Dr. Stanley W. Harris Field Notes Collection - Finding Aid

Collection Number

2020.02

Contact Information

The Library, Special Collections
Cal Poly Humboldt
One Harpst Street
Arcata, CA 95521
Email: archives@humboldt.edu
https://specialcollections.humboldt.edu/

Processed by

Special Collections Librarian Carly Marino
Interim Special Collections Librarian Camille Charette
Student Assistants: Astra C. Mattingly and Drew Ahlberg

Date Collection Processed

2020 and 2024

Language

English

Collection Creator

Dr. Stanley W. Harris

Dates Covered by Collection

1962–2015 (bulk 1970–2008)

Size of Collection

3 liner feet, 3 boxes, 176 notebooks

Abstract

Dr. Stanley W. Harris was an ornithologist in Humboldt County, California. This collection contains field notes from 1963 to 2015. This collection has 176 notebooks, including extensive birding surveys, personal diary entries, and entries from his world travels. Many of the notes contained in this collection were used to write his book Northwestern California Birds: A Guide to the Status, Distribution, and Habitats of the Birds of Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity, northern Mendocino, and western Siskiyou Counties, California, published in 1991 by Humboldt State University. 

Access

Open for research by appointment. 

Copyright

Copyright has not been assigned to Cal Poly Humboldt. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce in any format please contact the Special Collections Librarian.

Acquisition Information

This collection was donated to Cal Poly Humboldt Library Special Collections in 2020 by Tamar Danufsky on behalf of the Humboldt State Wildlife Department.

Biographical Information

Dr. Stanley W. Harris (ca. 1927/1928–-Dec. 27, 2019) was born in Montana. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Wildlife Management from Washington State University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining Humboldt State College in 1959, he served as the State of Minnesota’s director of the upland game research program. He joined the Wildlife Department faculty at Humboldt State College in 1959, and taught for 33 years, retiring in 1992 to pursue international birding travel. In 1969, he was awarded the Distinguished Teaching Award for the 1969-70 academic year. He published over 80 articles throughout his career, but his magnum opus, published in November 1991, was his Northwestern California Birds, a detailed regional guide to birds from Mendocino County to the Oregon border, and out to Siskiyou County. He birded on every continent except Antarctica and was a longtime leader of the Humboldt Christmas Bird Count. He was the pioneer of the Arcata Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, where a pond and interpretive signage are named after him. His legacy lives on through his work and the Stanley W. Harris and Lorene J. Harris Scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students studying wildlife/ornithology. The University’s taxidermied bird collection is also named after him and his wife, Lorene J. Harris (d. 2012). 

Scope and Content

176 notebooks and unbound notebooks covering 6 continents and 52 years of birding observations. Locations vary, ranging from the Humboldt Bay area to Costa Rica, New Zealand, Cambodia, Kenya, and many more regions. 

Arrangement of Collection 

176 notebooks and unbound notebooks in 3 boxes, arranged by subject and then chronologically. 

Container List

Box 1

1. [correspondence and notes], 1962-1964.
2. Pelagic Field Notes, 1972-1983.
3. Pelagic Field Notes, 1983-1991.
4. Pelagic Field Notes, 1991-2005.
5. [unbound notebook], 1963.
6. [unbound notebook], 1969.
7. [unbound notebook], 1970.
8. 1970 Field Notes, 1970-1972.
9. 1971 Field Notes-1, 1971.
10. 1971 Field Notes-2, 1971.
11. 1972 Field Notes, 1972.
12. 1973 Field Notes-1, 1973.
13. 1973 Field Notes-2, 1973. 
14. 1974 Field Notes-1, 1974.
15. 1974 Field Notes-2, 1974.
16. 1975 Field Notes, 1975.
17. 1976 Field Notes-1, 1976.

Box 2

1. 1976 Field Notes-2, 1976.
2. 1977 Field Notes, 1977.
3. 1978 Field Notes-1, 1978.
4. 1978 Field Notes-2, 1978.
5. 1979 Field Notes-1, 1979.
6. 1979 Field Notes-2, 1979.
7. 1980 Field Notes, 1980.
8. 1981 Field Notes, 1981. 
9. 1982 Field Notes, 1982.
10. 1983 Field Notes, 1983.
11. 1984 Field Notes, 1984.
12. 1985 Field Notes, 1985.
13. 1986 Field Notes, 1986. 
14. 1987 Field Notes, 1987.
15. 1988 Field Notes, 1988.
16. 1989 Field Notes, 1989.

Box 3

1. 1990 Field Notes, 1990.
2. 1991 Field Notes, 1991.
3. 1992 Field Notes, 1992. 
4. 1993 Field Notes, 1993. 
5. 1994 Field Notes, 1994.
6. 1995 Field Notes, 1995.
7. 1996 Field Notes, 1996.
8. 1997 Field Notes, 1997.
9. 1998 Field Notes, 1998.
10. 1999 Field Notes, 1999.
11. 2000 Field Notes, 2000.
12. 2001 Field Notes, 2001.
13. 2002 Field Notes, 2002. 
14. 2003-04 Field Notes, 2003-2004. 
15. 2005 Field Notes, 2005.
16. 2006 Field Notes, 2006. 
17. 2007 Field Notes, 2007.
18. 2008 & 2011 Field Notes, 2008; 2011.
19. 2012-2015 Field Notes, 2012-2015.

Bibliography

Harris, Stanley W. (Stanley Warren). Northwestern California Birds: A Guide to the Status, Distribution, and Habitats of the Birds of Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity, Northern Mendocino, and Western Siskiyou Counties, California. 2nd ed. Arcata, CA: Humboldt State University Press, 1996. 

“History.” Cal Poly Humboldt. Last modified 2024. www.humboldt.edu/ornithology-collective/history. Accessed November 12, 2024.

Related Collections

Charles Irving Clay Papers

Subject Headings

Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary (Calif.).
Bird populations.
Bird watching -- California.
Birds -- California -- Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary.
Birds -- California, Northern.
Humboldt Bay (Calif.).
Humboldt County (Calif.).
Mendocino County (Calif.).
Ornithology -- California, Northern.
Sea birds -- California, Northern.
Seashore ecology -- California, Northern.
Siskiyou County (Calif.).
Trinity County (Calif.).