‘The man is a legend and has been for years; there is certainly more, and possibly worse, to come. Stories of his energy, knowledge, eccentricity and unpredictability are probably mostly true… [He] is an enigma, a classic stormy petrel, but an original and commanding character in an era when it is fashionable to conform.’ So wrote David Jenkins and George Dunnet in their 1978 profile of William (Bill) R. P. Bourne (Brit. Birds 71: 123–125), who died peacefully in his sleep on 31st May 2021, aged 91.