Robert Huffman: Birder, Photographer, Game Developer, and former Flyway Editor

Robert Huffman remembers clearly when Flyway, our member magazine, was sent out as mimeographed copies. As the editor in the early 1980s, Robert introduced the use of a designer and printer. These were big changes for the magazine. Robert also saw the inclusion of the first photograph in the magazine - his own photograph of a Piping Plover taken at Wilderness State Park. This 1985 photo was featured on the cover of the Fall 2024 Flyway above a photo taken in 2013 of another Piping Plover. In comparison with the 2013 photo, Robert’s photo from 1985 is far less sharp. This nearly 30 year gap is an indication of how much photography technology advanced, and less about Robert’s skill as a photographer. “Back then, photographers needed to know bird habitat and behavior in order to predict what they were going to do, where they were going to be. We had to understand exposure, and light, the relationship between f-stop and speed. I used color slide film because it was the fastest available, but it did not have great quality.”

A history of the technological advancements in photography can be traced in every Flyway issue from 1985 to the present. Robert started that history in our magazine. When he saw his 1985 photo on the cover of the 2024 issue, Robert was “a little embarrassed” by the quality of the photo, but when you consider that back then, “you got one chance, one shot. There were no rapid fire shots. It was manual focus, and birds constantly move,” his shot of the Piping Plover is pretty remarkable.

“Birding! At Point Pelee National Park”

Birders and photographers alike have favorite places where the number of species, kinds of species, or the light and the landscape draw them back again and again. For Robert, that place is Point Pelee. In 1979 Robert took “Birds of Michigan,” an elective course at Oakland Community College. The class took a trip to Point Pelee National Park, Robert’s first time there. It was the Scarlet Tanager that did it for Robert. He returned, sometimes with nothing but a bike and a camera for a week or more, for years. He figures he’s been to Point Pelee at least 60 times. 

Robert’s knowledge and love of Point Pelee inspired “Birding! At Point Pelee National Park,” a board game he developed in 1989 that aimed to improve players’ birding skills, focusing on bird habitat, behavior, and song. The game led players through a map of Point Pelee, with 152 reference cards becoming more difficult as the players advanced. Robert’s board game was featured in several newspapers, and he sold a respectable amount of copies.

Noticing the Numbers - Taking Action

While fun and education were the goals of Robert’s board game, the more Robert learned about bird behavior and habitat, the more his concern grew. Robert has “seen the abundance of birds go way down. The morning chorus on Pelee was amazing. I have not seen that in years. I used to be able to stand in one spot and see 15 different species. There is a crisis in their habitats in the US and in their wintering grounds.” Robert is not alone in noticing this decline, and in his desire to do what he can to stop it. Much of this work requires research.

In the mid 1980s, Robert was part of bird strike research while he worked in downtown Detroit. He was given permission to go to the mezzanine of the Renaissance Center to collect birds that had collided with the windows. He would bring the birds to the University of Detroit Ornithology Department after work. This bird strike research has been ongoing since the 1960s. 

Inspiring Others
Like so many birders, Robert has shared his love of birds and birding with others. “I’ve probably spawned 30-40 birders among friends, and now their kids.”Robert still takes pictures while he birds. Lately though, his vision leans toward the artistic. He takes advantage of the new tools of photography, and in some ways has gone beyond them, lending his particular eye to a photo, pushing boundaries of texture, color, and proportion. He sees his photos “as more artistic now than journalistic.” He remembers “many shots that I didn’t get or that were ruined,” but the joy of birding is still there: “There are cool birds around us all the time. But you have to be there to notice them.”

Huffman’s view of a Wilson’s Warbler

Huffman’s Brown Pelican