I remember the walks Sara Keen and Emma would take on certain afternoons. Their walk would start at the front desk where we would talk about what was going on with them and then we would laugh and laugh over something be it birds or men.  Emma had and is a positive spirit. That spirit will show up for us every time we smile at something she said or see a picture of her and Veda. She is one of the brightest memories I have from the Lab and for that, I am grateful,

Fondly,

Mary Winston

I first got to know Emma on one of her research trips to Arizona in spring 2017, when I was a freshman at Cornell. I was so excited to be out in the field but was also very new to field work and extremely timid about handling birds. I remember Emma sticking her hand into the thorny entrance hole of a Verdin nest and handing me a tiny, pink nestling to process. I was so worried I might hurt it, and I think Emma could tell I wanted to hand it back to her, because she insisted I sit down with it, and she told me she trusted me and that she would be there every step of the way as I processed it. With her guidance, I banded and collected blood samples from my first nestlings. Having her firm reassurance and mentorship meant so much to me. Working with Emma on that trip made me fall in love with field work and with desert ecology, and helped give me the confidence to continue with field research. Even the unpredictable, challenging moments on that trip-- like when I dropped a mist net into cholla, for example, or when we watched a huge swarm of bees fly straight towards us across the open desert-- all became things we could laugh about. Even though she was such an accomplished biologist, she was so down to earth and always made me feel so comfortable and welcome in the field. I loved her humor too-- I still even call gnatcatchers "natty daddys" because that was Emma's joke nickname for them in Arizona. Her love for birds and especially bird behavior also really inspired me. 

In 2019, I also had the opportunity to join Emma on a Lab expedition to Kenya, and it's the small moments Emma and I shared together that stick out to me. I remember sharing a quiet moment recording a Hartlaub's Turaco on the slope of Mt. Kenya away from the rest of the group, as she stood behind me and whispered advice to improve my recordings. Another time, we were alone together recording a male and female Purple Grenadier foraging in the grass, and a second male suddenly flew in and began attacking the first male right in front of us. You can even hear our stifled gasps in the audio recording on Macaulay. Then we had to catch ourselves to stop from laughing, which would have ruined the recording, but trying to stay quiet only made me want to laugh more. It was really special to share moments like that with her on the trip-- just soaking in the joy of observing cool behaviors and being out in the field.

We hadn't kept in close touch since I graduated a few years ago, but I will always be so grateful I got to learn from her and spend time with her during my undergrad. I have always looked up to her so much, especially as a behavioral ecologist and field biologist, but also as a person. Sending my love and condolences to her family.