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For years I've felt that, a search for Ivory-bills (once seen) ought not start with direct entry into the specific locale of interest, despite the temptation to do so, but rather by 'encircling' such an area. A bird wishing to escape human presence can always fly out ahead of searchers and elude detection. The object then ought be to insure that in any direction a bird may fly in 'escape mode' it is flying toward yet more sighters. Therefore, given a locale believed to harbor IBWOs draw a circle (~5+ mile radius) around said area and, in so much as manpower and topography allow, post sighters on the north, south, east, and west sides of that circle --- at an appointed time have searchers move slowly forward through the area toward the center (again, as best as topography allows). Each day the circle can be adjusted in lieu of information gathered. I'm not sure that in 3 years such an approach has been attempted (and it does have some practical problems associated with it).
I've also long believed it would require a coordinated group effort to document Ivory-bills. A lone, stealthy individual might through sheer luck or persistence be the first to attain clear photographic evidence of the species (and I'd be thrilled to have it happen that way), but I suspect IBWOs reside in multiple (and huge) areas where systematic group searches may be the only efficient way to find them, but not necessarily by placing clusters of humans directly within such presumed sites. Many search techniques have already, and will continue to be tried; time may tell what's most effective.
And speaking of searching 'nother article on Bobby Harrison here.
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From the Web Grab Bag: As often happens when humans attempt to do the right thing there are unforeseen ill consequences (environmentally-friendly building at Emory turns out to be a bird-killer):
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2007/11/23/evbirds_1123.html
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