Monterey Seabirds in association with the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History celebrated the remarkable life and adventures of the prolific ornithological collector, Rollo Beck, with a pelagic bird trip on Sunday, April 23, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Trip departed from and returns to the Monterey Bay Whale Watch Center, located on Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf #1. Trip leaders included retired Museum Director Steve Bailey and Don Roberson, author of Monterey Birds.

Rollo Beck Days ran from April 21-23, 2006. Other events over the weekend included a lecture, bird walks and the opening of a new permanent exhibit highlighting his career.

Several generations of visitors have enjoyed over 90 of Beck's taxidermied specimens in the Museum's Monterey County bird exhibit, and this new addition to the display will introduce viewers to the man behind the birds.

In the early-to-mid 20th century, the native Californian born in Los Gatos was responsible for obtaining and preserving specimens for some of the most important bird collections in the world. Many of Beck's birds are kept by institutions including The Natural History Museum (Tring, England), the American Museum of Natural History, and the University of California's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. He headed the California Academy of Sciences' expedition to the Galapagos, obtaining specimens that essentially rebuilt their collections after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.

Read biographical information about Rollo Beck, and read a trip report about the April 23 Rollo Beck days trip.

For more information about the Rollo Beck exhibit and programming, please see the Pacific Grove Museum website.