Dropping like flies: a sign that birders of my generation are getting old

It is very sad to have to report the deaths of two long-serving birders this week - firstly GRAHAM SODEN from Northamptonshire and secondly, MICK CASE from Ipswich in Suffolk. Over the years, I have spent a lot of time with both of them and shared some great moments on long twitches. Graham and I did a lot of trips together in the 1980's (I managed to get his life list up to about 450) and we worked together on Amersham market for nearly 15 years. He always had a keen interest in bird photography and delighted in sending me his best efforts whenever he returned home. This of course was the pre-digital era. Mick and I did several long twitches to Scilly together and he was a Suffolk birder that regularly phoned me for information and guidance in the early days of BIS. Both observers will be sorely missed and I send my heartfelt condolescences to the families concerned.