Monday, October 02, 2017

-- Collins on "Periodic and Transient Motions of Large Woodpeckers" --

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Here is Mike Collins’ latest publication regarding his Ivory-bill data:

…and he lists his other major summaries of data in this bird listserv posting:
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1 comment:

john said...

Mike is thorough and devoted. However, I have some difficulties with this article. It would be proper to comment where I read it, but this requires some kind of subscription, so I comment here.

1. He is a mathematician. He is using feature words like "periodic," "transient," and "impulsive" in their most strict sense. However, for an ecologist-- those who it could be said are most interested in the IBWO question, these words have quite different meanings. This got in the way for me a bit, for understanding. I don't have a good answer to change this.
2. I would not have found this reference on Ivory-Billed Researchers Forum, which shows the fragmentation of the various projects. This does not help find the bird. Peer review, for some disciplines, is fine, but it begs the question-- who are the experts here? Humility is needed, and a fallback on logical thinking. Since anything written about the IBWO is of most use to field researchers at this point, there should be a central site or journal to publish in.
3. Mike is commenting and interpreting existing evidence, as other do (old journals, etc.), looking for clues. Of course these help, but I would love to read more ideas that are forward-thinking, as to how to get a photograph of this bird!