-- R.I.P… Bill Thompson III --

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Not Ivory-bill news, but feel I should pass along the sad news that Bill Thompson III, husband of Julie Zickefoose (painter of and writer about IBWOs), father of Phoebe (22) and Liam (19), long-time publisher/editor of Bird Watcher’s Digest, podcaster, author, and music-lover, passed away from pancreatic cancer on Monday at the age of 57.

His last update (March 23/24) on his “CaringBridge” site is here:

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bt3updates

Some tributes here:

https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/birdwatching/in-memoriam-bill-thompson-iii/

He'll be deeply missed, but he had a rich, fulfilling, if too-brief, birding life, and spread the joy of birds (and many other joys) to all who entered his sphere.

The world would be a better place if we could all contribute so much cheer in 57 years.

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-- Springtime Updates --

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Mark Michaels has a new post up for their Louisiana search, including more details on methods/criteria being employed, and a further mention of the attempt to attain analyzable DNA from scaled bark.

They have swapped out their first set of audio recording devices… he mentions, but doesn’t go into detail, obtaining “preliminary results” from the deployments, so I’m not sure if that means all audio has been reviewed already or more likely is still underway? I imagine another post for specific putative audio findings will come later.

https://projectcoyoteibwo.com/2019/03/25/trip-report-march-5-17-2019/

And Jackson Roe, at his blog (in Arkansas), also recently entered another post wherein he speculates about the suitability of Western Cuba for IBWOs.

https://ibwosearch.blogspot.com/2019/03/overlooked-cuban-ivory-billed.html

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