Nice summary piece of Ivory-bill matters at this point here:
http://www.miller-mccune.com/environment/long-slog-for-the-ivory-billed-woodpecker-36270/
My favorite quote from it comes from Chuck Hunter with USFWS:
“If no further observations are made, it could be another 30 years before the species is declared extinct... But within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife community, we are not ready to declare it extinct. I have not seen compelling evidence to suggest it’s extinct.”
That reflects my own outlook (though I think the "30 years" figure an exaggeration)... I'm not just looking for solid documentation that the species exists; I'm looking alternatively for compelling evidence that it does not, and given the number and type of reports across decades, that evidence (for extinction) also remains largely conjectural and less-than-overwhelming.
On a complete side-note, those who recall Dr. Martin Collinson's past role in the IBWO debate, may be interested to know he has authored an article in the current edition of "Birding" concerning the identification of the (likely extinct) Eskimo Curlew:
http://blog.aba.org/2011/09/thoughts-on-the-september-2011-birding-part-1-of-3.html
[above pic via Wikimedia Commons of original Singer Tract IBWOs]
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