When Steve Piotrowski passed away peacefully and in the company of loved ones at his home in Bungay on June 17, at the age of 72, the birding community lost a towering figure who did so much to benefit nature and nature lovers that it is virtually impossible to fully quantify his remarkable achievements.
A founder of Landguard Bird Observatory, a major player in the fight against the 1980s expansion of the Port of Felixstowe, and hence largely responsible for the creation of Trimley Marshes in mitigation, founder of the Suffolk Community Barn Owl Project, a driving force behind the Suffolk Ornithologists’ (Bird) Group for decades, author of The Birds of Suffolk and other nature titles, founder of Waveney Bird Club, a prolific ringer and ringing trainer, an educator of thousands for the BTO and the Field Studies Council, founder of a professional ecological and bird tours company...the list goes on and on.
Steve’s drive and energy astonished all who knew him. His achievements for nature - such as his late-in-life twin projects the Access for All boardwalk at RSPB Minsmere and the impressive Swift Tower at the Eel’s Foot Inn at Eastbridge - stand among his symbols of a legacy most of us will come nowhere near to matching. But for those of us lucky enough to have counted Steve as a close friend, those achievements were matched by his warmth of personality, his generosity, his compassion and his sense of fun. Maybe a rough diamond in some ways, but certainly a diamond nevertheless.
Over our 46 years of treasured friendship, Steve frequently called upon me to check through his writings. In his final weeks, he gained great solace from the rigours of his difficult present by delving back into his rich and varied past. He had a remarkable memory - and he had a remarkable bank of memories to look back on, leading such a full and active life as he had.
He wrote some of these memories down in the form of what was to have been a self-published memoir, and passed them on to me to sub-edit. Sadly, his life ended before he completed his task. His illness, so bravely confronted with exemplary courage, finally took its inevitable toll. These final writings, the early stages of his memoirs, are reproduced here in tribute to a wonderful life so well lived. They offer just a little insight into the immense humour, warmth, humanity and sheer fun he exuded so readily and to so many.
John Grant
Suffolk Bird Group President
We remember a great ambassador of Suffolk bird life, Steve Piotrowski. Steve has been pivotal in all aspects of Suffolk birding and of Suffolk Bird Group, achieving recognition from far and wide for the impact he has had. Within the group, Steve had many roles from Chair to the magazine editor, leading many field trips and not forgetting 14 years as the Honorary President. A writer of SBG publications such as Easy Birdwatching and Easy Birdwatching Again – looking at access to the countryside well before it became more commonplace. His other books include The Birds of Suffolk published in 1993 and The Butterflies of Suffolk. He was also editor of the Suffolk Bird Report for a few years and was a regular participant on the Suffolk Ornithological Records Committee, including being Chair. On our recent field trip to Gibraltar Point, the current bird observatory warden knew Steve well as a link between the ringing observatories, and remarked what a sad loss it was for the birding community. Steve’s association with ringing and the setting up of Landguard Observatory was another highlight of his remarkable life.
Suffolk Bird Group
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