal before venturing out into the field to try to find them on the fly. Across Gene’s three courses in the certificate program, he took us all over southern California to see birds in all different habitats, frequently telling us young birders how we were “burning daylight” dragging behind later in the day while he was constantly pushing forward to the next bird with the energy and enthusiasm of somebody, well, younger than us apparently. I even did some scouting for him for one of his Orange County trips later after I had already "graduated" from the program. Had it not been for Gene’s fabulous seasonal “Field Study of Birds” courses, I may not have picked up birding as strongly as I did. Thank you, Gene, for being my introduction to birding. The birding world lost a giant last night.
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Ryan Winkleman
Rancho Santa Margarita, Orange County
