James W. Eike (September 29, 1911 – February 8, 1983) was a birdwatcher and former president of th
Virginia Society of Ornithology
The James W. Eike Service Award was created by the Society in his honor in 1984. Other than being president ( 1950–1952, 1969–1971; VP 1967-1968), he was also a long-standing executive committee member of the Virginia Society of Ornithology, as well as a chairman of various sections.

Biography

Eike was born in Woodbridge, Virginia. He graduated from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in 1932 and began a federal career in 1934 with the U.S. Public Health Service. He later worked for the Civil Service Commission and joined the U.S. State Department in 1946. He retired in 1970 from the U.S. Information Agency. He lived in Northern Virginia around Falls Church and Fairfax. He kept detailed field notebooks which recorded his observation of birds, as well as weather conditions, for over 30 years, rarely missing a day. His observations were concentrated near his home in Northern Virginia, but also included Maryland, Washington D.C., and North Carolina. Eike joined the Virginia Society of Ornithology in 1933, and was an active member and officer of the Society for the rest of his life. Eike's personal papers are held by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Archives. His collection of 111 field books is part of Smithsonian's Field Book Registry; they have been scanned and posted online.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eike, James 1911 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American naturalists People from Woodbridge, Virginia Georgetown University alumni 20th-century American zoologists Scientists from Virginia 20th-century naturalists