Cordelia Stanwood

Cordelia J. Stanwood (1865 – 1958) was an American ornithologist, wildlife photographer, artisan, and writer. One of her primary achievements was the creation of Birdsacre Sanctuary, also known as the Stanwood Wildlife Sanctuary. Her writings appeared in popular magazines and included 20 scholarly articles in ornithological journals.

Early life and education Stanwood was the first of five children born to parents who were a wealthy merchant's daughter and a sea captain in Ellsworth, Maine. Her father was Roswell Leland Stanwood and her mother was Margaret Susan Stanwood (née Brown). Stanwood was named after her aunt Cordelia Johnson. At times, the family sailed with the father Roswell Leland Stanwood.

Stanwood passed several summers studying at the Martha's Vineyard Summer Arts Institute. Her experiences there re-kindled her interest in nature. She had opportunities to work with trained scientists, and she learned to combine the use of art and illustration in scientific observation, a skill that became instrumental in her career as an ornithologist. Stanwood deepened these skills in 1893 when she studied at the Massachusetts Normal Art School (later the Massachusetts College of Art) and was for several months at the Adams-Nervine Asylum.

Wildlife photography

Stanwood documented many of her observations of bird behavior photographically. Initially, this was with a Kodak box camera. She successfully lobbied the Maine State Legislature to ban the importation of bird feathers for women's hats.

The first curator of Birdsacre Sanctuary, Chandler S. Richmond, wrote a biography of Stanwood. As part of her legacy, Stanwood had founded the Cordelia Bird Club and had created the Stanwood Wildlife Foundation. Building on these two legacies, Richmond established the Birdsacre Sanctuary which opened in 1959.

Representative publications Stanwood, Cordelia J. “A Collection of Masterpieces in the Public Library or the Public Schools.” The Journal of Education, vol. 88, no. 21 (2207), 1918, p. 580. Cordelia J. Stanwood. “A Hermit Thrush Study.” The Wilson Bulletin, vol. 26, no. 4, 1914, pp. 180–86. Cordelia J. Stanwood. “A Series of Nests of the Magnolia Warbler.” The Auk, vol. 27, no. 4, 1910, pp. 384–89.