Helen G. Cruickshank

Helen Cruickshank (née Gere; February 20, 1902 – March 31, 1994) was an American nature writer and photographer of birds in their natural habitats in many areas of the world.[1][2]

In 1937, she married Allan D. Cruickshank, a lecturer, writer, and photographer for the Audubon Society. Husband and wife formed a highly effective partnership for photography and bird study. He took the black and white photos and she took the color slides on their bird study expeditions.[citation needed]

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (formerly named the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science) has a bird image collection named VIREO (Visual REsource For Ornithology) with over 180,000 thousand photographs, thousands of which were taken by the Cruickshanks.[1]

Helen Cruickshank won the 1949 John Burroughs Medal for her 1948 book, Flight into Sunshine: Bird Experiences in Florida. Brevard County, Florida established the Helen and Allan Cruickshank Sanctuary, a 140-acre wildlife refuge near Rockledge, Florida. The Florida Ornithological Society sponsors the Helen G. and Allan D. Cruickshank Education Award.[3]

  1. ^ a b McLeod, Michael (30 March 1986). "The Bird Lady After 50 Years And More Than 30,000 Pictures, Photographer Helen Cruickshank Knows One Thing Very Well: There's Just Not Enough Time In One Lifespan To Complete Her Work". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  2. ^ Carson, Joan (May 18, 1997). "The Bird Lady: Women have taken their rightful place in the lore of bird watching". Kitsap Sun.
  3. ^ "Helen G. and Allan D. Cruickshank Education Award". The Florida Ornithological Society. Retrieved September 4, 2022.