Western Field Ornithologists wishes to thank Peter LaTourrette for a remarkable 33 years of service as Photo Editor of Western Birds. 

As Photo Editor, Peter processed photos for the journal and chose the cover photos for each issue. Peter succeeded previous Photo Editor Bruce Webb with Volume 23, number 4 in 1992 and served through Volume 56, number 5, August 2025. He also prepared all of the color photographs that appeared in Rare Birds of California, published by WFO in 2007. 

In 2015, Peter received WFO’s Volunteer Service Award for what was then over 20 years as Photo Editor. 

Readers of Western Birds can well imagine the changes that took place in photography and photo editing during Peter’s tenure as editor, including the transition from film to digital images. Peter related that when he started, photos were generally received as 35 mm slides, which were then digitized for editing. Phil Unitt remarked on what a huge task this could be, particularly in working on the reports from bird records committees. In the beginning, the covers of all four issues of a given volume were printed at the same time in order to save money. One of Peter’s contributions was to break out of that pattern and ensure that the covers were related to the articles in a particular issue. Phil notes that Peter played an important role in the design and production of the journal’s covers, resulting in the high quality of the journal that we see today.

A resident of Los Altos, California, Peter has been a major figure in the San Francisco Bay Area’s photography and birding communities. He co-founded Bay Area Bird Photographers and was a key member of the leadership of Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance (SCVBA).  Matthew Dodder, SCVBA’s Executive Director, noted that Peter’s work may frequently be found on interpretive signage in the Bay Area and even as far afield as Arizona. Peter served for many years as a member of SCVBA’s Finance Committee and as Treasurer. 

The Board of WFO is grateful for Peter’s contributions to Western Birds and wishes him well in retirement.

March 2026 | John Harris, WFO Past President

Special thanks to Phil Unitt and Matthew Dodder for their contributions.