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Many folks may feel overwhelmed by the final slew of comments in to USFWS, which unfortunately came flooding in largely at the very end. It was 29 days of not much, except for the latest Harrison evidence, and then suddenly being bludgeoned by an avalanche of downloads (would’ve been nice if they had been spread out over the 30 days, but oh well). Anyway, if I had to pick just one comment for readers-pressed-for-time to look over it is Mark Michaels (National Aviary) here, which is receiving a fair amount of chatter (again this is from Louisiana in case you get confused by all the different locales, that claims and videos are now coming from):
https://www.regulations.gov/comment/FWS-R4-ES-2020-0109-0210
Within his comment are actually 8 separate downloads (and, depending on your system, some take quite awhile to complete), but begin with his overall presentation 20220722 (the key drone footage of a flying bird, which appears to be a woodpecker with interesting field marks, begins around the 12-minute mark, of a 28-min. presentation, and is best viewed on as large a screen as you have available). Unfortunately, Mark admits somewhat having to rush the preparation of this presentation, so it is not as polished as it could be, and there are no arrows, circles, marks, etc. to help guide the viewer through the footage — you will want to freeze-frame and patiently replay video parts multiple times. And then also look over some of his other 7 comment offerings as you have time and inclination (especially the zoomed version of "video3Landing"). The video, BTW, is from February of 2021. I am by no means convinced this is an IBWO (for one thing, once again I don't think leucism has been adequately discussed,and also potential issues of artifacts and lighting), BUT there are many interesting frames, and some have already voiced the view of ‘what else could it possibly be!?’
In that light I have NO interest in arguing back-and-forth here what the bird is because we will settle nothing, and frankly we are mostly riff-raff in the birding world! What I would again be interested in (though it almost certainly won’t happen) is to see a dozen or so of the most widely-respected and known field birders out there tell us what they see in this video. The variety of opinion might be interesting, or perhaps all would find reasons to downplay the clip; I’m not sure, but I think this video is open to more insights than most we've been privy to. Unfortunately, many of the “best” birders out there simply won't spend time on a debatable IBWO video anymore and I wish it were otherwise, but I also understand their utter frustration. I know of birders who won't go near the IBWO debate any longer for fear that it will taint them... not to mention viewing it as a waste of their time. :(
One final note: I was disappointed to see prominent ornithologist and skeptic Mark Robbins quoted as saying (of the bird) “it could be anything.” Well, unless maybe you're looking on a phone or small mobile device, no it could not be anything! I'm not fond of hyperbole from either side: don’t like believers saying that a crystal clear photo is now required (it isn’t) or that evidence thus far put forth is “proof” (again, no), and also no, this could NOT be a Ruby-throated Hummingbird or any of several hundred other North American species!… perhaps I’m being a bit harsh, ‘cuz I think I know what Robbins meant, and the quote may well be taken out of context (as the press routinely does), but it still grates, and this is an interesting bird on film, so excuse me for venting a little ;)
...Anyway, will send you off into the weekend with this old John Anderson piece I used to link to on occasion, and which the Michaels' piece somehow reminded me of:
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ADDENDUM:
It occurs to me I ought reiterate a point I brought up earlier which is that it is a shame that USFWS simply sits there and views these presentations without asking any questions or comments (this footage begs for questions). Even better would be to have some independent outside ornithologists there to aid in asking questions. What does USFW do, take this material to the inner Agency for broader consideration by others, but when the presenter is no longer present to answer questions or offer clarifying explanations? I’m sure they have reason for their policy (though it may be nothing more than time efficiency), but it leaves me scratching my head as to how this is good scientific practice? Meanwhile, some questions and commentary that could've been dealt with at the time, will instead fill up certain social media circles.
2 comments:
I'm not totally convinced we can rule out Pileated. There seems to be too large an amount of white on the upper suface of the wings for a Pileated, but the low video resolution may cause the white area to blow up.
well, again, we will settle nothing here, but the massive white does appear in many frames from many angles, and does to me rule out normal PIWO though not necessarily leucistic PIWO. But moreover, the massive white doesn’t even match IBWO, so it requires explanation (which is possible, given photo effects) for its appearance, and means other candidates besides PIWO have to be considered.
Anyway, again, I would prefer to hear from expert field birders and field filmographers than for many of us to try hashing this out on our own (...and I fear most of them may not even bother to look at it).
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