Douglas Aguillard, 50, is a prominent birder from National City who has made it a mission to make Edwards persona non grata in the birding community.Īguillard emailed that my column was a “pity” piece that allowed Edwards to say the birding community had abandoned him. I first turned to Edwards’ main antagonist - or as Edwards sees it, his tormentor. That “no” answer merited another conversation with Claude Edwards. I remember having asked Edwards at the end of my interview with him: “Is there anything else you want to tell me or that I should know?” He answered no, and that was that. I also realized that with the exposure given by Megan’s List and an angrier public, how people on the list are treated is indeed a broader issue. It had already gone public, beyond me and my story. But I soon found out that Edwards’ sexual molestation conviction was already a matter of controversy - and punishment - among leaders and activists of local birding and naturalist communities. My first inclination was to brush aside the whole affair as not pertinent to my column. Claude Edwards was convicted of “lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14.” It gave no other details. I researched the accusation on Megan’s List. It said Edwards was a convicted child molester, that his estrangement from other birders was due to his conviction and not his failing eyesight.
One email reached out and hit me with a club. … Even while losing his eyesight, so far this year Claude has identified 239 bird species, almost all by ear.” The Audubon Society posted on Facebook, “This is a lovely piece in the U-T San Diego about a longtime Audubon Society friend, Claude Edwards. The morning my column appeared, emails of sympathy, good wishes and support flowed into my inbox.ĭeanne Collins wrote to Edwards, “I wish you well and keep hearing the loving sounds of the birds you know so much about.”Ĭharlene Butler wrote, “Many, many years ago I took a couple of birding tours with (Edwards). Not a pretty picture of some in birding circles. He believes every life is an adventure, and invites your comments and ideas via email at it, Edwards made an almost-accusation that during the two-plus years since blindness forced him to the birding sidelines, his friendships had dried up and past companions disappeared. Fred Dickey of Cardiff is runner-up Print Journalist of the Year for 2013, an honor from the Los Angeles Press Club.
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