Biologist Patricia Gonzalez and bander of B95 with a statue of B95 on Delaware Bay

“…holding B95 in my hands several times is among the biggest thrills of my life.”
–-Biologist Patricia Gonzalez

It is only fitting that Biologist Patricia Gonzalez, head of the wetlands program, Fundacion Inalafquen, would be the one to spot B95 last May 28.  She is perhaps the person who knows him best.  She was part of the banding crew who, during a violent hailstorm in Tierra del Fuego way back in 1995, slipped an improvised black band around his lower right leg.

And it was Patricia Gonzalez who, in November, 2001 positioned the orange flag bearing the inscription “B95” to his upper left leg, thus giving him a distinct identity to humans.

And it was Patricia Gonzalez who, in 2007, inserted a thin needle beneath his wing, drawing the small quantity of blood which would determine his gender.

So it is hardly surprising that Patricia Gonzalez would be the one to spot him through a scope and photograph him at Reeds Beach New Jersey, proving that this amazing animal, featured in my book Moonbird, is still with us after a life-span of nearly twenty years. –Phillip Hoose

B95 Photographed by Biologist Patricia Gonzalez on Delaware Bay May 28, 2012