Update, August 12th: Birds Connect's Development Director has informed me that Susan's feather will be engraved in January. She also offered to include Susan on BC's In Memory page, since Susan was involved with BC over the years. Unfortunately, I don't know the specifics of the work she did for the organization, so it's difficult for me to draft a message. Please get in touch if you have information that could be included. We can collaboratively produce a statement.

Update, August 2nd: The donation has been made! I'll email all contributors with a photo of Feathers for the Future once Susan's name has been added to it. I'm not sure how long the process will take. I'm so grateful to those who are helping her spirit soar on.

Update, July 31st: Tonight GFM will transfer the funds raised in Susan's name to my personal account (there wasn't an option to make this type of memorial donation to Birds Connect directly.) Tomorrow I'll send the money on to BC and fill out the form for the feather engraving. In the interest of full transparency, I'll be taking screenshots of this whole process and updating this page as I go.

My thanks again to everyone who gave, whether out of affection for Susan, for me, or for the birds we loved and love.

Update, July 24th: Thanks to everyone who contributed, our gift now exceeds $1,000. Susan will therefore be remembered with a bronze Feather for the Future. Yesterday, Birds Connect opened a new space at 616 Olive in downtown Seattle, and the installation is now mounted on its eastern wall. While the Seward Park Nature Shop felt more like Susan's natural environment (her life was intertwined with lakes), this more central locale will make her small memorial more accessible to anyone who wishes to visit. I'll notify all donors when her name is in place.

Update, July 19th: We've reached our initial goal, thank you so much! The overage will also go to Birds Connect. For $1000, Susan's name will be engraved on a bronze feather rather than a steel one. I'll leave this fundraiser open till the end of the month in the hopes we can put together a thousand.

***

Susan "Camel" Collicott, beloved by friends and family, passed away far too young in February 2025. Among her many passions -- swimming, horses, Autocross, the works of P.G. Wodehouse and Patrick O'Brian -- was birding.

I wish to honor Susan by helping to preserve the creatures she loved. Fully one-third of America's bird species are now considered threatened by habitat loss and climate change. A $500 donation to Birds Connect (the Seattle branch of what is nationally known as the Audubon Society) in memory of Susan will engrave her name in steel on the Feathers for the Future installation in their Seward Park Nature Shop.

Seward Park is located on the shore of Lake Washington; I took the photo of Susan on this page in the Union Bay Natural Area on the same lake. It seems fitting to memorialize her by a body of water. If you are able to make a donation, thank you.