The Bird Lady of Tarrant County...

by Brenda S. McClurkin

Originally published in Compass Rose, Vol. XX, No. 2, Fall 2006, pp. 8-9. (download PDF)

Over the years, Jessie Maye Smith became known as "The Bird Lady of Tarrant County." A self-taught ornithologist, this petite, gracious woman channeled her love of birds to the benefit of her Fort Worth community--whether leading bird walks for children, penning nearly 1,000 newspaper columns and magazine articles, offering leadership to local ornithological and conservation organizations, or working to preserve natural areas and bird habitat.

Born in Wilbarger County on April 8, 1907, Jessie Maye was the daughter of Robert Fair and Alta Jean Lay Cooke. She grew up in Chillicothe, Hardeman County, and studied in English at West Texas State in Canyon circa 1923-1924. In the 1920s, her family moved to Fort Worth where she met Wade Austin Smith. The couple married on May 19, 1928.

How did her interest in birds come about? That question is best answered by Jessie Maye herself:

...Maybe it began with the scissor-tailed flycatcher caper some three-quarters of a century ago. The nest I discovered contained baby birds and it was a sight that had to be shared with my toddler-aged brother. The mother bird attacked him as he balanced precariously on a support several feet above ground. We were able to retreat without falling, but the vicious pecks of the enraged bird drew blood from his tender face and for many years I believed she was truly armed with scissors.

Or the involvement could have begun on a spring morning when our father left his work and came to take me and my siblings to marvel with him at a great flock of sandhill cranes that had alighted to feed in a field within sight of our house. …Then there was the row of bluebirds perched on a fence that caught my attention as I walked home from school one day.

The event that set me firmly on the path… came immediately after I had made a decision that I would never again spend a day with a can of worms and a bucket of minnows for company while my recently acquired husband waded down a stream happily engaged in his favorite sport of fly-fishing. A red bird flashed across the creek and into the trees. I followed, but the only thing I was able to ascertain as to its identity was negative--it was not a cardinal, with which I was familiar. By the time I had satisfied myself that the bird was a summer tanager through studying the bird books at the public library, I was hooked--I became a hard-core birder, and eventually, a card-carrying conservationist. And my husband always had an enthusiastic companion, albeit a non-fishing one, on his junkets...

One Road to the Nature Center, [ca. 1987]

Jessie Maye indicated that many of her early bird identifications were in error because there was so little literature available. Her first guide book, George Simmons' Birds of the Austin Region (1926), contained no color plates, but offered wonderful word descriptions. During World War II, Jessie Maye and her fellow birders would pool their gas ration coupons to drive to birding sites. Fort Worth parks, lakes and river banks were favorite spots to look for birds. Jessie Maye commented in an August, 2004, oral history interview, "We birded wherever we were… You would be surprised what you can see from your kitchen window." It is said that Jessie Maye came to recognize over 1,000 different birds. When asked if she had a favorite, she responded, "No… that would be like picking a favorite child."

Jessie Maye loved to share her knowledge of birds with children. Active in Girl Scouts, she served as a troop leader, led bird walks, and took her scouts on overnight camping expeditions. Jessie Maye also worked with the Children's Museum (now the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History) from its inception in 1941.

Daughter Doris mused in an article she wrote while a student at the University of Arizona that being the daughter of Fort Worth's most famous birder had its downside. She was constantly asked, "Is your mother the Jessie Maye Smith?" As a grade school student, Doris dreaded the inevitable day when her mother would lead the class bird walk, an experience always followed by a deluge of bird jokes and cartoons. Often, supper was interrupted by a telephone call seeking help in identifying a strange bird in the caller's backyard. Should the bird appear to be a rare one, her mother would often finish her dinner "in a gulp" and leave immediately to investigate. Her mother would also regale Doris' beaus with stories of recent bird arrivals and offer an invitation to join her next scheduled bird outing. Those youthful memories now bring a smile. Doris is very proud of all that her mother achieved and has become a birder in her own right.

Jessie Maye was instrumental in organizing the Fort Worth Audubon Society in 1941. The group initiated its annual Fort Worth Christmas count the same year. She was a charter member of the Texas Ornithological Society in 1953. In the 1960s, an informal group from the Audubon Society became concerned about the protection of Fort Worth's wildlife habitat. Their efforts resulted in the Fort Worth City Council setting aside 380 acres on Lake Worth, including Greer Island and the surrounding wetlands, as the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. By 1970, the Nature Center had expanded to 3,400 acres. Jessie Maye and other members of the Fort Worth Conservation Council collaborated with other conservation groups to prevent several federal and state projects that threatened natural habitat. One effort in 1969 and 1970 succeeded in blocking the Lakeview Recreation Association's plans to build a golf course at Meridian State Park that threatened the breeding habitat of the rare golden-cheeked warbler.

Jessie Maye's interests in birding, conservation, and natural habitats fostered friendships with individuals such as authors/naturalists Roy Bedichek and John Graves. Bedichek wrote Jessie Maye on December 15, 1947, obviously responding to a recent letter from her seeking his autograph on copies of his recently published book. Her letter to him must have described her work with children as he wrote,"Your girl scout work thrills me, really." He continued by suggesting additional nature lessons for children and closed by complimenting her, "You write so well that you might offer a short feature each Sunday to one of the Ft. Worth papers…". Perhaps this comment influenced her later journalistic pursuits, for in March 1949 her article entitled "Number of Feathered Visitors Enjoy Texas" was published in the Fort Worth Press. Two birding stories soon followed in 1951 issues of Texas Game & Fish.

It was not until 1953 that she approached James R. Record at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram with a sample column. He bought it for the Sunday paper for $5, initiating her career as a Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist. She had a Thursday deadline and typed the one and a half page column on her Underwood typewriter sometime earlier in the week, depending on scheduled family, social, or church activities. Her weekly "Birds and Watchers" column was a regular feature in the Sunday edition of the Star-Telegram for over 21 years, beginning October 4, 1953, and continuing through October 13, 1974. One last column appeared on March 9, 1975. Although Texas birding was usually the topic of her columns, Jessie Maye used them to discuss birds from all over the United States, Central America and the Caribbean. Her first column was titled "Migratory Birds Now in Passage." A sampling of headlines includes "Goldfinch Presents Yule Significance" (December 23, 1954); "Society Spots 150 Kinds of Birds" (May 2, 1965); "Tipsiness Purely Coincidental in Fermented Berry Feastings" (September 20, 1970); and "Traveler Follows Gray Whales to Baja California, Sees Wandering Tattler" (February 17, 1974). The newspaper gave her free rein in selecting the subject of each column. Over the years, Jessie Maye negotiated higher payment for writing her column, and was being paid $20 per article at the time she retired.

Charlie Cooke, Jessie Maye's nephew, recognized the significance of the information embodied in his aunt's journalistic efforts and obtained her permission to take her Star-Telegram tear sheets to his home in Washington, D.C. He scanned each column individually and in the context of its original newspaper page to standards recommended by the Library of Congress. Having suggested that the birding columns would make a wonderful digital resource, Cooke deeded his digital files to Special Collections in the fall of 2005. At the same time, the estate of Jessie Maye Smith gave her collected Star-Telegram tear sheets to Special Collections. Significantly advanced by Cooke's scanning efforts, creation of a web site featuring Jessie Maye Smith's birding columns has become part of the UT Arlington Library's strategic plan.

Just three days shy of her 98th birthday, Jessie Maye Smith passed away in Fort Worth. The city lost a grand lady, but its citizens will continue to enjoy the fruits of her labors for generations to come.

For more information about the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Birding Columns, contact Brenda McClurkin at (817) 272-7512 or at mcclurkin@uta.edu.