tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-147620102012-02-15T07:11:07.293-05:00=&gt; <i><b>THE </b></i>blog devoted to news and commentary on the most iconic bird in American ornithology, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (IBWO)... and... sometimes other schtuff.<br> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.comBlogger13501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-88677072699817267872012-02-10T19:30:00.000-05:002012-02-10T19:57:37.975-05:00

----------------------------------------------------Birdwatching Magazine's (formerly "Birder's World") updated summary page of their various online Ivory-billed Woodpecker articles over the years:http://tinyurl.com/7zhavoy----------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-47185159094456048162012-02-05T08:00:00.003-05:002012-02-08T18:15:01.814-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------The previous post took a swipe at applying statistics/probability in the social/biological sciences, but it occurs to me that the physical sciences are by no means immune from the temptation either. In astronomy, the Drake equation (which involves several terms that must be assigned values) was a famous attempt to guesstimate the

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-22595095598997062912012-02-02T20:30:00.001-05:002012-02-02T21:11:12.586-05:00

------------------------------------------------------------There seem to be more people involved in individual IBWO searches this month than perhaps there will be the remainder of the season, though I'm doubtful much will come of it (possibly the occasional sightings claim somewhere of course, but probably no photos or other documentation).Meanwhile, as Kai Krause once famously wrote (only part

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-84524740724824780022012-01-08T08:30:00.001-05:002012-01-08T08:33:48.058-05:00

----------------------------------------------------------With no other pressing news on horizon may as well post this Texas Parks and Wildlife stab at hope from the Big Thicket:----------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-14540830353985369852011-12-26T07:45:00.004-05:002011-12-26T08:09:56.697-05:00

----------------------------------------------------------------Another appearance by Tim Gallagher on NPR last week re-telling his quest for the Imperial Woodpecker in Mexico:http://www.npr.org/2011/12/23/144190097/searching-for-a-ghost-bird?ft=1&f=1007As most active birders out there have by now heard, some weeks ago a Hooded Crane (Asian species) was discovered co-mingling with Sandhill Cranes

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-43299866179816678202011-12-15T06:30:00.000-05:002011-12-15T06:43:36.510-05:00

-----------------------------------------------------------------"There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know." ....Donald RumsfeldMajor hoaxes have, luckily, been few-and-far-between in the Ivory-bill saga,

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-198895574766706292011-12-12T08:00:00.003-05:002011-12-13T15:45:38.153-05:00

-----------------------------------------------------------------As one website says, "By all indications, Tuesday is going to be a big day." ...For physics that is, not ornithology. Tomorrow, according to well-circulated rumors, CERN will claim evidence that the elusive Higgs boson has been found.In honor of that likely pronouncement, I repeat below (only slightly modified) a post I did earlier

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-6686505949808040802011-12-09T06:00:00.000-05:002011-12-09T06:00:09.704-05:00

------------------------------------------------------------------This long, older, Jack Hitt piece from the NY Times is possibly worth a re-read:http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/magazine/07woodpecker.html?pagewanted=allAnd the Don Moser 1972 Life Magazine write-up on the Ivory-bill, which is alluded to in the article, is available on the Web from Google books here (starts pg. 52):http://

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-62038307700797352982011-12-04T19:00:00.002-05:002011-12-04T19:47:56.672-05:00

----------------------------------------------------------------In his somewhat trademark fashion, Mike Collins has once more re-visited some prior video footage (in this instance from the Choctawhatchee in 2007), to again discover the possible presence of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. Read his report here:http://www.fishcrow.com/choc19jan07.htmlPer usual, the video is not of a nature/quality that

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-35481819975833500172011-11-27T07:00:00.001-05:002011-11-27T07:16:35.579-05:00

----------------------------------------------------------------In a recent post Ralph Perrine reports he will be searching for the Ivory-bill in the southeast corner of N. Carolina later this winter. An earlier search there by 2 technicians from North Carolina Audubon, primarily of the Waccamaw/Green Swamp area, unfortunately found no evidence for the presence of Ivory-bills. Perrine's post

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-55610138976033459192011-11-23T17:30:00.002-05:002011-11-23T17:55:41.118-05:00

----------------------------------------------------------------In some prior years I've posted a Top 10 list of things I'm thankful for around Thanksgiving. At the last minute I decided to do one for this year:1) The Occupy movement and what it represents2) Apple Computer and Steve Jobs' inspiring legacy3) Taylor Swift ('cuz her music never fails to perk me up)4) All those working on behalf of

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-58472199266907919842011-11-20T17:30:00.001-05:002011-11-20T17:49:36.579-05:00

-----------------------------------------------------------------The latest issue of Birding Magazine from ABA includes a report from their official Checklist Committee, including the unsurprising decision that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is not included on the current checklist, remaining instead a Code 6 bird, meaning probably or definitely extinct. The article is available in pdf form here:

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-71797325705116513032011-11-17T22:00:00.002-05:002011-11-19T18:51:47.308-05:00

----------------------------------------------------------------FWIW, stills from the Web of Pileateds flying, here:http://tinyurl.com/7ezs5vp orhttp://tinyurl.com/74v6ue4Obviously, you lose a great deal of information in looking at stills versus a video; on-the-other-hand you gain some clarity and sharpness, that blurry, artifactual video may not offer.And for new folks, here in slo-mo, is one

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-59883159748916486702011-11-15T20:54:00.005-05:002011-11-17T17:43:00.024-05:00

------------------------------------------------------------------For now, just want to make sure everyone is aware that Bill Pulliam has gone ahead and posted more analysis, directed mostly at Louis Bevier's prior work and conclusions (perhaps one of Bill's best posts yet):http://bbill.blogspot.com/2011/11/woodpecker-wingbeats-revisited.htmlAnd I'd request that if you have comments/questions

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-85601891767395502262011-11-11T09:17:00.005-05:002011-11-11T15:38:54.401-05:00

-----------------------------------------------------------------'Hat tip' to Mark Michaels for directing me to these 2 web pages:http://eco.confex.com/eco/2011/webprogram/Paper30214.htmlhttp://www.wildernesscenter.org/podcasts/default.aspx?a=152&c=0&k=The first is simply an abstract on the results of the official IBWO search in South Carolina from Matthew Moskwik -- nothing new here, and I don't

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-9503295054367334342011-11-08T06:00:00.002-05:002011-11-08T06:07:13.069-05:00

------------------------------------------------------------------Given the time it was taking Bill Pulliam to comment on Cornell's recently-released Imperial Woodpecker footage I presumed he was doing his own in-depth analysis of the clips. And indeed he was. I think we all appreciate Bill's consistent attempts to objectively analyze such pieces of data (…and all the moreso given that, amazingly

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-4077898875673940592011-10-30T08:00:00.005-04:002011-11-01T15:12:09.290-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------Closing out October, as most know, Cornell has released enthralling film from the 1950s of the (presumed extinct) Imperial Woodpecker in Mexico taken by an American dentist and amateur ornithologist of the day (the only known film of the species in existence). The full story here, from Cornell's "Living Bird" magazine, along

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-89576765020436382622011-10-16T09:00:00.005-04:002011-10-16T13:37:12.306-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Mark Michaels, over at IBWO Researchers' Forum pointed out the below article which briefly mentions that Cuba’s leading ornithologist, Orlando Garrido believes the "Cuban Ivory-billed Woodpecker still lives in remote regions of eastern Cuba":http://capegazette.villagesoup.com/capelife/story/

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-31907354982426682082011-10-01T11:00:00.001-04:002011-10-01T11:12:56.234-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------In a comment on the previous post, "Steve" essentially asks WHAT will it take for some of us to conclude that the Ivory-bill is no more? I was going to respond in the comments (and now Jacob has) but it deserves a separate (more long-winded) post, since it's such a common question: The basic answer is pretty simple... you

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-77146727090117871612011-09-25T10:33:00.007-04:002011-09-25T10:33:00.312-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nice summary piece of Ivory-bill matters at this point here:http://www.miller-mccune.com/environment/long-slog-for-the-ivory-billed-woodpecker-36270/ My favorite quote from it comes from Chuck Hunter with USFWS:“If no further observations are made, it could be another 30 years before the species is

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-54713598176098364522011-09-02T20:00:00.000-04:002011-09-02T21:02:48.414-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apparently yesterday Sept. 1 was the 97th anniversary of the death (in captivity) of "Martha" the last known Passenger Pigeon; probably something worth noting on this blog. http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/ode-to-martha-the-last-passenger-pigeon -----------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-84010859330489801082011-08-30T16:55:00.003-04:002011-08-30T17:05:49.290-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------- May as well note a couple things before August passes... 1. Audio interview with Dan Mennill of the Auburn (Choctawhatchee) search team from a few weeks back here: http://www.cbc.ca/thebridge/episodes/2011/08/17/ghost-bird-the-illusive-ivory-billed-woodpecker/ 2. The current edition of Bird Watcher's Digest includes an

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-3872199665525538942011-08-08T18:00:00.004-04:002011-08-08T18:27:00.324-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some time back I mentioned that a bird rehabilitator friend had lost a juvenile Pileated Woodpecker to a black snake that gained access to a pen. And I wondered aloud to what degree snakes may have have been a significant culprit of the historically low reproduction rates reported for Ivory-bills. Interestingly (to me),

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-47101989191660960082011-07-28T03:00:00.000-04:002011-07-28T03:00:07.098-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Passed around lately, a 6-minute comedy routine surprisingly centered around the Ivory-billed Woodpecker here:http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11909400(caution: funny stuff, but some rough language for those with sensibilities to such)As many know, there have also been some stills and video of purported/possible IBWOs

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-65521459996315973592011-07-18T19:15:00.003-04:002011-07-23T11:11:52.392-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yeah, slow as molasses around here, and expecting it to remain so through year's end.... End of July marks the 6th anniversary of this blog, beginning a half-dozen years ago with the idea of being a newsreel of occasional monthly updates on the progress of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker recovery program. ...Little knowing

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-68008797346728072512011-07-09T06:00:00.000-04:002011-07-09T06:41:57.785-04:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------A nice float along Bayou de View here:...and, a longer look at the Arkansas Big Woods here:-------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-33607179118557246892011-06-28T08:30:00.001-04:002011-06-28T08:30:01.650-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------- From those fine folks who brought us Monty Python and Benny Hill... : -------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-80121202799758158052011-06-23T18:10:00.001-04:002011-06-23T19:21:49.180-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Summer is not a pleasant time to be searching for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, but it's a possible time to look for the Eskimo Curlew, another avian ghost. Reuters reports that USFWS is trying to decide on the species' current classification:http://tinyurl.com/6djezvsAnd in an older post on this blog Bob Russell listed

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-62272460406751217992011-06-22T16:50:00.000-04:002011-06-22T17:32:06.481-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------(image, from 1935, via Wikipedia Commons)"Looking for an ivory-bill today takes the mediating nature of birdwatching to an even higher level, because in this case the quarry is a kind of ghost bird, a creature that does and does not exist. Birds have always been emblems that shuttled between the natural world and the man-made

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-53637138743750890982011-06-17T06:15:00.002-04:002011-06-17T16:18:57.804-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------From Christopher Cokinos' "Hope Is the Thing With Feathers":"That same month, apparently on April 15 [1932], a Louisiana state legislator and attorney named Mason D. Spencer, a man with a penchant for bars and gambling, raised his gun, looked through the sight and squeezed the trigger. He collected his specimen --

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-41366295128242013092011-06-16T06:15:00.003-04:002011-06-16T06:43:53.937-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Bruce Tindall on the 'taunting' Ivory-billed Woodpecker:http://www.versedaily.org/lastivory.shtml-------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-71569087682205223262011-06-15T08:00:00.000-04:002011-06-15T08:00:02.077-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Transcript of an old (1996) radio edition of NPR's "Living On Earth," with good cast of characters, on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (before the Big Woods story, and even before David Kulivan):http://tinyurl.com/429c39n-------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-5349955299280356292011-06-10T15:00:00.002-04:002011-06-10T15:56:15.271-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Scott Crocker's "Ghost Bird" is now up on the Web, in it's entirety (85 mins.), at this learning site:http://learning.snagfilms.com/film/ghost-bird(I'm assuming this is a legitimate showing... if it is pirated or otherwise unauthorized someone let me know that and I'll remove the link).---------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-56693524761381070742011-06-09T19:30:00.002-04:002011-06-09T22:18:12.237-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------I suspect (hope) the very best books about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker may not yet have been written... but, of the volumes already out there touching on the subject, my favorites, in order of preference, are as follows:1) The Search For the Ivory-billed Woodpecker -- Jerome A. Jackson 2) The Ivory-billed Woodpecker -- James

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-60963977631499960852011-06-08T20:42:00.001-04:002011-06-08T21:25:19.144-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------A.T. Wayne's [19th century collector] Sample Price List as of July 29, 1893:Ivory-billed Woodpecker, male and female $22.00Mississippi Kite, price reduced 2.004 Carolina Paroquets, adults 15.001 (Carolina) Paroquets, immature 3.503 South Carolina

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-34933815553786916522011-06-04T09:59:00.004-04:002011-06-04T10:22:38.338-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Here's another odd photo (pileated woodpecker) showing how lighting can play tricks on perception:http://natureinquiries.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/schrodinger%E2%80%99s-woodpecker/The analogy to 'Schrodinger's cat' has also of course been made repeatedly to the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Another, more-current analogy one might

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-53017140513607699122011-06-01T19:00:00.002-04:002011-06-01T19:29:27.362-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Yet another Ivory-billed inspired work (novel) on the way, in July, here:http://26yearstolive.blogspot.com/2011/05/of-wing-ivory-billed-obsession.html(see also: http://www.ofthewing.com/new.htm )And as a reminder as to why the bar of evidence for this bird is now set so very high (clear photos will be assumed inauthentic

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-70636761189792014832011-05-31T17:12:00.004-04:002011-05-31T17:22:36.628-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------A year+-old interview over at another blog (I may have linked to previously) with Jerry Jackson:http://www.natureskills.com/birds/ivory-billed-woodpecker/-------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-23054005031516307932011-05-26T06:22:00.000-04:002011-05-26T06:23:18.021-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------- and perhaps through the weekend... -------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-63699031138676732552011-05-24T06:15:00.002-04:002011-05-24T06:19:54.269-04:00

----------------------------------------------------------------- Awhile back I mentioned a rehabber friend having two young orphaned Pileated Woodpeckers she was caring for. There's good news and bad news... The li'l tykes progressed well and when close to fledging were moved into a large pen. One quickly left their "box" nest for higher environs, but the other stayed behind, and unfortunately

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-3332825174832470572011-05-21T17:21:00.004-04:002011-05-22T06:57:19.186-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just a li'l story (I think I've told before), for those who have some spare cash to burn in this economy...: I noticed this weekend there is a copy of James Tanner's original 1942 Ivory-billed Woodpecker monograph selling over at eBay for a coool $500+ (original copies come up for sale on eBay from time-to-time, and

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-58158590428235038752011-05-19T05:48:00.001-04:002011-05-19T06:25:26.176-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dr. Geoff Hill will be speaking on the search for the Ivory-bill at Auburn's Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve at 6pm tomorrow, Friday 5/20, followed by a showing of Crocker's "Ghost Bird" film. (If anyone happens to hear Dr. Hill's talk let us know how it goes.) And a reminder that "Ghost Bird" is also showing again on

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-59646238059413404352011-05-17T20:57:00.002-04:002011-05-17T21:17:16.290-04:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------" There is increasing concern that in modern research, false findings may be the majority or even the vast majority of published research claims." -- Dr. John P.A. IoannidisI've had a link to this famous, often-cited JPA Ioannidis article in the left-hand column for about 5 years running, but perhaps it's worthwhile to draw

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-67878012490583783792011-05-16T16:20:00.001-04:002011-05-17T18:06:27.494-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------^^...The New Yorker cartoon contest caption that SHOULDA been: http://tinyurl.com/3nkfrzsAlso, this recent older (long) New Yorker piece by John McPhee on the Atchafalaya River may interest some:http://tinyurl.com/8jqukp------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-8140188643189532932011-05-16T13:20:00.000-04:002011-05-16T13:23:36.235-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------ A classic old paradox from mathematics: Suppose you glue a dime to the very middle of a half-dollar (creating two attached concentric coins), and then roll the half-dollar along a tabletop to make one complete turn. At that point the half-dollar (back at its starting point) will have covered a distance equal to its own

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-66001515650533276412011-05-15T07:27:00.003-04:002011-05-16T11:53:30.273-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Sorry for the late notice, but received emails this morning that apparently Scott Crocker's "Ghost Bird" film made its debut on television last night on the "Documentary Channel;" a good opportunity for those who haven't had a chance to see it at an indie festival to take it in. I don't own a TV myself and don't know if the

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-66695527790782802962011-05-13T15:15:00.003-04:002011-05-13T19:39:06.752-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Note: Google's Blogger platform was down for 48+ hours (making the posting of new blogposts or comments un-doable), but appears to be working once again....Generally speaking throughout the avian kingdom, larger birds have slower wingbeat frequencies than their smaller cousins. Louis Bevier's original 2007 analysis for PIWO

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-59734971039103941252011-05-05T06:15:00.002-04:002011-05-05T06:15:00.344-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Mathematics is a powerful means to win arguments because people have a strong feeling that mathematics is objective, that "figures cannot lie." The truth is that it is easy to mislead and obfuscate a situation through the use of mathematical and statistical models that are inappropriate, whose assumptions are simplistic,

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-64411404653209761372011-04-30T07:00:00.001-04:002011-04-30T09:59:24.259-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------No real Ivory-bill news to speak of, so on a different matter... A bird-rehabber friend of mine (near the Ark. Big Woods by coincidence) is currently raising a pair of young Pileated Woodpeckers (~10 days old when she got them) and found this wonderful old piece (pdf) on the Web regarding the early life cycle of Pileated

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-24234969612912440872011-04-28T15:26:00.003-04:002011-04-28T16:05:50.173-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------- Better late than never... just received back one of the "interview" forms I'd sent out long ago (giving me some hope that maybe some of the others who originally said they might participate may yet get back to me... hint, hint ;-). John Puschock is an active west coast birder and tour leader, known to many of you via his

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-55111256457893825602011-04-23T07:00:00.002-04:002011-04-23T07:00:02.557-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------- While biding time, this older elegy to the Ivory-bill from poet Susan Wood: http://www.nereview.com/27-4/wood.html --------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-85061748603698513402011-04-16T06:00:00.000-04:002011-04-16T06:13:08.177-04:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------Seen in someone's backyard, perhaps:http://www.birdfeedershoppe.com/proddetail.asp?prod=PD52698or, from Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/6flvgbe------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-44626238689904192472011-04-11T06:10:00.001-04:002011-04-11T06:11:25.875-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Speaking of Arthur Allen, one of the responses I got when I asked for people's memories of what drew them to the Ivory-bill story decades ago, came from Chris Feeney of Georgia, who credited Allen with spurring his childhood interest. Chris's account ran as follows:"I have had an interest in the Ivory-billed Woodpecker since

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-25146892831994018662011-04-09T12:36:00.000-04:002011-04-09T12:36:19.703-04:00

---------------------------------------------------------------------Perhaps it's karmic... I'd recently been thinking of doing a blog post inquiring "What would Arthur Allen do?," regarding past ornithological icon Arthur A. Allen (Ivory-bill-documenter, and founder of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology). But I'll forgo my idle thoughts in favor of just linking to Stephen Lyn Bales' latest post

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-41922674907438221872011-04-04T18:07:00.000-04:002011-04-04T18:07:48.619-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------- A camel, it has been said, is 'a horse designed by a committee'. . . . . Traditionally, April/May are the last 2 months for much Ivory-bill searching before the heat/humidity/bugs of summer preclude much deep woods activity. And I don't foresee anything on the horizon likely to alter how things stand at this point. Indeed,

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-50358549041134455462011-03-28T16:00:00.000-04:002011-03-28T16:00:00.646-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Paul Hess reports at the ABA Blog on another 'bird of hope,' the Bermuda Petrel, a long-distance flier, once thought extinct, now recovering though still very scarce:http://blog.aba.org/2011/03/a-bird-of-hope-a-mystery-solved.html-------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-80769348580877693672011-03-28T06:30:00.001-04:002011-03-28T17:32:53.102-04:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Haven't heard a whole lot publicly from Tim Gallagher (one of the original early Big Woods sighters of the IBWO, and author of "The Grail Bird") since the story has dragged on, but he is interviewed as the first second (about 6 mins. in) story in this recent Web podcast:http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/dnto_20110326_47229.mp3-----

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-21583387533959616722011-03-24T19:12:00.007-04:002011-03-24T19:51:32.134-04:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Wow! Corey at "10000 Birds" blog reports on a gorgeously leucistic Pileated Woodpecker from Pennsylvania here:http://10000birds.com/leucistic-pileated-woodpecker.htm...not a specimen that could ever be confused with an IBWO, but just a splendid individual in its own right... wonder what the parents and any sibs looked like?

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-13951394093420551612011-03-21T11:40:00.005-04:002011-04-30T06:31:55.499-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Sorry for the late notice, but just received the info that Mike Collins is giving a free talk later this afternoon at the University of Mississippi, on his IBWO work in the Pearl:http://events.olemiss.edu/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=33210If anyone catches the talk, feel free to report to us how it went...ADDENDUM: ...

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-21052452796039841012011-03-18T06:50:00.002-04:002011-03-18T06:50:00.292-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------- "Project Coyote" in La. posts a new update to their work, linked to from this page (March 17): http://www.south-run.com/coyote/updates.htm It includes VERY faint double-knock recording and pics of some further bark-scaling.--------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-17638623578727132732011-03-15T10:00:00.000-04:002011-03-15T10:00:09.307-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------- When I asked folks a bit ago to relate how they may have first become interested in the IBWO story decades ago, I thought some common thread or theme to their memories might arise. Only 4 people have thus far responded and I don't see any real commonality to their stories, so I may just go ahead and re-print a couple of the

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-35418833370753591552011-03-13T07:00:00.003-04:002011-03-13T07:00:04.634-04:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------- New article out of Alabama with Professor Geoff Hill reviewing the IBWO situation: http://annistonstar.com/bookmark/12311160-Winged-hope-Auburn-professor-is-confident-the-magnificent-ivory-billed-woodpecker-is-not-extinct --------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-12436392009905458972011-03-07T13:45:00.004-05:002011-03-08T05:32:47.445-05:00

---------------------------------------------------------------------Just a couple of misc. bird stories today: First, news making ornithological rounds lately of a new species of storm petrel recently discovered off the coast of Chile:http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/03/scientists-announce-discovery-of-new-species-of-seabird-the-first-in-89-years-.htmlGiven the still somewhat fluid

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-73889676114631920402011-03-05T10:47:00.000-05:002011-03-05T10:47:47.908-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------- This may go nowhere, but I'll try it to see.... Much of the interest in the Ivory-billed Woodpecker has come in the last 6 years since the sudden announcement from Arkansas, or even going back to the 1999 claim by David Kulivan in Louisiana. But I know there are folks who have been continuously fascinated with this bird since

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-83750576851095897762011-03-02T20:28:00.003-05:002011-03-03T05:39:07.964-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------And now for something totally different.... :-)Artist/naturalist Mark Ross in Fairbanks Alaska sends in an inquiry about a sketch of an Indian artifact he came across in a biography of artist Ernest T. Seton. He believes it may be Ivory-bill-related. If you can help Mark settle his question, or point him in the direction of

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-71941548353205205612011-03-02T16:00:00.002-05:002011-03-02T16:03:58.894-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Delightful old David Attenborough BBC video clip of Magellanic Woodpeckers presented by Bill Benish over at his Campephilus Woodpecker blog here:http://tinyurl.com/4rfszxo-------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-79218274716920351212011-02-28T14:55:00.002-05:002011-02-28T16:19:17.052-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------On the anniversary (yesterday) of his and Tim Gallagher's 2004 sighting, Bobby Harrison posts this recounting of his IBWO sightings to date:http://ibwfound.blogspot.com/2011/02/7th-anniversary-of-ivory-billed.html...and a reader sends me this link to a 9-min. video on the Ivory-bill, from Arkansas middle-school student

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-3266179618606747992011-02-25T16:01:00.002-05:002011-02-26T14:00:43.242-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Could be several slow news days (weeks, months???) ahead, from an Ivory-bill-standpoint....About 2/3 of the interview forms I sent out 3 months ago still haven't trickled back (again, a THANK YOU to those who did respond!), so I'll throw things open a little wider (for a possible better percentage return), by asking if there

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-70203349570121008362011-02-19T19:10:00.007-05:002011-02-26T13:59:54.168-05:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------For those who have followed the senseless Whooping Crane shootings in recent months, incredibly, yet a fifth bird has now been shot/killed, this one in Georgia (one other in Ga. and 3 in Alabama). There is over $20,000 in reward money for information leading to those involved:http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-42740921515362001432011-02-15T14:30:00.002-05:002011-02-15T14:30:01.664-05:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------- I thought David Sibley was rather tired of addressing the Luneau video, and the topic of Ivory-bills in general (barring new evidence coming along), so am a bit surprised he has put forth a couple of "recently-revised" posts/discussions at the very time the topic is essentially dead for so many birders... one is here (which

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-73495371999572236232011-02-13T07:00:00.007-05:002011-02-15T06:03:33.983-05:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Crossley ID Guide" by esteemed birder/photographer Richard Crossley is finally out... WOWZA!... and now for a longer review:It's often the case that a heavily-touted, high expectation event or product simply can't live up to the buzz it creates....

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-79901003054310039442011-02-12T17:30:00.000-05:002011-02-12T17:30:32.084-05:00

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Worth passing along.... Haven't heard much from him lately (probably because he feels the battle has been won), but prominent British birder and IBWO skeptic Martin Collinson has a wonderful interview on a British birding site here, with his usual deft sense-of-humor... enjoy: http://www.britishbirds.co.uk/2011/02/12/

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-35531280660306357082011-02-07T14:41:00.011-05:002011-02-10T06:25:28.513-05:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------1) First, today marks the 137th anniversary of the birth of Louis Agassiz Fuertes... one of the greatest bird portraitists of all-time, including one of my personal favorites (Pileated Woodpeckers): 2) An old joke (originally from George Carlin, I think???) asks, "WHAT do you do if you see an endangered animal eating an

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-8761419743723866252011-02-05T12:09:00.004-05:002011-02-05T12:14:16.508-05:00

---------------------------------------------------------------------- All the chatter lately about the 3 main Ivory-bill-related movies, "Ghost Bird" (Crocker) "The Lord God Bird" (George Butler), and the fictionalized account, "Woodpecker" (Karpovsky), got me to thinkin' about the many other possible titles for Ivory-bill movies perhaps yet to come. So without further adieu, a dozen possible

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-79763268818149681092011-02-04T05:52:00.000-05:002011-02-04T05:57:08.800-05:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------The second half of an interview with Ron Rohrbaugh of Cornell is up at The Wilderness Center, reviewing the Ivory-bill search situation here (starts at about the 22-minute point, podcast #96):http://www.wildernesscenter.org/podcasts/default.aspx?a=106&c=0&k=I didn't previously link to the first half of this interview

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-44516006787155712922011-02-02T20:06:00.003-05:002011-02-02T20:12:56.425-05:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------   1) First, just an oddball article I recently ran across (don't remember seeing before... but then my memory ain't what it used to be) here: http://tinyurl.com/47tnj7f   This is just the abstract (I don't have access to full paper), but it reports on a "a new feather mite species" found in "the wing plumage of the

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-5895799359947509902011-01-27T19:45:00.005-05:002011-01-28T18:38:13.977-05:00

-----------------------------------------------------------------Time for another IBL interview, this time with producer/director of the independent film "Ghost Bird," Scott Crocker. Most readers here are by now probably familiar with this award-winning documentary, even if you haven't had a chance to see it yet. I actually emailed Scott these questions some months back, but probably wouldn't

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-2841387493248925642011-01-26T20:38:00.001-05:002011-01-26T20:41:35.760-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Not a fiction-reader myself, but for those who are, and are also birders, I'll pass along this recent novel, that I came across on the Web: "Quick Fall of Light" by Sherrida Woodley, in which Passenger Pigeons, interestingly, play a major role:http://tinyurl.com/63lahvo--------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-71959211611089511712011-01-20T07:00:00.002-05:002011-01-20T07:00:06.422-05:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------- just gotta look under enough rocks: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-01/uoia-rdg011911.php --------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-22800339178238855822011-01-19T15:11:00.002-05:002011-01-19T15:46:03.801-05:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------- Donald Ware recounts his knowledge/experience regarding the Ivory-billed Woodpecker along the Choctawhatchee River (FL.) at the end of this post: http://tinyurl.com/4buy477 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-44756253268282481532011-01-16T19:39:00.000-05:002011-01-16T20:02:10.356-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Parrot species represent some of the most threatened bird species on Earth, but good news recently from the American Bird Conservancy for the South American Yellow-eared Parrot climbing back from the brink of extinction:http://tinyurl.com/6b7pm8h-------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-87206587957922552742011-01-11T10:47:00.000-05:002011-01-11T10:47:42.506-05:00

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Read elsewhere on Web that Dr. Giraldo Alayon, a renowned Cuban ornithologist/naturalist and one of the last people to see the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Cuba back in the 1980s, is currently writing a book on the Cuban IBWO. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-54472499481793201922011-01-09T05:00:00.004-05:002011-01-09T05:00:05.795-05:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------- A little off-topic today... ...with thoughts/prayers for the latest victims of American violence. ---------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-6457257516761238682011-01-06T18:19:00.002-05:002011-01-06T18:22:16.565-05:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------First I should probably link to the latest "I and the Bird" birding blog-carnival, since this edition links to my interview with Stephen Lyn Bales:http://www.birdingisfun.com/2011/01/i-and-bird-141.html(it is filled, like all editions, with a variety of good birding-related links) And well-timed, for my recent interview with Mr.

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-70632496460691323402011-01-02T07:10:00.007-05:002011-01-05T16:28:10.448-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Another "Ivory-bills Live" interview is finally here, this time with the author of "Ghost Birds" (a book I highly recommend), naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales. I very much enjoyed Stephen's answers to my questions, and think you will too:1. CT: For those readers who aren't familiar with you can you say a little about your

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-69832460551401304062011-01-01T11:11:00.008-05:002011-01-02T17:05:49.114-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------JUBILANT NEW YEAR!!... sorta (when technology isn't a pain-in-the-...)...heard from a few folks about the odd recent glitch of blog-text being invisible on posts here until one drags the cursor across the area making it appear (also, the heading/title and left-hand side-column may not be appearing properly)... mostly a

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-12594101518118302862010-12-30T21:02:00.000-05:002010-12-30T21:02:26.785-05:00

------------------------------------------------------------------ DOH!! I should've thought to do this BEFORE Christmas, but oh well... here's a link to an Amazon listing of major works they offer dealing with the Ivory-billed Woodpecker: http://tinyurl.com/2akr497 My personal favorites continue to be: "In Search of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker" -- Jerome Jackson "The Ivory-billed Woodpecker"

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-54820155238995230232010-12-29T09:58:00.001-05:002010-12-29T09:58:00.613-05:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Knoxville news article on Stephen Lyn Bales (author of "Ghost Birds")http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/dec/29/ijams-naturalist-details-adventures-with-ivory-bil/--------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-65396381403699942192010-12-28T15:41:00.004-05:002010-12-28T20:26:14.993-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Over the years I've evolved from a skeptic of Wikipedia to a user/believer in it. I use it almost every day now for basic information, yet still remain wary of it for more technical or detailed information... or for controversial topics (nor do I ever contribute to it). So, oddly, I hadn't looked at the Ivory-billed

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-61237841911917779662010-12-26T15:55:00.000-05:002010-12-26T16:06:09.694-05:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Last week over at IBWO Researchers Forum, Mark Michaels requested help for his ongoing study of Pileated Woodpecker bark-scaling characteristics:http://www.ibwo.net/forum/showpost.php?p=5628&postcount=592[ I think you need to be a member of the Forum to contact him through there, or you can probably contact him through the

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-80591180960569300312010-12-25T07:25:00.004-05:002010-12-25T10:21:27.170-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------I used this once before at Christmas; am using it again (a bit somber, but still too lovely to pass up):Where I live we're expecting the first White Christmas in almost 65 years, before the day is over... I s'pose some things just take that long. ;-))Merry Christmas to all!----------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-54260893356083813022010-12-24T08:36:00.003-05:002010-12-24T20:03:02.692-05:00

--------------------------------------------------------------------Too late for Christmas, but... Richard Crossley's much-anticipated new field guide (to eastern North American birds) is due out in February (...maybe in time for my birthday! ;-))I"ve been interested in the volume since reading about it at "10000 Birds" blog over a year ago:http://10000birds.com/

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-90168474895217125132010-12-23T15:00:00.001-05:002010-12-23T15:00:36.226-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Am now dabbling with a Twitter account for "cyberthrush," just to have in place in the unlikely event that there is breaking news on the Ivory-bill front at some point to put out quickly --- Twitter is very effective for communicating news with speed and immediacy, though not in-depth. More likely I'll be using it for

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-44222094014129273212010-12-22T06:48:00.007-05:002010-12-22T16:58:57.598-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Ngrams from Google is all the addictive rage these days, simply checking written word usage over the last couple centuries in all sources Google has catalogued. So of course had to check out "Ivorybilled Woodpecker":Surprised though to find that, in spite of the last 5 years, "Passenger Pigeon" still blows the IBWO away:----

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-14186003031097108882010-12-20T21:05:00.004-05:002010-12-20T21:19:52.677-05:00

---------------------------------------------------------------------For what it's worth, while biding time, just a bunch of still pics of Pileateds in flight that I've brought together, mostly from Flickr (but a few others as well):might actually start with this pic of a leucistic PIWO in Texas that I stumbled across:http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregpage/4724996515/ the rest are all normal

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-73553952817888671452010-12-18T08:11:00.002-05:002010-12-18T08:14:00.438-05:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------ A reader sends in below link to a story on using satellite lasers to pinpoint forest habitat with the tree size and density favorable to Pileated Woodpeckers (ground searches still needed to find individual birds). The work cited is actually done in Idaho, far-removed from the American Southeast, and I suspect by now, from

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-31540988145435260112010-12-16T05:39:00.002-05:002010-12-16T06:47:43.612-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------The Auburn Choctawhatchee search pages are back up now here:http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/cosam/departments/biology/faculty/webpages/hill/ivorybill/[...someone a few posts back was asking where details of Tyler Hicks' sightings could be found; they are included here:http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-44711783899507360782010-12-15T07:28:00.000-05:002010-12-15T07:28:00.210-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------The latest update from Mark Michaels of the Project Coyote team in La. is now posted as a pdf, focusing largely on bark scaling/chips in their area, along with other analyses:http://www.south-run.com/coyote/MAMNov2010Report.pdf ------------------------------------------------------------------------

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-80025776020165512062010-12-14T05:10:00.003-05:002010-12-14T14:58:18.978-05:00

------------------------------------------------------------------------Scott Crocker's documentary "Ghost Bird" is now available on DVD:http://tinyurl.com/2efyqxyhttp://tinyurl.com/27oc9x5 (Amazon link)Addendum: I see that in honor of the Crocker DVD release, Amy over at "Magnificent Frigatebird" blog is promoting her Ivory-bill T-shirts to all you Holiday shoppers! If you 'believe,' 'want to

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14762010.post-50596920090122049532010-12-12T09:54:00.012-05:002010-12-12T18:11:10.144-05:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Here's some short animations of Ivory-bills in flight, from a former Cornell computer graphics student, first showing a skeletonized IBWO, and then two brief swamp scenes (ALL animations):(I'm not vouching for how accurate or realistic these are, but perhaps someone will find them useful?)Fola Akinola: Show Reel 2008 from

cyberthrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01883119145892591610noreply@blogger.com1