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NAFA Journal 1985, Vol. 24

Robert M. Stabler

— by James Enderson

Dr. Robert M. Stabler died July 16, 1985 of a

heart attack after a brief illness. With his passing,

a major segment of the history of falconry in North

America has come to an end.

He was born in Washington, D.C. of Quaker

parents, and attended Swarthmore College and

Johns Hopkins University, receiving a Sc.D. in

1931. In 1932, he took a teaching position at the

University of Pennsylvania. His lifelong interest

in reptiles was already developed, but in 1934 he

went to Woods Hole Marine Laboratory and met

Richard Bond, who ew peregrines. That summer

Bond and Walter Spofford took Bob to Mt. Tom

where he obtained his rst peregrine. At that time,

Bob also had a kestrel named Miss Lucy who de-

veloped frounce. From then on, Bob carried out

research on Trichomonas gallinae, and was even-

tually instrumental in the development of enheptin

and emtryl for the treatment of the disease. Pigeon

racers and falconers will long be in his debt for

that work.

In May 1935 a University of Pennsylvania stu-

dent named Alva Nye took a tiercel peregrine

from Laceyville on the Susquehanna and gave it

to Bob. He was never without a falcon for the next

50 years. Another Penn freshman in 1935 was

Morgan Berthrong, who had learned falconry with

Frank and John Craighead in the Washington, D.C.

area. Recently Morgan recalled to me how much

falconry Bob had mastered in such a short time.

(When Bob eventually moved to The Colorado

College, it was one of the reasons Morgan, who

became an expert on raptor pathology, later moved

to Colorado Springs).

The foundations of North American falconry

were laid in those years. Luff Meredith, a World

War I yer and then aviation consultant, lived at

Boonton, New Jersey. Bob and Morgan visited him

there, as did Joe Hickey. The Pennsylvania group

grew. Hampton Carson, Jack Heisler, Howard

Curtis, Earl Poole, Jim Fox, Johnny McCowen,

Bob Murphy, and Jim Rice were frequent visitors

to the Stabler home at Wallingford, Pennsylvania,

and later at Glen Mills. In 1938, a meet was held at

Darlington. Tom Rawles was there from Colorado.

Rawles was a major inuence in Hal Webster’s fal

conry interests and urged Bob to move to Colorado

in 1947. In the early 1940s, Steve Gatti, Bill Lasky,

and Larry Zuk came to know Bob Stabler and his

falconry. Morlan Nelson met him soon after the

war, as old photos verify.

In 1936 Bob was given an eyas goshawk named

Miss Bonnie. She died three weeks short of 19

years of age. In the 1950—1965 era, a new group

of young men were his associates in falconry, in-

cluding Vernon Siefert, Richard Esposito, Jerry

Craig, Bob Dandrea, Kent Carnie, Buddy Graver,

Ken Riddle, Dave Remple and Frank Bond.

Bob Stabler wrote forwards for the reprint of

Harting’s book on falconry and for Jameson’s book

on Japanese hawking. He was editor of The Amer-

ican Falconer and later vice president of the

Falconry Club of America. He was an honorary

member of the British Falconry Club and the only

North American honorary member of NAFA.

Outside of falconry he was at his best as a par-

asitologist and teacher. His scientic publications

number over 100, and scores of students went on

to graduate school or medical school because of

his inuence. He had a way of encouraging sound

work from his colleagues—usually by example,

sometimes by candid remark. If you made into

your hawk too fast, or gave an exam that was too

difcult, you were soon going to learn of your mis-

take. He once remarked when I was a freshman

professor that both teaching and research are

equally important to a biologist. I aspired to follow

his example, as so many others did.

Bob remained active in falconry, research, and

in serious pursuit of y shing until his last days. It

was no minor undertaking to be his “gilly” and row

the boat to the precise spot where the big rain-

bows waited.

Upon his death I took his tiercel peregrine to

my home for temporary safe-keeping until it could

be returned to The Peregrine Fund. Blocked in

my yard, Luff was exposed to foreign sights and

sounds, enough to rattle any falcon. That evening,

prepared for a frantic bate, I knelt to pick him up.

No bate! He looked up at me and stepped onto

the unfamiliar glove. Of course, I thought, this bird

had been handled and trained by a master.

R.M. Stabler with his wife, Sally, and

her sister Dr. Mary Alice Hamilton

Sally and Mirza, Summer 1938

OCTOBER, 1953 VOL. 1, NO. 1

The Journal of The

FALCONRY CLUB OF AMERICA

Frounce: Its Cause and Cure

ROBERT M. STABLER COLORADO COLLEGE, COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

Hundreds of years ago falconers were, even as they are today,

plagued by a disease mainly of the mouths and crops of their birds,

which disease was early referred to as “Frounce”. The pigeon fancier,

when it is in his birds, calls it “Canker”. The parasitologist, be-

cause it is caused by the presence of a very small protozoan parasit

known as Trichomonas gallinae, refers to it as “trichomoniais”.

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