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Longish post ahead.....
For the last 20+ years wherever the IBWO gets discussed on the Web (Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, forums, etc.etc.) people come out of the woodwork to chime in with their personal "sightings" -- sometimes decades-old, sometimes more recent. I often call these "drive-by" or "hit-and-run" sightings because they simply mention the experience in one or a few sentences and then move on, as if not realizing the enormity of what they are claiming and the need for further elaboration (or they may simply assume they won't be believed, or even if believed, the sighting is too old to matter). So anyway, I put out a call on a FB group for someone who has had such a sighting (that they felt confident about) in the last 15 years to come forth and tell us more about it; i.e., a claim that few people know about, unlike the more well-publicized claims on the Web. I didn't expect many takers (even though there have been 100s of such online claims by now), as I only wanted to hear from folks who believed they could establish their credibility, and felt confident of their "report." In the end, I've had one report that passed muster (...but may be willing to hear more if you have one).
What follows is a description of the sighting that a "Ryan Ryczek" tells me of from about 10 years ago in Florida. (Ryan, feel free if you wish, to correct, clarify, or add to, anything I say in what follows). I neither find the claim wholly convincing, nor do I summarily dismiss it, but present it as somewhat typical of claims that are out there. I have corrected some of Ryan's spelling and grammar when quoting from his responses, BUT I have left intact his consistent (phonetic) spelling of "Pilliated" for "Pileated" an odd quirk I've not seen before (though many people misspell it from time to time in other ways.
Ryan Ryczek is from Palm Harbor, Florida (pop. ~60,000), who was ~35 when he believes he briefly saw 3 IBWOs high up (at least 60 ft.) near his home in a dead Sand Pine tree. He thinks he may have had a 2nd sighting of a male in another nearby Sand Pine within a few weeks, but is less certain of that and I will focus on the original 3-bird sighting.
First, a little background on Ryan (as he informs me) to give some sense of his experience and credibility:
He is an "Environmental Management Program Manager" with a B.S. degree in "Environmental Health." He describes his birding knowledge/experience this way: "Lifelong wildlife observer. Very familiar with birds and wildlife in the southeast US. I rarely see something I don't know what it is and when I look into it. I spend a lot of time outdoor for work recreation and gardening. Have spent my whole like boating, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, camping, etcetc. While not a birder I am very observant, interested in birds, good at identifying them and almost always know what bird I am looking at. I would place myself just below someone that does birding."
The sighting was around late spring (maybe late March or beyond) of 2016. Ryan was playing with his daughter when he noticed the 3 birds near the top, perhaps 60-ft. up, of a dead Sand Pine tree. He only viewed them for a few seconds before moving to get a camera, at which point they flew off. The most notable claim, beyond seeing 3 at once (almost unheard of) is that one of the birds was a FEMALE (black-crested) and the other 2 were males (red-crested). He surmised it was an IBWO group traveling together, foraging, but more specifically, it could be a family (2 adults +juvenile), though it's slightly early in the breeding season -- given climate change, I believe earlier nesting/fledging etc. in 21st century is not out of the question. Here are some of Ryan's description or statements about the sighting:
"I saw a female with two males. They were very skiddish stayed high. At first I did not realize what I saw till I remembered that Pilliated Woodpeckers don't have black crests. What stood out was the higher percentage white and the yellow eyes. Due to the height the bill was less of a factor. I had one other sighting of a male. Unfortunately both times they flew in a direction of limited view and did not get a good view of wing shape, movement or color. Then how skittish they were and the jerky movement is something else that stood out to me. I heard meeps and kents about five times in a swamp bottom near my house. A former park ranger of a park near me I spoke to said they used to let birders go into undeveloped parts of the park to look for it as they said they may have seen it. I don't expect anyone to believe me. Particularly due to the Urban location that has isolated wetlands. I have not heard them since hurricane Irma came through and development increased in 2017, but I also spent less time outside since I had kids. I know what Pilliated look like. They are very common and see them almost daily my entire life. They are not skiddish like these were totally different behavior. All the times I saw and heard them was evenings after the day started to cool before dusk. Around 6-7pm. I will not be offended if you ask hard questions or don't believe me. I had to question what I saw. If it was not a female I saw, I wouldn't have thought I saw one."
Ryan describes the area he lives in this way: "I live in a low density zoned area that has woods, and adjacent swaps and golf course that has areas of trees and swamp. It s surrounded by dense urban areas but does or did inter connect with other swamp, parks, and natural areas." He does note that it is much more highly developed now, 10 years later, than it was at the time of sighting.
Several things, of course, of note here. Let me first say though that at the time Ryan did mention the sighting to a local birder who didn't take it seriously, as well as sending it along to Cornell who he said "blew him off" (he also sent them, and myself, a copy of an audio clip he thought may have faintly recorded some "kents," but Cornell didn't respond to that, nor can I make out much from it). The overall description is not as full and detailed as one would like, but is pretty typical for non-birders reporting. Disappointing that (so far as I know) no one else in the residential area reported seeing IBWOs in this location at the time, but at least Ryan immediately deemed it serious enough to report to others, despite the brevity of the sighting.
Ryan mentions the "higher percentage white" but unfortunately at no point actually describes the "white shield" that is prominent and partly diagnostic for IBWO (and Pileateds can flash a lot of white when they're flapping or moving around). Even though people do at times mention the "yellow eyes" I'm not convinced that means much; Pileateds have yellow eyes, and when birds are seen that briefly at that distance I'm just not confident eye color can be accurately discerned. Also, I'm not real clear what the "meep" calls are that Ryan references.... he says they are on the Macaulay IBWO tapes, but to my knowledge all those recorded calls, which can vary a bit, are considered "kents." But it's fine with me that he's put his own interpretation onto them. He did feel he heard calls more consistently from a swampy area near him, including at Wall Springs Park couple miles away (where a park ranger said a few people had reported the species in prior years) but, as I am verrry skeptical of IDing IBWO calls by ear (too many sound-alikes) I can't place a lot of weight on that. He even thought perhaps they were nesting in the area, which I very much doubt given the fragmented terrain.
The area near Ryan's house at Palm Harbor of course will be viewed as problematic, fairly residential and developed, even though there may be woodland patches and swampy areas nearby (perhaps true almost anywhere in Florida) -- do IBWOs reeeally require large UNfragmented tracts of land or could they possibly hopscotch around the many sorts of patches Florida offers? I'll also mention that Ryan's locale is about 60 miles from Polk County and Green Swamp areas of Florida that have historically been associated with IBWO claims, and slightly farther away is the Highland Hammock State Park area also source of some claims. So again, while I doubt IBWOs could have been residing in Ryan's area, is there the possibility of a family group simply moving through on one given day? Ryan notes that though he has occasionally searched further, he has never again seen or heard them "since hurricane Irma came through in 2017 and development increased." Also disappointing, that in this specific area of about 60,000 population I'm not aware of any other serious sightings of IBWO.
He further notes that his sightings and calls always came "after the heat of the day" perhaps around 6-7pm, prior to dusk. That is possibly (I speculate) a time the birds might be preparing to roost for the evening.
Ryan reiterates at one point the following: "I live in an area with many Pilliated Woodpeckers. I see them almost daily. I know how they look and act. What stood out to me was the black crest, particularly the yellow eyes, and the extreme skiddishness. They were slightly larger but that did not stand out as they kept high in the trees and unlike Pilliated and did have more white, but they flew away from me to a place I could not see a full wing span open. Basically flew off behind the tree from me. Pilliated are not afraid of people at all in my area. I have had them fly down to a stupid 30 feet from me when I was doing yard work. The behavior was totally different. Also I have never seen three Pilliateds together let alone on the same tree."
The consistent use of the word "Pilliated" is a bit quirky -- indicating a lack of familiarity with the literature on the IBWO or perhaps birds more generally. BUT this can also be viewed as a strongpoint! It is all too easy for anyone today to simply open a few books and figure out how to report seeing an Ivory-bill and differentiate it from a Pileated -- I get the feeling that Ryan hasn't gone that route, but is just honestly reporting what he perceived.
One of several issues I've long had with David Kulivan's famous Pearl River claim is that he didn't report the sighting until a week after he had it -- that leaves a lot of time to sort through some books and consciously or unconsciously incorporate aspects you read into your eventual description of what you saw in the moment (most who interviewed David found him completely convincing, and his description, if anything, almost too good) -- not casting aspersions on David's storyline, but simply acknowledging that I don't know what he, as a novice (to birding), saw... (as a cognitive psychology major I do know how our brain plays tricks on us, and is influenced by the subconscious). So anyway, of course one could say that Ryan has had 10 years to read other books and articles that might color or shape his memory -- the constant misspelling of Pileated I almost take as a signal that he hasn't done that! On the other hand, Ryan placed a lot of emphasis on the yellow eyes and the skittishness of the birds -- these are elements I've seen come up much more in recent years of IBWO debate than in earlier years, so I can't tell if that's truly original perceptions or something he's picked up on from reading? There were actually some 'leading' questions I avoided asking Ryan for fear they might "prompt" him to simply look up a 'good' answer (always a danger in email interviews). It can be tricky getting the answers one wants without 'leading' the respondent in that direction.
The likelihood of seeing an IBWO of course is low, of seeing 2 IBWOs at one time even much lower, and of seeing 3 at once is almost off-the-charts low (can't even recall if there have been any recent reports of 3 at once?). AND, the location is not great (...again though, what do we really know about IBWO movements and travels?). Ryan largely hangs his weight on the one black-crested bird out of three, the yellow eyes, and skittish behavior/movements. Interesting, but likely not a slam-dunk. Some additional visual elements, or recorded kents or double-knocks would be nice, or of course a 2nd or 3rd observer. But, not to be.
Soooo, in wrap-up, I'm not bowled over by Ryan's claim (it lacks a lot of details I would've liked to see), but nor do I dismiss it out-of-hand. It hangs there, like so many, as a headscratcher? Could it be? If not 3 IBWO, what then?... 3 Pileated with one red-crest appearing black because of bad light or angle or shading? 2 Pileateds with a crow or raven??? Some other species entirely??? Hard to figure 🤔.... Ryan seems sincere and confident of what he saw, but like most non-birders his report is not as substantive as one would ideally like.
Chuck Hunter is fond of discussing a lot of IBWO material only to conclude "It's a mystery..." And that's the best I can say about Ryan's sighting (and probably several more like it), "It's a mystery"... or, as Fox Mulder would intone, "The truth is out there."
In any event I want to thank Ryan for being willing to share his report with a wider audience.
Whether you think Ryan's claim is weak or flawed, or very intriguing, please be civil and constructive in any comments. And of course it would be interesting to hear from anyone else who believes they've ever seen IBWO in that approximate area (Palm Harbor is near to Clearwater and Tampa Florida).
Lastly, in honor of Annie Dillard who passed away 2 days ago; just a simple lone line from her glorious "Pilgrim At Tinker Creek":
“The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.”
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