William A. Burnham

10/05/1947 10/16/2006 Bill Burnham, President and CEO of The Peregrine Fund from 1986 through 2006, has died from brain cancer. Bill grew up in Colorado, spending as much time as possible in the outdoors. His initial interest in raptors developed through falconry when, at the young age of 15, he obtained an eyass Golden Eagle, which he raised and later flew as his first falconry bird. Shortly after this, he found his two true loves: Patricia Wood, his wife of 40 years, and the Peregrine Falcon, a species which subsequently led him from the sandy shores of Padre Island to the barren tundra of Greenland. After completing an M.Sc. in Zoology at Brigham Young University describing his work with Peregrines in Greenland, Bill joined The Peregrine Fund/Cornell University in 1974, and established The Peregrine Funds western propagation facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 1977 Bill was elected to The Peregrine Fund Board of Directors, and in 1982 he was named a Founding Member. During the spring and summer of 1984, Bill spearheaded the creation of The Peregrine Funds World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho. At the same time he received his Ph.D. in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University. In 1986 Bill was named President of The Peregrine Fund, a position he held until May of 2006 when he was named President Emeritus. Under Bills direction and guidance, The Peregrine Funds scope and breadth flourished, and its staff, to date, has worked on more than 95 species of raptors in 55 different countries. Despite his ever expanding administrative duties, Bill always remained active in fieldwork, from the Arctic to the tropics. When not working, he maintained his lifelong passion for nature and the outdoors. Bill married Pat in 1966; they have one son, Kurt, who is completing his D.Phil. in Ornithology at the University of Oxford. As time allowed, Bill was a practicing falconer, still flying a Peregrine Falcon. Each fall Bill looked forward to chukar hunting with Kurt in Idaho and spending several weeks flying his falcons, big game hunting, running dogs, and bird hunting with his friends in Sheridan, Wyoming. Bill held a special love for the Arctic and worked in Greenland from 1972 through this past summer. He was especially proud to have spent the last 16 summers working on Peregrine Falcons and Gyrfalcons in Greenland with his son, Kurt. A memorial service will be held at the World Center for Birds of Prey in an outdoor tented structure on Oct. 21, 2006 at 2 in the afternoon, followed by a reception inside the Velma Morrison Interpretive Center. Those wishing may contribute to The Peregrine Funds endowment so that Bills efforts can be continued in perpetuity. Donations should be made directly to The Peregrine Fund and will be split equally between the general endowment for The Peregrine Fund and the endowment for The Archives of Falconry.