Author: Paula Gillikin, Stewardship Coordinator
For over 55 years, John conducted various types of flora and fauna surveys at the Rachel Carson Reserve, to include one of his favorite all-time birding locations – Bird Shoal. Over the years, he submitted countless detailed natural history records to the Reserve and to the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program. If he stumbled over a protected plant such as Polygonum glaucum while he was conducting an International Shorebird Survey, he’d stop and make the most of his field day by also documenting the plant, its habitat, and possible reasons it may have appeared or declined in that location.
Many times, over the years, John was the “first” to submit valid observations of species that had not been formally documented in the state. For example, in June of 1971, John and Peter Graham were surveying at Bird Shoal and documented the first sighting of a curlew sandpiper in North Carolina.
In the early 1980s, John and Jeannie Wilson Kraus conducted an inventory of 23 natural areas in Carteret County for the N.C. Natural Heritage Program and N.C. Division of Coastal Management. This work helped support the designation of the Rachel Carson Reserve as a dedicated state nature preserve, which was classified as a high-value natural area at both the state and federal levels.
In 1989, As part of a proposed mitigation plan, John described the vegetation of the wetland pockets on a tract of land in the Reserve’s Kitty Hawk Woods site. Five years later, John published “A Birder's Guide to Coastal North Carolina” which included Reserve sites.
Part of John’s legacy will live on through his field reports submitted to various databases and even to the Carolina Bird Club. John’s report from a bird census at Bird Shoal from 2002 is typical of the level of detail and pleasant readability of his work:
“Today, I spent a thoroughly delightful day at Bird Shoal-Horse Island-Carrot Island (Rachel Carson Reserve), just south of Beaufort, NC. I used a poke boat to get from shoal to shoal. There were thousands of shorebirds, and, the wind being light, most were very approachable.
My most noteworthy sightings were 3 Wilson's Plovers, about 10 Piping Plovers (2 had leg bands, but, not having a scope, I couldn't read the combinations), 1 Whimbrel, 1 American Avocet, about 150 Marbled Godwits (couldn't find a Long-billed Curlew), and 1 adult Peregrine Falcon.
Later, in the afternoon, Susan Boyd and I watched an immature Peregrine Falcon circling almost directly above her house in Beaufort. The falcon was carrying recently killed prey, which it was evidently plucking as it circled. Every few seconds, a little shower of white feathers would flurry down."
John Fussell
Morehead City, NC
John seemed to prefer being in the field observing the natural world and sharing it with others, but he also did his duty providing expert guidance and input through membership on various panels and committees and consistently serving as a resource for countless students and professionals connected with the Reserve program. John provided expertise in a way that was “easy” given his friendly demeanor and approachability. His service as an active member of the Rachel Carson Reserve local advisory committee for decades was never taken for granted.
These are just several highlights of John’s role helping to spread appreciation for, document, and protect Reserve sites. He performed similar work with other state and federal agencies, nonprofits, and universities. He was a giant in the coastal management and conservation arena, and we will attempt to honor his extraordinary legacy with the same zeal which he invested in the natural resources we love and work to protect
