-- Birder's World --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Decent article, by Geoffrey Hill, in the latest Birder's World Magazine on the Auburn Ivory-bill find is available online here:

http://www.birdersworld.com/brd/default.aspx?c=a&id=823

Dr. Hill sounds confident his folks will document the Ivory-bill photographically this season with the "biggest and best-funded Ivory-bill search" of 2007 (Cornell having scaled back in Arkansas) --- in which case he will no doubt soon be writing a revision of his upcoming book, "Ivory-bill Hunters: The Search for Proof in a Flooded Wilderness" (due out around Feb. from Oxford University Press).

--- you may need to register (free) for access to the article.
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-- Truth Or Fiction --

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update on the J. Stevenson matter/article :

Responses I've received, often from folks more familiar with Stevenson than am I, run the full gamut of opinion --- half or more lean toward believing Jim's account (but this may only reflect the bias of my readership; the remainder split between those believing the story bogus and those who just aren't sure). There is much in Jim's phrasing and writing style that I too find odd, but can explain away if I focus on the more plausible elements of the account. HOWEVER, there remain several significant aspects (I won't detail here) I've not been able to resolve to my satisfaction, and despite his birding credentials there are major concerns over Jim's credibility in various circles, stemming from prior experiences both in Fla. and TX. Enough doubts linger that I can't presume the authenticity of the claims Jim makes, without corroboration from a 2nd individual.
The very difficulty in substantiating the story is in itself suspicious. This doesn't mean I think it is pure fabrication; it means I don't know what to think, or what could be the purpose in authoring pure fiction on such a divisive topic. I DON'T believe (as some have suggested) that it is intended as satire or humor in any form (though it's possible Jim could claim this in a future confession); nor do I happen to think it is a simple effort at self-aggrandizement as others surmise. And that leaves me with but a very few options for the possible motive, which I also won't detail here. I will however remind folks that Jim is currently embroiled in a legal battle over his shooting of a feral cat, thus making the timing of this story even odder... (why is it released NOW, not after the Kulivan sighting, not after the Cornell announcement, nor even immediately following the Auburn news release, but NOW?).

Jim's father, Henry, was a highly-respected past ornithologist who covered the Ivory-bill in Florida (and saw one in 1950). It is unfortunate that his son has published a piece (and even dragged his father's name into it) which carries such a cloud over it, and now is reluctant to discuss the topic further, despite knowing what a can of worms he is spilling. One would hope for Jim's sake the matter resolves itself in his favor, but I'm not at all confident it will (and if not, being indicted for cat-killing, will be among the least of Jim's infamy). It could take awhile for the truth to emerge, although words from "Phyllis Sandburg" (Sandberg?), or the "top ornithologist" who received Jim's purported feathers, or the museum currently housing said feathers, could pretty quickly resolve the matter (if these principals are still alive) --- I'm not holding my breath...

Luckily, Jim's column, pertaining to IBWOs in the 70's/80's, makes little difference in terms of the Ivory-bill's possible presence in the southeast in 2006-7, but on-the-other-hand, if an outright hoax, it unnecessarily plays into the hands of those who need not be given any further ammo. If more evidence arrives that pushes my opinion in one direction or the other I'll update at that time, if warranted.
...And now, who will be the next contestant on "Truth Or Fiction," ...or ought we just call it "Jeopardy."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Thur. Morning --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sometime late this afternoon or early evening I will likely post an update on the Jim Stevenson article. Sincere THANKS to all who have taken the time to send in specific info or views on this matter. MUCH appeciated (and a wide range of opinion has been expressed). I'm still waiting to potentially hear from a couple of people (or anyone else with pertinent last minute thoughts can send them along, as well).
In the meantime to tide you over, here's an unrelated and non-IBWO bird meditation posted by Mike McDowell a couple days ago:

http://www.birddigiscoping.com/2006/12/graced-with-birds.html

Addendum: Mike seems to have now deleted this particular post from his blog...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- U.S. Fish & Wildlife --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Fish & Wildlife has issued a brief summary report of the status of Ivory-bill searching to this point:

http://www.fws.gov/ivorybill/QA-2006-2007search-season-12-21-2006.pdf

One of the more heartening statements reads as follows:

"Q: What if the 2006/2007 search season still yields no conclusive evidence?

A: The Service still deems it imperative to continue with searches until conclusive evidence is gathered. Enough credible information has surfaced that leads our agency to believe that isolated populations of the species may still exist. It is our responsibility to ensure that we are making the appropriate decisions with regard to habitat management."

So many of the short-sighted skeptical or even fence-sitting sorts are grousing that if no definitive documentation is found this season then the searching ought to end. The real searching has barely begun --- it should end when it is completed, however many years it takes to cover the widely disparate territory from which credible reports emanate... and not a moment beforehand. Glad to see the USF&W may actually stick to it's guns on this one.

Hope to have more to say about the Jim Stevenson article within a few days, but for now (assuming Jim hasn't snapped under the threat of a jail sentence for killing a feral cat) the feedback I'm getting is leaning toward the authenticity of his account --- subject to change though as I continue trying to clear up several things troubling to me. Yet one more bizarre episode in the ever bizarre saga of the Ivory-bill!

Have a Ho, Ho, Ho day...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Sorry For the Confusion --

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In response to inquiries:

Friday afternoon birdingisnotacrime blog posted a link to an article by master-birder Jim Stevenson written for the latest Galveston Ornithological Society newsletter in which Jim claims an encounter with a pair of Ivory-bills in the late 1970's and finding feathers "proving" their existence in 1986:

http://web.mac.com/rmcpeak/iWeb/Site/Gulls%20n%20Herons.html (download the "winter 06" edition)

I was in the process of trying to verify the account when I chose to quickly post the link based on Stevenson's superb reputation/credentials and the fear that many people leaving for the holidays might not get back to the internet before Tue. Usually these sorts of stories can be validated as real or bogus in short order. After 45 mins. though I was unable to validate the story and because elements of it didn't ring true (while other elements sounded quite credible) I replaced my original post with a retraction/disclaimer until I could investigate further. A day later I still cannot corroborate the authenticity of the tale Jim weaves --- nothing I've heard thus far fully convinces me the story is real, but more importantly nothing so far convinces me it is bogus (and in response to inquiries have again posted the link above, so you may take it as you wish for now). I'm still checking out some things. When/if I know more, you'll know more...

I will say that for some of us the article is a bit of a moot point anyway since it only pinpoints IBWOs as existing in the '70s and possibly into the '80s --- pretty much a given if you read the literature fully, objectively, open-mindedly, scientifically. The only lingering question for some is whether the species was yet around in the 90's and still today, and on that score the Stevenson account has little direct bearing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Stevenson Piece --

-------------------------------------------------------
Since too many elements of the Jim Stevenson article seem non-credible I'm deleting it unless or until there is further validation for it. If you didn't read it don't worry about it; if you did consider it entertainment for now.
-------------------------------------------------------

-- Christmas List --

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- YO, MY 2006 CHRISTMAS WISH LIST --
(I know it's a bit much Santa, but do what you can)


10. Loud Ivory-bill double-knocks heard and taped at points along the Neches River in Texas

9. Credible Ivory-bill sightings turned in off Mississippi River near Western Tennessee border and Lower Hatchie NWR

8. Five or more Ivory-bill pictures from junction area of Wambaw Creek and Santee River in South Carolina

7. Two minutes of Ivory-bill audio recorded at the Okefenokee Swamp/Suwannee convergence in Georgia

6. Multiple glossy Ivory-bill snapshots taken on the Mississippi-side of the Pearl River, southeast of Bogue Chitto NWR

5. Irrefutable film of Ivory-bills foraging along the Apalachicola River east of Dead Lake in north Florida

4. Indisputable photographs of perched Ivory-bills in Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin

3. Twenty-two seconds of high resolution Ivory-bill video from the White River in Arkansas

2. Three active Ivory-bill roostholes located along the Choctawhatchee in Florida Panhandle


1. hair


....tranquil, happy holidays ahead to all (...and most especially to believers ; - )))
---------------------------------------------------------------

-- May The Sightings Begin --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Report from the Pearl (La.): Mike Collins, back in the Pearl for Ivory-bill documentation, reported the sighting of a male IBWO today by his colleague, birder Susan Epps, in the same area where he claimed a male two months ago.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Some Timeless Wisdom ; - ) --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the spirit of the season thought I might just quote a few lines from the famous letter written by a newspaper editor in 1897 to a young girl who's 'little friends' informed her there was no Santa Claus:

"Dear Virginia:

Your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little.
In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge..."

...Oh, and yes Virginia, there ARE Ivory-bills as well; don't let little minds tell you otherwise.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Curiouser and Curiouser --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now even Cornell, on their website, is directly linking to the recent AR. sighting claim (previous post).
In their final report on last year's search they acknowledge 14 sightings (and there were almost certainly more than this) which they held a lid on during the search season, specifically not wanting to publicize encounters until the search season ended. For some reason this recent, seemingly routine encounter, gets nationwide publicity and a nod from Cornell. Is it just a morale-booster, or again, do they have details not released to the public that make it worthy of such emphasis? While the story is popular in the press, it has received no traction or follow-up on the Arkansas birding listserv. Curious...?
It is of course vital to get a handle on the Arkansas IBWO population, but again, it is likely minor relative to the species' numbers in several other states.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- AR. Story --

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For some reason a recent Ivory-bill sighting by two government workers in Arkansas (in the Cache River area) is getting a lot of press/internet play. The details, as given, don't appear much better than any number of other sightings from the last year that didn't garner much publicity:

http://www.physorg.com/news85470425.html

They are claiming a female bird (which is significant), and the sighting does include the specific tree the bird was working on prior to flight, which opens the remote possibility of a feather or droppings being found, or gouges/scrapings left behind for measurement, but otherwise it's unclear why this particular sighting is getting such coverage (is Cornell 'pushing' it?). Possibly there are other, thus far unreleased details, or more likely the press is simply running with it due to hunger in some circles for positive Ivory-bill news. But hey, there is plenty of time ahead for that...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Jackson Suggests Suwannee --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jerry Jackson pushes the Suwannee River (north Florida), one of the many oft-mentioned Fl. rivers, as especially good habitat for Ivory-bills here:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061215-woodpecker.html

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--- Time-out ---

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Intermission (grab some popcorn and a soda)... or, as Monty Python might say, 'now for something totally different' --- just a couple of sentences offered for the sheer entertainment of a few, and (....probably???) not at all IBWO-related :

In the next sentence, the number of occurrences of 0 is 1, of 1 is 7, of 2 is 4,
of 3 is 1, of 4 is 1, of 5 is 1, of 6 is 1, of 7 is 1, of 8 is 2, and of 9 is 1.

In the previous sentence, the number of occurrences of 0 is 1, of 1 is 8, of 2 is 2,
of 3 is 1, of 4 is 2, of 5 is 1, of 6 is 1, of 7 is 2, of 8 is 1, and of 9 is 1.

or alternatively, this one:

This sentence has three a's, one b, two c's, two d's, twenty nine e's, seven f's,
two g's, five h's, nine i's, one j, one k, one l, one m, twenty one n's, fourteen o's,
five r's, twenty five s's, seventeen t's, four u's, six v's, eight w's, two x's, and four y's.

-----------------------------------------------------------

-- The Mobile Search Team --

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cornell's 4-man "mobile search team" is giving regular updates on their current exploratory activity in South Carolina, where they are scheduled to search through the first week of January :

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/current0607/MSTtravellog/document_view

and info on these and other members of the "search/recovery" team is here:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/current0607/0607searchteam/document_view#MST1

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-- Big Woods Summary --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't find much encouraging in Cornell's overdue final summary of last season's Big Woods search. Indeed one is almost left to wonder if the report's very late public release has anything to do with fears that earlier publication would've discouraged applications from new volunteers for the coming search season (but maybe I'm being too negative)??? Remote, automatic camera setups at promising cavities and foraging sites (one of the best hopes for evidence-gathering) captured only an array of Pileateds, other birds, and mammals, and no hint of IBWO. I've always found recorded acoustic evidence problematic and less than convincing, and there are but glimmers of it here (of both 'kent' calls and 'double-knocks'), as well as the usual glimmers of possible sightings. One can find nuggets of optimism if one so chooses, but the overall general weakness of findings will fuel increasing doubts.

The most encouraging factor to me is simply that only around 12% of the Big Woods was studied; yet even this is tempered somewhat, in looking at the Cornell maps, by seeing that the searched sites actually sample a wide range of areas throughout the Big Woods region (not just concentrated on a couple of southerly honed-in-on spots). Still, there is much groundwork left to be done.

I am glad that a systematic second search season is now underway in the Big Woods, but understand why many will be shifting their interest and focus to other areas (Fl., La., Ms., remain the Ivory-bill's most likely hangouts, or S.C./Tx. according to some) --- and Cornell's efforts have been instrumental in inspiring/planning many of the other searches.

At the very least it seems increasingly unlikely that any sort of significant population of the birds, as many originally hoped, will be found in the Big Woods; a few stragglers or isolated cases possibly being the best one can hope for at this point, and if they're not documented this search season most agnostics/fence-post sitters will no doubt fall to the skeptical side, at least for Arkansas.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Final Cornell 2005-6 Summary --

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cornell's final summary report of their 2005-6 search season in AR. is finally available (pdf) here:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/current0607/FinalReportIVBWOO.pdf

Haven't finished reading it yet... may or may not have more to say about it in days ahead. For now I'll just say, better late than never...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- The "60 Year" Blip --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I still hear from folks who consider the 60-year lapse in confirmed Ivory-bill presence some sort of significant number, so I'll repeat:

1. There have been 100's of reports/claims of Ivory-bills over those years. If you choose not to believe any of them, that's YOUR choice, but don't pretend 60 years have passed with no reports of Ivory-bills.

2. EVEN if we had gone 60 years without a single IBWO claim, how many times need I say it --- 60 years is NOT necessarily a meaningful period of time in the natural history of a species; it ISN'T, it's NOT, it never has been... It is simply naive, shallow, and hubris-bound to believe that something can't exist just because it's gone unseen by human eyes for 60 years. THIS is science based on FAITH (in human capability; usually considered imperfect) and nothing more.

3. The efforts to find Ivory-bills the last 60 years have been puny --- mostly one or two-man searches for a weekend or a week in very limited areas prior to year 2000. The much-vaunted LSU/Pearl search (2002, almost 3 FULL YEARS after Kulivan's claim) was still but a small team effort for a month in one locale of one state of one area of the Southeast. Last year's Cornell search, another 5 mos. or so in one area. If you string all the serious searches of the last 60 years together end-to-end what do you have, 3, maybe 4 years worth of well-organized meaningful searching in a few parts of a vast amount of difficult habitat... and THIS is s'posed to be definitive? Thankfully, such laxity doesn't hold forth in the physical and engineering sciences; only in biology or medicine would such definitive statements arise from such limited data.

John Fitzpatrick of Cornell says, "Searching for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker has finally blossomed into a long-overdue, systematic national effort spanning all the big forests of the Southeast where the species could persist." And Ron Rohrbaugh adds, "We'll never know if ivory-bills persist outside of Arkansas unless we undertake systematic searches of key areas, a task that should have been done decades ago." Ahhh yes, looking for a bird where it might perchance hang out before guessing it to be extinct --- an insightful idea and scientific approach that many fail to grasp.

When all such areas have been fully explored, or when 100 years have passed with no credible sightings, I'll pay heed and take note of it; until then, I'll give as much attention to those who trumpet "60 years" as a loooong time as I give to those who believe the planet is less than 10,000 years old and all claims to the contrary are based on shoddy misreading of the geological record.

Happy weekend all!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Mississippi ? --

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cornell mentions Mississippi among the states with upcoming, organized IBWO searches that they are assisting. Mississippi is certainly one of the states most likely harboring Ivory-bills, yet this is the first I've heard of official organized searching there. I'm aware individuals are searching on their own in MS. but can anyone fill me in (preferably via email) on what more official or systematic endeavors are being made???
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Of Ivory-bills and Vegans --

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Over the years I've known several people who became vegetarians or even vegans after eating and enjoying meat for 30-40 years and even thinking meat was necessary for their health. In actuality, many things that we think of as necessary in life are in fact little more than ingrained preferences, that we can easily live without.

In biology much is made of the notion of specialist versus generalist species. But this is just a human construct and a false black-and-white dichotomy. ALL creatures are specialists in some sense, it is only a matter of degrees. Indeed, pigeons and starlings may in fact be "specialists" just as much as Ivory-bills, even if we humans haven't yet perceived or categorized their particular specializations.

Following Tanner, writers came to blindly repeat the notion that Ivory-bills REQUIRED certain foods, certain size trees, certain amount of space for survival, but without evidence to support such definitive claims. No amount of repetition by itself validates such statements. Tanner showed only that a pitifully small sampling of Ivory-bills preferred certain foods... when available, preferred certain trees... when available, and utilized a certain number of square miles... when available. That Ivory-bills could NOT survive without bark beetle larvae, without large first-growth trees, and on less than 6 square miles simply has never been shown, and is actually quite a leap of logic (Ivory-bills, being 15-20% larger than Pileateds, could likely make do with trees 20% larger than those used by Pileateds, and such trees are plentiful.) To truly know the needs/requirements of a creature one must know its physiology and cognition --- behavioral cues/observations by themselves are not enough to base such firm conclusions, and yet that is principally what we have for the Ivory-bill (there are possible physiological reasons why the IBWO species might be unable to survive without beetle larvae, but these are rarely discussed).

Maybe time will show that Tanner, or his interpreters, got it right from the start, but I'm still waiting for the evidence, not mere regurgitation, that would validate that. And in the meantime, 1000's of acres of land that do meet Tanner's requirements await searching.
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-- The More The Merrier --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yet another Ivory-bill search blog has begun, this one by photographer Kyle Gerstner, soon to join the Auburn team in the Choctawhatchee. He says the blog is for "family and friends," but I s'pose we can all peek in from time to time:

http://kylegerstner.blogspot.com/

One of my acquaintances and his wife will be joining the Auburn team at about the same time as Kyle for a 3-month sojourn. A Merry Campephilus to all!


Addendum: Kyle appears to have now taken his site down.
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-- 'Believers' Forum --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Awhile back some of the Ivory-bill 'believers' and searchers disenchanted with the IBWO atmosphere over at "BirdForum" migrated to their own (mediated) discussion site at:

http://www.ibwo.net

If you followed IBWO matters over at BirdForum then many of the names and thoughts here will be familiar --- if the BirdForum discussion intrigued you, or if you never followed that site, then their new venue is worth a gander (...if you were critical/skeptical of the old site, the new site won't likely alter your viewpoint). Thus far, there are about 70 members of the new forum (which was started, by the way, by Donald Kimball).

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-- Habitat Review --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With the South Carolina and other official searches soon to get underway might be a good time (especially for newbies to the topic, or potential independent searchers) to review the conclusions of Bill Pulliam who earlier this year employed Terraserver to spot locales suitable for Ivory-bills throughout the southeast:

http://bbill.blogspot.com/2006/03/potential-ivory-billed-woodpecker.html
and,
http://bbill.blogspot.com/2006/03/summary.html

...and to review the thoughts of long-time IBWO searcher Bob Russell on good places to look:

http://www.birdingamerica.com/toptenibwpsites.htm

So much habitat in need of searching (maybe 8000-14000 sq. miles)... and yet many are already saying they'll give up on the species if this limited search season goes unsuccessful. Luckily, real field science doesn't operate on arbitrary timetables nor armchair analysis, but depends on those hands-on few willing and able to do the toilsome, on-the-ground work necessary, however long it takes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Texas Note --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A note here about some details of the upcoming Texas Ivory-bill search:

http://gcbo.typepad.com/gulf_coast_bird_observato/2006/11/ivorybilled_woo.html

And elsewhere on the Net it's mentioned that the S.C. search begins anew this coming Mon. (...I didn't realize any of the major organized searches were initiating before Christmas!).
As mentioned before I'm not terribly optimistic about either the Texas or S.C. searches, but still good to see serious and enthusiastic searches taking place in these locales, which need to be covered once-and-for-all in an organized manner. Go for it and prove me wrong!
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-- Stuff --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A few things makin' the rounds:

Zoologist/chemist Fred Virrazzi has written the following article for a local Audubon newsletter regarding the level of evidence for Ivory-bill existence:

http://www.monmouthaudubon.org/PDF_files/DecJan07c.pdf

Geoff Hill has an update on his Auburn IBWO website, focussing on one specifically-recorded loud knock that correlated with one of their team's original Ivory-bill sightings:

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/cosam/departments/biology/faculty/webpages/hill/ivorybill/Updates.html

David Luneau has posted some pictures of fall in the Big Woods here (...all the pictures, except the one everyone clamors for!):

http://www.ibwo.org/Pictures/Fall%2006%20album/index.htm

Don't know whether or not The Ghostbird movie, an independent documentary originally centered on the find in the Big Woods and the town of Brinkley, AR., is extending itself to some coverage of the Florida panhandle events or the coming winter searches... If not, it ought to be out by now or very soon (at independent film festivals). Final preparations will soon be being made for the searches to begin in earnest in January.

Soooooo.... are we having fun yet?!!!
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-- Parrots Down-Under --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a case of good timing, John Trapp who I just referenced a few days ago has a post today alerting readers to a rather fascinating story about an Australian parrot that has some parallels to our American IBWO controversy (it also has some parallels to some historical cases I shan't mention!):

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20816235-28737,00.html

John ends his post wondering if "the whole world is going stark, raving mad!" ...I guess I'm more inclined to wonder if we are possibly coming to our senses as to how flimsy and bare our assumed knowledge of flora/fauna is. . . .
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Another Scientist Weighs In --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
European mathematician/physicist Dr. Jan Swart wrote the following essay (in PDF form) on the Ivory-bill controversy, entitled "Rediscovering Tanner's Woodpecker; reflections on the survival of the Ivory-bill," summarizing several of the arguments put forth thus far (needs some U.S. editing):

http://staff.utia.cas.cz/swart/IBWO.pdf

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- This Just In --

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of possible interest, this note just in from an "anonymous" source, regarding discovery (in October) of a large South American woodpecker:

"It appears that a large woodpecker, Celeus obrieni, known only from a single specimen collected in Brazil in 1926, was just rediscovered. Details, including photos of the bird in the hand, are posted in Portuguese at:

http://arruda.rits.org.br/notitia/servlet/newstorm.ns.presentation.NavigationServlet?publicationCode=
6&pageCode=67&textCode=19739&date=currentDate&contentType=html

Surely details will be posted soon in English. "

There is much debate over whether Celeus obrieni is truly a fully separate species or just a subspecies of Celeus spectabilus --- see: http://www.museum.lsu.edu/~remsen/SACCProp59.html
The division of species is often a difficult, tricky, and dare I say, somewhat arbitrary decision (not nearly as scientific or definitive as some assume) --- when there is only one prior specimen recorded, all the more difficult and shaky. I haven't seen any genetic analysis on this particular case (which would also not necessarily be definitive), and physical features and habitat alone, can be very misleading cues in individual instances.
Still, having said all that, the idea that a large living woodpecker specimen has been found that doesn't match anything seen since 1926 is, needless-to-say, intriguing. Make of it what you wish....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Bird Blogs --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just a 'filler' post today, not very IBWO-related: Sometimes people ask which general bird blogs I read regularly, so herewith a list of 8 U.S. blogs, rounded out with 2 general bird sites, I frequent --- this is not necessarily a list of "best" or "most informative" blogs, just some I often find newsy, interesting, quirky, or otherwise entertaining (for my personal taste) :

http://birdstuff.blogspot.com/ --- Possibly my favorite blog just to lean back and take a gander at. John (Trapp, who runs it) will probably be surprised to hear this since we have some itsy-bitsy, teeny-weenie disagreements over matters, but the quirkiness and unpredictability of John's posts is often a breath of fresh air (although he also covers the more routine 'headline' news of the birdworld as well). He also includes an excellent set of links to other bird blogs (recently updated) in the right-hand margin.

http://birdwatching.birderblog.com/ --- Laura Erickson's popular and widely-followed blog --- very frequent and varied posts; a routine daily stopover for many of us.

http://birdchick.com/blog.html --- Another fairly familiar, well-read and somewhat quirky blog, and one that I think gets better and better over time... but be aware, you need a high tolerance for bunny rabbits to visit routinely!

...and (in no particular order) five more fairly 'standard,' basic bird blogs that I think are consistent from week-to-week :

http://birdchaser.blogspot.com/

http://birddigiscoping.com/blog.html

http://dendroica.blogspot.com/

http://wildbirdonthefly.blogspot.com/

http://10000birds.com/

and finally, 2 general birding sites I usually find worth stopping in on:

http://www.littlebirdiehome.com/

http://www.surfbirds.com

A majority of you are likely already familiar with the above sites, but if not, drop by them during your internet hopscotching, and give a look-see... or, there are a jillion other birding blogs/sites out there to suit everyone's particular tastes/interests.
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-- Another Not-So-Extinct Bird --

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Among other things) Yogi Berra was known for saying, "the game's not over 'til it's over," but he might just as well have said, "they ain't extinct 'til there's no more left." The Madagascar Pochard, a nice-sized diving duck many thought extinct, has been found (13 of them so far) swimming around oddly enough, in perfectly fine habitat in northern Madagascar --- on the count of ten I guess we're all supposed to act surprised about this! The last known one was captured (and died in captivity) in 1991. Multiple sightings hadn't occurred since around 1960. How DARE living things exist for years outside the sight of humans!!

It's said that you can't be 'a little bit pregnant'... some of us hold strictly to the odd notion, ungrasped by others, that you also can't be a little bit extinct....

http://www.kbcitv.com/news/4700151.html
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-- The Thanksgiving 'List' --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---> Ten Things I'm Thankful For This Thanksgiving :


10. Seinfeld re-runs

9. Wi-fi

8. Shetland sheepdogs

7. Dark chocolate M&Ms

6. Presidential term limits

5. Steve Jobs

4. Google

3. The Auburn Biology Dept.

2. Rumors

1. ...A pulse


--- Here's hoping all of you have many things (...and don't forget the 'simple' things) to be grateful for this Thanksgiving!!

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-- Winter Surprises --

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Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have long-migrated from my local southeastern locale, but this weekend I got to watch as a lst-year Rufous Hummingbird was captured and banded at a house a few blocks from me. In recent years the appearances of these Rufous Hummers (and occasionally other "western" hummer species) have become routine, though still rare. As word gets out for people in the southeast to leave their hummingbird feeders up in wintertime and watch for the possibility, each year more of these oddities get reported. Still, one can't help but wonder how many of them are missed totally each and every cold season --- dozens... 100's... 1000's across the region???

It is difficult to know if more and more of these li'l jewels are making the winter sojourn eastward than ever before, or, as may well be the case, they have in large part always been here (in winter), but only in recent times been noticed. Watching this feisty little tyke get fitted for a leg band I couldn't help but think how just a few decades ago someone reporting a hummingbird in their backyard in winter here would've been met with all-knowing skepticism, but now we know better, and it is a cause of much interest and serious study. Just another example in the bird-world of how little, really, we know, or comprehend with certainty.... and how that knowledge constantly changes over time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Stretched Thin ? --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A post on the Arkansas listserv this weekend again sought volunteers to sign up by Dec. 1, for the Cornell Big Woods search this winter. If interested go here:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/latest/volunteer/document_view

There are a limited number of birders around the country who have the time, backwoods skills and equipment, personal funds, and interest to take part in these searches, and with serious endeavors planned for Florida, S.C., Texas, and possibly other locales in addition to AR. one wonders if the qualified applicant pool isn't pretty well thinned out now for the amount of acreage deserving of interest.. This has always been the catch-22 of IBWO searching: there probably aren't enough qualified, willing searchers to thoroughly cover all potential habitat out there at once, and if you use available manpower to fully cover certain specific locales then other worthy areas likely go inadequately investigated.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- National Geographic Article --

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nice summary article in the latest National Geographic edition on the Arkansas situation:

http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0612/feature6/index.html

Nothing really new to report, but interesting, extended, and well-written piece with some good quotes.
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-- Just Another List --

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--- Nine Things NOT likely to happen in 2007... and One That Might :


1. Sacha Baron Cohen releases his latest film entitled "Borat Wanders the American Southern Swampland In Search of that Very Most Elusive Ivory-beaked Woodpecker, For the Benefit of Mankind."

2. David Sibley claims to see an Ivory-bill in Arkansas but nobody believes him, when the bird in his only photograph appears to be an Imperial.

3. By a sheer random drawing, Geoff Hill and John Fitzpatrick are picked to compete against one another on "Wheel of Fortune."

4. The great great grandson of Mason Spencer walks into Van Remsen's LSU office one Friday afternoon and plunks down a freshly-shot Ivory-bill, inquiring, "So is this the dang thing you fellas been lookin' fer???"

5. Bobby Harrison's Ivory-billed Woodpecker Foundation receives $2.5 million from George Soros (...and boy, is the Big Woods Conservation Partnership pissed).

6. Following the double impeachment of Bush/Cheney, President Pelosi and Vice-President Kerry are sworn into office.

7. Peace on Earth

8. Bigfoot is captured in the Minnesota woods and discovered lo-and-behold to be a well-known internet skeptic.

9. Jennifer Aniston marries Cyberthrush.

10. A photograph taken in Florida shows a large black-and-white woodpecker that everyone agrees is NOT a Pileated.

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-- Ripples --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As predicted earlier, 2 conservation groups as well as a local pilots' group are now suing the government over plans to construct a new $300+ million airport in a remote area of the Fl. Panhandle near the Choctawhatchee River (potential home of Ivory-bills):

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/1114-05.htm

Whenever, wherever IBWOs are found there will be ripple effects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- And From S.C., This --

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http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/16006134.htm

or,

http://www.heraldonline.com/109/story/9063.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Louisiana Searchin' --

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funding is being sought for aerial flyovers of appropriate habitat in parts of (east, west and central) Louisiana in the search for Ivory-bills:

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/4626651.html

This is likely a response to many rumored IBWO sightings in La. over the last year --- although Fla. probably has the largest IBWO population, La. may well have had more actual rumors the last couple yrs. stemming from different parties, and both states have much excellent, but difficult to access habitat.

I am personally doubtful that IBWOs remain in either Texas or S. Carolina (though many think so, and I'm glad to see serious searches being conducted there), but should IBWOs be located in both La. and Fl. I believe it will say much about prospects for the entire Fl.-Ga.-Al.-Ms.-La.-corridor that the bird could easily have moved along and remained hidden in for the last 60 years. The Arkansas find opened up the potential for a more northerly (and even less explored) corridor as well: Mo.-IL.-Ar.-Tn. Or, it is always possible we are dealing with separate and isolated populations, though this seems more doubtful given the risk of genetic bottlenecks over time.

It's amazing that so many individuals who claim to be interested in and concerned about endangered species have given up so quickly on this species with so many reports afloat, just because the initial spot-checks done to date (and they're not much more than that) have failed to confirm. Some people are putting tremendous (and unwarranted) faith in human knowledge which is neither perfect or all-encompassing, while greatly (and routinely) underestimating nature, the 'will to live,' and the drive to reproduce.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- The Question of Cameras --

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the points made in Auburn's update of their winter search plans is their decision to employ digital SLR cameras rather than videocams while searching --- based on the premise of higher quality/resolution for any pictures attained, at a reasonable cost. People may have varying opinions about this depending on their personal photography experience, and notions about photographic evidence as well as any trade-offs involved. I'm sure the Auburn group already has access to excellent opinions on the subject, but if any readers have thoughts they want to contribute on the matter (or want to recommend brands or pertinent features/specifications) send them along as a comment for posting (...the Auburn group reads the blog) --- do keep in mind that the team has budgetary constraints, so there's no point in recommending the most high quality, failsafe, precision-operated equipment you can imagine...

I'm curious myself if any of the growing number of binocular -digital camera-all-in-one combinations that are now on the market are yet of sufficient quality to be of much use on IBWO searches (have not heard of them being used)?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Auburn Update... & Common Question --

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First, this update on the Auburn group's plans for the coming search season:

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/cosam/departments/biology/faculty/webpages/hill/ivorybill/Updates.html


Secondly, John Trapp of Birdstuff blog recently sent me a question I hear a lot:

"I'm curious, cyberthrush. What would you consider to be compelling evidence for extinction" of the IBWO (or any other creature for that matter)?"

This is a simple, basic matter. "Extinction" is a very significant (maybe even extraordinary) claim and thusly requires very strong evidence. Theoretically, one should thoroughly search all likely potential habitat and find no sign of a creature in order to declare it extinct (is that so hard to comprehend?) This is occasionally possible for creatures residing on islands or very limited geography, but for most creatures, including the IBWO it is not very practical and is never fully accomplished. Thus, we usually accept some passage of time without reports as adequate. But too many creatures have been "re-discovered" after 50-60 years' absence. ~100 years with few or no credible reports is a far safer, scientifically-sounder criteria. If the Ivory-bill had truly gone even 60 years with no credible reports it would be discouraging, but it hasn't. There have been credible reports of Ivory-bills throughout its history --- since the 30's the species has probably never gone even five years without a credible report, i.e. a report that couldn't be quickly dismissed upon interrogation (though most of these reports aren't well publicized or written about unless there was significant follow-up). The fact that IBWOs, if extant, likely reside in difficult and sparsely (if ever) birded areas means even more caution is necessary in passing judgment.

As indicated in the previous post, if serious searches continue in several areas for the next few years, and 50 years pass with no credible reports from elsewhere, then I would find that, combined with the previous history, compelling evidence for the likelihood (much greater than 50/50 chance) of IBWO extinction. It's really pretty simple: to presume something extinct, look for it thoroughly, extensively, and without success, and/or let a truly significant amount of time pass --- I think that's a pretty minimal requirement, both scientifically and common-sensically. A declaration of "extinction" is essentially a declaration of (species) "death" --- how many of you would feel fine being declared dead and nailed inside a coffin based on the sorts of evidence (basically differences of opinion) thus far presented....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Of Loch Ness, Bigfoot, and IBWOs, Oh My --

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surprisng how often and loosely skeptics are using analogies to the Loch Ness monster and Bigfoot in their ill-formed arguments. For starters, no one knows whether either Nessie or Bigfoot truly exists or not; these are not wholly mythical creatures like the unicorn as they seem to imply; there IS evidence for them. But let's assume these creatures never really existed, then the analogy is useless since everyone agrees the Ivory-bill did exist as recently as 60 years ago. You can't compare the IBWO predicament to something never existent. However, if either of these creatures did exist then the analogy is perfect, as yet another example of a large creature evading confirmed detection over a lengthy period of time --- either way, the analogy in no way degrades the arguments for IBWO existence (it is either useless or supportive); it remains just further sophistry amidst the striking paucity of evidence for extinction.

On-the-other-hand... skeptics, by focussing on various uncertainties in the Ivory-bill evidence and offering alternative, wholly speculative explanations for other presented evidence of IBWOs, are using the very same commonplace techniques (for raising doubts) employed by those who argue against evolution with it's gaps and alternative explanations --- that analogy, to the intelligent design folks (who claim life is too complex, i.e. "extraordinary", to be explained by the simple mechanisms of evolution) is much more to the point of what is going on here. Ivory-bills, seen in New York's Central Park, or 30 at a time flocking in Texas' Big Thicket... now, those would be "extraordinary" claims. An occasional IBWO glimpsed in appropriate (and sparsely-birded) southeast bottomland habitats... nothing extraordinary here folks, move along, move along.

Real science often requires patience --- it's taken over 50 years just to get us to a point where serious searching is finally underway in some locales (albeit, still on a small scale); if photography/videotape is now suddenly the new standard of evidence we can wait another decade for that, if necessary. Or... if 50 years pass with no additional credible sightings, I'm willing to say on the basis of that evidence that, probabilistically, the species has likely gone extinct... except that, probabilistically, in 2056 I won't be around to say it.
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-- Happy Days --

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happier Days are here again (...for all life on the planet), Americans choosing to take Congress, democracy, and the Constitution, back --- neither scaremongering, dirty tricks, Rovian shenanigans, nor questionable voting machines could sway enough folks to side with the dark inept forces of the Cheney Administration this time around. What next... an Ivory-bill photo???
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-- Skeptics' View --

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skeptics look at evolution:

http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=3191

....and at the supposed moon landings:

http://www.apfn.org/apfn/moon.htm

....because afterall (according to some), extraordinary claims/beliefs require 'extraordinary proof,' not mere theoretical evidence.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- The Jizz of Birding --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Several recent bird volumes have focussed on the importance of the 'jizz' of a bird in field identification (or if you prefer, the 'giss,' general impression of size and shape). While the emphasis on this gestalt aspect of bird identification is somewhat new, it is in fact the way most experienced birders have always ID'd the vast majority of birds seen in the field.
Next month 10's of thousands of birds will be turned in on Christmas counts with no videotape, no photographs, no field notes, no verification or validation of any kind (if you want to sign up for a Christmas count, but choose instead to watch football, drink beer, eat popcorn, and turn in a totally bogus list of counted birds, hey easy enough to do). Most of these bird IDs will occur in a matter of seconds (or less). In fact upon seeing a bird in the field, only a fraction of a second is usually needed to rule out 99+% of all known birds --- see a little brown bird hop from one bush to the next --- great blue heron, goshawk, blue jay, herring gull, sulphur-crested cockatoo, and thousands of other birds are immediately ruled out without any deep thought --- upon a second brief glance you may have it pinned down to one of 3 birds, or maybe specifically to winter wren, such is our ability to use a few glanced cues to pinpoint a species. In fact after ID'ing a bird, if asked what field marks were seen, one must often pause to bring to cognition whatever marks were involved in forming the identification, the process is so quick and unconscious for long-time birders.

Yet, in the case of the Ivory-bill, we are told experienced birders are not to be trusted. Multiple field marks must be seen and recorded, and photographs or videotape required... though it doesn't apply to 99.99% of all other birding where 'jizz' is the routine modus operandi, and is even more powerful when there are only two likely candidates for a sighting. Yes, mistakes happen, especially among novice and less experienced birders who play a significant role in Xmas counts where the data gathered is truly questionable. But do I believe that the likes of John Terres, John Dennis, Tim Gallagher, Geoff Hill, and a couple dozen others were all mistaken over the years in their claims of seeing something missing the 'jizz' of a Pileated Woodpecker, leaving but one possibility --- No. Seeing an Ivory-billed Woodpecker is not nearly as extraordinary as adamently and repeatedly discounting the observations of so many credible observers over decades is --- a kind of egocentrism or jealousy seems involved in so persistently placing one's own personal biases and speculation ahead of multiple others' onsite observations. Birds can, and most often are, ID'd by gestalt at a glance. Still, one ought not trust the accuracy of Xmas counts or lifelists, especially given that the notion of "species" itself is imprecise, somewhat arbitrary, and in flux. These are worthy of skepticism, as are most all field studies which purport to make generalizations about birds based upon inadequately small and non-random sample sizes, poor controls, ill-defined variables, and often without any replication. There is PLENTY to be skeptical of in the so-called science of ornithology. But do I accept the likelihood that some birders in the last 3 years have seen a certain single species, Ivory-billed Woodpeckers, and that still to this day the majority of potential habitat has been inadequately, indeed barely, searched? Yes, indubitably.
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-- More of Same --

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A current news story (mostly re-hash) from Brinkley, AR. centered largely on David Luneau and some video he took ; - )

http://www.kfsm.com/global/story.asp?s=5627065

BTW, David has some updated info on remote camera systems under development at his website:

http://www.ibwo.org/

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-- Cornell Report Near Completion --

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cornell's summary report of last year's Big Woods' search season is virtually complete and apparently close to 50 pgs. long (don't know when they'll have it linked to on the Web or if they will only put a condensed version online). Other than the massive amount of audio data they've had to analyze, not sure why the long delay in bringing to completion. But as I've said for decades the name of the game in Ivory-bill circles is 'patience, patience' and that continues to hold, especially as there are almost always things going on in the background which aren't well publicized (...and rightly so, as they may lead nowhere).
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-- Another Article --

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October article from a Toronto newspaper (pdf format) on the Florida find:

http://www.kirtlandbirdclub.org/pdf/Ivory-billed_woodpecker_toronto_star_09262006.pdf

(also, note list of rediscovered "extinct" species along right-hand margin)

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-- Friday Miscellany --

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The latest issue of "Birder's World" Magazine has a Top 20 listing of the most sought-after N. American birds. Not surprisingly the Ivory-billed Woodpecker tops the list. Picks 2 thru 20 however, are a little more debatable:

1. Ivory-billed Woodpecker
2. Painted Bunting
3. Snowy Owl
4. California Condor
5. Whooping Crane
6. Great Gray Owl
7. Atlantic Puffin
8. Elf Owl
9. Violet-crowned Hummingbird
10. Magnificent Hummingbird
11. Elegant Trogon
12. Gyrfalcon
13. Bohemian Waxwing
14. Arctic Loon
15. Horned Puffin
16. Red-cockaded Woodpecker
17. Kirtland's Warbler
18. Harlequin Duck
19. Northern Hawk Owl
20. Blue-throated Hummingbird
...........................................................................

If you haven't already seen it, this page highlights the various research interests of Auburn's Dr. Geoff Hill, now of course highlighted by the search for the Ivory-bill:

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/cosam/departments/biology/faculty/webpages/hill/research.html#Ivorybills


... and finally on a different note, "Ivory Bill Jones" continues his misadventures in search of IBWO here:

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2782856

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-- Auburn Group's Blog --

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The "volunteer" group (who are operating out of the Nokuse Plantation) of Geoff Hill's 3 Choctawhatchee Ivory-bill search teams now have a blog up-and-running. Looks very promising, though there will no doubt be certain matters they can't say too much about:

http://ibwo.blogspot.com/

A welcome addition to the blog and IBWO communities!...
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-- Bobby Harrison Foundation --

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Bobby Harrison has apparently begun the fledgling stages of a non-profit foundation for the pursuit of the Ivory-bill:

http://www.bobbyharrison.com/SiteNews.aspx

Also, another related story here:

http://www.islandpacket.com/editorial/col/thatsthat/story/6182599p-5406149c.html
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-- Reviewing the Assumptions... again --

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To believe that Ivory-bills survive today one must make one underlying assumption; namely that SOME of the 100's of people to report IBWOs in the last 60 years were right. Conversely, a belief that IBWOs went extinct in the 40's requires an assumption that ALL of those 100's of claimants (eliminating the few outright hoaxes) have been mistaken, no matter how credible or knowledgeable the observer; i.e. none of the claimants are to be believed, but the judgments of all who followed these folks into the woods and failed to confirm the species ARE automatically adjudged meaningful. What are the chances?

Further, to argue for extinction one must presume that all pertinent areas of habitat have been adequately searched over time by enough competent observers, to rule out any likelihood of existence. Talk about "faith-based ornithology" --- the extinctionist stance rests completely on an unwarranted faith in the ability of scientists to have adequately searched all appropriate areas of the southeast US over the last 60 years... with cameras in hand no less, despite extensive searches being few and far between.

The Ivory-bill is not a mythical creature as some others may be (Loch Ness, Bigfoot, Martians?); everyone accepts that it existed in the 1940s (indeed, Tanner thought it existed in three dispersed locales, La., Fl., and S.C., even though he was unable to find the majority of them). For it to be alive today it needed only what all creatures need, a will to live, an impulse to breed, and a place to do both safely (as every other southeastern woodpecker succeeded in doing). Extinctionists have brought forth a pittance of evidence that it lacked any of this and yet on the basis of that pittance all-knowingly presume the species gone forever (largely for lack of a photograph).

The Ivory-bill was known to reside variously in bottomland mixed hardwoods, upland pine forest, and cypress swamps, and yet been pigeon-holed as a 'specialist' species requiring old growth habitat for survival (the fact that the last few individuals studied were in old growth forest, and that such habitat may have been favored when present is in no way an indication that it was a requirement for survival... anymore than observing college students eat pizza three days a week is an indication that pizza is a requirement for student survival). Indeed, few other birds of the American Southeast showed such specialist tendencies. (The very notion of 'specialist' versus 'generalist' is a somewhat arbitrary concoction of the human mind since all creatures have certain specialist tendencies.)

The Ivory-bill once existed; it is no longer hunted; it's potential habitat has only grown over the last several decades and is searched on but rare occasions; and other southeastern woodpecker populations have grown over that time. What is really more likely then, that there are zero left and (extraordinarily) every single reported sighting over that time is a mistake, or that some percentage of those reports are true? Given the typical creature's 'will to live' and adaptability, the typical scientists' 'rush to judgment' and overgeneralization, and the misunderstood short span of ecological time involved (60 years), and this creature's specific use of remote dense canopies, tree cavities, and rapid flight, you already know my answer to that question.
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-- John Dennis Book --

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A book that may be of interest to up-and-coming Ivory-bill searchers (recently recommended by a Birdforum poster) is John Dennis's old, but still informative, volume "The Great Cypress Swamps," available through Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Cypress-Swamps-John-Dennis/dp/0807115010

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-- On Display --

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you're not able to make it to the Choctawhatchee River to look for IBWOs this winter, a surer bet is to go to the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainsville and see two Ivory-billed specimens that will be on display through mid Jan. 2007:

http://news.ufl.edu/2006/10/18/woodpeckers/

These may be the two nesting birds that Arthur Allen famously had under observation in 1924 until the State issued a permit for them to be collected basically for historical purposes because of the species' incredible rarity... seemed like a good idea (to some officials) at the time!!!??? Go figure...

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-- Big Birds --

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Somewhat interesting speculative post and fun read from another blog today:

http://biofort.blogspot.com/2006/10/of-washington-eagles-ivory-bills-and.html

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-- Alabama Birding Festival --

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Alabama Coastal BirdFest opens this Thursday for 4 days in Fairhope, with a featured speaker being Alabama resident Bobby Harrison on his Ivory-bill experiences. He will be showing the (very) brief film footage he has which never gained any media traction, but which some claim shows an Ivory-bill in flight.

http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/news/1161076554232190.xml&coll=3#continue

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-- Conflict Brewing ??? --

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Arkansas it was a major irrigation project put into question; in Florida there may be an airport at stake. Before Auburn's announcement of Ivory-bills along the Choctawhatchee River a new airport was planned near Panama City near the south end of the very same river. It was already controversial before the Ivory-bill claim; it will likely become even moreso now. Here's a couple of articles on the proposed airport from a month ago (and prior to the Ivory-bill news, which comes from farther north on the river):

http://www.nrdc.org/media/pressreleases/060915.asp

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/16/State/Panama_City_airport_o.shtml

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-- Of Photos, Sagan, and Sincerity --

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Photos, photos, bring on the photos... skeptics keep imploring that a good photo will persuade them --- that's all that's needed. Good photos however can be faked (actually faked fairly easily, and with more effort and skill even a video can be faked)... it STIIIIIIILL ultimately comes down to a matter of trust... if you don't trust the individual submitting the photo(s), then the photos are of little value. Cynics don't believe the sightings that have been reported because they don't trust those doing the reporting --- they trust their own strained mental gymnastics but not multiple peoples' on-site observations.

Astronomer Carl Sagan believed in the existence of extraterrestrials, not because there was any hard evidence to support it (there is virtually none), but rather because there was virtually no evidence against it (except for decades of flimsy efforts to make radio contact in a few locales of the Universe), and therefore probabilistically it becomes likely. The same holds true in Ivory-bill land, except that there ARE ongoing reports decade after decade. Fa-a-a-ar more evidence exists for IBWOs than for extraterrestrials.

Given the extent of habitat rarely set foot upon by birders, and a bird that can be invisible inside tree cavities or high, dense canopies, there will be NOTHING remarkable in a confirmed discovery of Ivory-bills after 60 years. And some skeptics, having arduously painted themselves into a tight corner will sound disingenuous if they exclaim with born-again enthusiasm how great it is that the birds, yada, yada, yada, have finally been found and documented... at that point some of us will be justly skeptical of their truthfulness --- more likely certain cynics (they know who they are) would be chagrined and galled at the confirmation of this species and the skewering/spoiling of their personal credibility --- their judgments (on endangered species at least) being reduced to naivete. In a face-saving measure any such finding will be deemed 'miraculous' rather than admit that there never was any compelling evidence for the species' extinction. The prospect of living, breathing Ivory-billed Woodpeckers is likely now threatening to many (no, not all) who will be sorry to see even a single member of this species posing for a camera... but don't expect any cynics to admit this, nor to take any responsibility for the 50-year delay in finding the birds.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--- Some Rank-Orderings ---

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A state roll-call of the top dozen places to look for Ivory-bills:

1. Florida
2. Louisiana
3. Mississippi
4. Arkansas
5. (southern) Georgia
6.(southern) Alabama
7. South Carolina
8. (east) Texas
9. (west) Tennessee
10. (southern) Illinois
11. North Carolina
12. (southern) Missouri

....and a top dozen of where not to look for IBWOs:

1. Minnesota (especially Minneapolis)
2. (north, south, east, or west) Alaska
3. Hawaii (and most any other Pacific islands)
4. Maine (good for Puffins, poor for IBWOs)
5. Oregon (too rainy)
6. Wyoming (cattle yes, IBWOs not-so-much)
7. Rhode Island (a tad too few bottomland swamps)
8. New Hampshire, or is it Vermont (I always get these two mixed up)
9. New Mexico (although strange things do happen in Roswell)
10. North Dakota (or South D. for that matter)
11. Kansas (too flat)
12. Michigan (especially the Upper Peninsula)

...always tryin' to be helpful... and it's a slow news day.
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-- This 'n That --

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In an odd quirk of timing yesterday, after I'd posted a link to some previous John Arvin IBWO articles (in Texas), John posted a new update to his "chronicles" on the TX. birding listserv, here:

http://www.surfbirds.com/phorum/read.php?f=8&i=38182&t=38182#reply_38182

Also, I've been informed the contact person I listed yesterday for S.Carolina (Craig Watson) is no longer in that position, although any IBWO-related communication sent to him will get forwarded to the correct individual.

On a different matter, some weeks ago a Cornell email admitted that their final summary report for last season's search was "well overdue," and saying that it was a "joint effort with federal, state, and private agencies," and had to meet all agencies' satisfaction. before release. It will be posted on their site as soon as ready (...hopefully, before the next season begins ; - ) --- maybe, in an odd quirk of timing it will show up tomorrow!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- The Ivory-bill and Texas --

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A couple of Ivory-bill articles by Fred Collins and John Arvin related to the search in Texas, which will continue this winter :

http://www.houstonaudubon.org/index.cfm/MenuItemID/540.htm

http://www.gcbo.org/ibwo.html

If you're interested in participating in this season's Texas search John Arvin is probably the individual to contact:

John Arvin
jarvin@gcbo.org

Gulf Coast Observatory
Lake Jackson, TX. 77566
fax 979-480-0777

While at it, I may as well also mention that if you're interested in the S. Carolina search a contact person is:

Craig Watson
Craig_Watson@fws.gov

South Atlantic Coordinator
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Charleston, SC 29407
fax: 843-727-4092
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-- Field Tech Reminder --

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just a reminder for anyone interested in joining the Auburn group on their winter Florida search (Jan. 2 - May 30, 2007) that they are giving highest consideration to those who apply by OCT. 15th!! Their invitation to applicants reads as follows:

"We are currently taking applications for full-time searchers for the 2006/2007 field season. The minimum time commitment is January 2 to May 30, 2007. Searchers willing to work through Christmas and New Year holidays are also especially needed. Stipend is $1200/mo with no benefits. Anyone willing to join the full-time search without receiving a stipend will get special consideration. Searchers will live in a remote camp in a tent or in a bunkhouse and must purchase their own food. Please send resume, contact info for two references, and a page summarizing why you want to be part of the search, your level of physical fitness, and your skills as a kayaker, canoeist, hiker, and birder to Brian Rolek at brianrolekATgmailDOTcom. Applications received before Oct 15, 2006 will get first consideration. "

And for those who aren't able to join the Auburn team but are interested in visiting the general area at some point they list several other locales along the Choctawhatchee worthy of searches here (toward bottom of pg.):

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/cosam/departments/biology/faculty/webpages/hill/ivorybill/Advice.html
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-- At Last, A Photo! ; - ) --

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, as passed along to me from one of my astute top-secret sources, a photo of the biggest woodpecker in N. America:

Here! .....[ for (im)mature?? audiences only ]

--- And below an article from yesterday's Times-Picayune newspaper on the search for the Ivory-bill in the Pearl River area with reference to Mike Collins and Susan Epps:

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-17/1160293173143460.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

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-- Another Blast From the Past --

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For today, again I'll just re-run a post from one year ago:

"People often don't realize how many sightings of Ivory-bills have been turned in over the decades. Some folks have the impression there are but a couple of unverified reports over the last 60 years and that's it (...no wonder they buy into a notion of IBWO extinction). Most IBWO literature mentions at most just a couple dozen Ivory-bill claims since the mid-40's that have some credibility, but the actual number of reports in that time (that could not be quickly dismissed as hoaxes or mis-identifications) are many times that number -- only the MOST credible ones make their way into the literature. On-the-other-hand, so far as I'm aware the Ivory-bill's contemporary, the Passenger Pigeon, has had virtually no credible reports since the 1930's (indeed few since it's supposed extinction in 1914), while reports of Ivory-bills are a regular occurrence during that time. If mistaken identifications are such a common occurrence one must wonder why have there not been dozens of reports of Passenger Pigeons over the decades, a species with a far wider-ranging habitat than the IBWO and one that could easily be confused with various other birds given a quick glance? Yet P. Pigeon sightings lie dormant while IBWOs show up again and again and again...

BUUUT... what has always intrigued this writer most is NOT the many IBWO sightings turned in over time, but the likely dozens more sightings NEVER turned in at all. They fall into the following categories:

1. Birders who believe they have seen Ivory-bills but never reported it for fear of the scoffing, jeering, or intimidation they would face.

2. Birders who believe they have seen Ivory-bills (might even have photographic proof), but who believe it UNethical to report such a finding, for fear of the potential havoc brought upon the birds.

3. Birders who have had fleeting 'low-qualiity' glances at big black-and-white woodpeckers in woods and automatically shrugged it off as Pileateds, when in fact they had observed IBWOs.

4. Hunters, fisherman, backwoodsmen, who have seen IBWOs, but didn't have a clue what they were seeing (nor care) and so never reported it.

5. Hunters, fishermen, etc. who have seen IBWOs, and knew EXACTLY what they were seeing, and deliberately chose NOT to report it for fear of Government intervention and tight regulation of the land involved.

My guess is we would be stunned if we knew the actual number of human-Ivorybill encounters in the last 60 years, and it would leave little doubt but that the species survives today in remote corners of the American Southeast.
Has any other bird species EVER generated so many reports over a 60-year period and still been written off as extinct by so many? I doubt it."

In a couple months birders will assiduously fan out to cover their (easily-accessible) local areas in the most methodical organized birding that regularly takes place, called Christmas counts. For all those efforts, the data generated will be some of the most weak, loose, imprecise, nonvalid, questionable, and unverified data that gets routinely published in the scientific world. As yearly data it is virtually meaningless and uninterpretable (only by looking over 10-20 year 'trends' can meaning sometimes be teased from it). And the search for the Ivory-bill has never even met that level of effort. When all the bottomland/swampland areas of the South have been thoroughly searched (as well as certain other forest tracts) then folks can pass some reasonable judgment on the survival of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Ahead of that time skeptics are just wildly speculating, without any good basis, that a bird that keeps getting reported is no longer with us. Ohhh, and please keep those Passenger Pigeon reports rolling in as well...
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-- Another New Species --

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Yet another newly-discovered bird species has been found, this time a "brush-finch" in the Colombian mountains --- visit locales birders rarely traverse and (surprise, surprise) find birds rarely if ever seen before:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-10/ci-nbd100506.php

(...or pray tell, is it just a case of a leucistic pileated house sparrow and some overactive imaginations???)

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-- Is This Whole Debate Giving You a Headache? --

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If this whole Ivory-billed debate is giving you a headache you may want to read this article by Dr. Ivan R. Schwab of the University of California, Davis, on how Pileated Woodpeckers carry on their lives pounding daily on wood and not getting a headache. Schwab and the late Dr. Philip May (UCLA) just won an Ig Nobel prize for their work on why woodpeckers don't get headaches : - )

http://bjo.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/86/8/843

On the other hand, if this whole subject is giving you gas and flatulance, then I'm afraid I can't help you.
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-- Another Searcher's Report --

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One of my readers has sent in the following link to his search report from the Choctawhatchee:

http://www.southfloridabirding.com/html/Choctawhatchee.html

Search took place in early Sept. and was unsuccessful, but nice reporting on the area and lots of photos to give a feel for the habitat. Best chance of a 'successful' search for the birds (with photos) will be during the winter months when leaves are off the trees.

By the way, Cornell is continuing their call for participants for the continued search of the Arkansas Big Woods this winter. Don't know if they will have a hard time filling slots, given the re-directed interest in Florida now, but I would urge those who are able to lend them a hand. They'll be concentrating on the White River Refuge this season and the vast majority of that habitat was NOT searched last year. I, for one, believe there are still Ivory-bills waiting to be found there.

Finally, in the "gotta-give-'em-a-plug" Dept. I noticed on the "Partners" section of Dan Mennill's Ivory-bill website several of the usual sorts of conservation participants, but then one a little more unusual, the Pelee Island Winery. If they support the search for the Ivory-bill then I'm all for... hic... supporting... hiccup... them... hic... (seriously, they look to be a very environmentally-conscious business deserving our patronage). Check out some of their red wines here, complete with birds on the labels, and then browse the rest of their site:

http://www.peleeisland.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_main.html?catid=5

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