A collection of decorative owls may be the first thing visitors notice in Keith Bildstein’s apartment at Country Meadows of Wyomissing, but the story behind them stretches far beyond the walls of his apartment.
“I study raptors,” Keith says. “I started seeing these owls for sale at farm sales in Pennsylvania, and I started picking them up.”
Although owls are easier to find in artwork and collectibles, it was another bird that first inspired Keith’s life’s work: the northern harrier.
Which bird started Keith’s love of raptors?
The northern harrier is a low-flying bird of prey found in Pennsylvania and other parts of North America. It may not be the most colorful or imposing raptor, but it captured Keith’s attention and led him into a lifetime of research.
“That bird was the most significant in leading me to want to study birds,” Keith points out. “I started studying northern harriers, and then I started trying to find artwork that dealt with northern harriers. There isn’t much.”
How did Keith turn his research into books?
Keith wanted to understand birds well enough to share what he learned with others. “My goal was to understand them well enough so I could write a book about them,” he emphasizes.
As he studied raptors, Keith realized there were few comprehensive but approachable books available for college students. He decided to write them himself. “I wrote these books because I wanted to get the word out about what I managed to find,” he notes.
Keith wrote four books about hawks, eagles, falcons and vultures. Published through organizations including Smithsonian Institution Press and Cornell University Press, the books were designed to be scientifically valuable without reading like oversized, intimidating textbooks.
How did Keith end up following vultures around the world?
Keith’s work eventually led him beyond the United States. After studying North American black vultures, turkey vultures and the California condor, he traveled to Africa, where the diversity of vulture species is much greater.
“I guess South Africa would be the most interesting place,” he notes. “There were a lot of vultures there. By that time, I had studied many other predatory birds and had become interested in vultures.”
Over time, Keith’s books, papers and presentations earned him an international reputation. Researchers and students began seeking opportunities to learn from him and accompany him into the field.
When did Keith lead research at Hawk Mountain?
Keith’s expertise eventually brought him to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania, where he spent approximately 18 years as director of research.
“They needed a raptor biologist, a biologist who studied predatory birds, and I was available,” he recalls.
At Hawk Mountain, Keith helped oversee the work many people associate with the sanctuary, including counting migrating raptors as they crossed the mountain’s lookouts. He also directed researchers studying local birds while developing relationships with scientists in South America and South Africa.
Researchers traveled to Hawk Mountain to learn from him, while Keith traveled to important migration and research areas throughout the Americas and Africa. “I had a number of students who were college students, and they learned from me,” he adds.
When did Keith begin his love of birds?
Keith’s fascination with birds can be traced back to his childhood. His father raised and trained homing pigeons, giving Keith an early opportunity to observe how birds behave and navigate.
“My father was a pigeon fancier, so he used to train pigeons to come home,” Keith says. “That was interesting, and that’s how I decided I could learn enough about birds to write books about them.”
Although both of Keith’s brothers studied biology in college, neither remained in the field. Keith was the one who turned that early family interest into a career that took him around the world. “They didn’t get to see the world like I did,” he says with a smile. “I spent a lot of time in South America. It was a great time when I was traveling.”
How did Keith choose Country Meadows?
Keith’s brother played an important role in helping him come to Country Meadows. After Keith experienced a fall, his brother helped him sell his home in South Carolina and find a community where Keith could receive the support he needed, while still living a full life. “He’s responsible for my being here,” Keith explains.
Keith also has several slide presentations from his years of research, presentations that could give his neighbors at Country Meadows the opportunity to learn from a resident who spent his life looking closely at the world above us.
From northern harriers flying low over Pennsylvania grasslands to vultures crossing African skies, Keith’s career has been anything but ordinary. And while his research took him thousands of miles from home, it began right here in Pennsylvania with a simple interest in birds, and grew into a lifelong determination to understand them.