A tribute to Angus Shortt

Today, the funeral service for Angus Shortt was an opportunity to celebrate his achievements. Angus was a friend. He was also a fine wildlife artist who produced, three years ago at age 94, a book entitled My Life with Birds.

Best known for his wonderful paintings of waterfowl and his association with Ducks Unlimited, Angus Shortt contributed a large number of paintings to Ducks Unlimited as part of their on-going fundraising efforts.

Beverley Pike, with the Manitoba Naturalists, began by mentioning that Angus and his wife Betsy were the longest continuously serving members of the society. Angus became a member in 1928. His wife Betsy joined in 1933. They first met at a Manitoba Naturalist's society meeting in 1933 where Angus was giving a talk about hawks and raptors.

In 1934, Angus, together with his brother Terry and Charles Broley visited Delta Marsh and found large numbers of dead Franklin's Gulls. Though the cause of death was never proven, the stomachs of the dead birds were full of grasshoppers and it is very likely it was due to poisoning from pesticides. It was a harbinger of later effects of chemicals like DDT on birds. The full story is told in a book I wrote in 1983 titled Charles Broley: An Extraordinary Naturalist.

Today, Angus's son Terrence talked about his years growing up and the times his parents took him to visit marshes, sloughs and forests in search of birds. He also talked about his father's passion for painting, wildlife, flowers and nature.