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Recently, I was a bit surprised to see Dwight Norris, who runs the largest of the various IBWO Facebook groups, and who I don’t often see pass judgment on matters there, end a posting by writing, in reference to the publicized IBWO claims for Saluda, S.C., that he “and many others consider it to clearly be a hoax.” [If you don’t know about the Saluda story I won’t squander time explaining it here, other than to say it is chockfull of problems.] I assume(?) that Dwight means he believes the first-hand individual making the claims is hoaxing, and not the secondary individual, J.W., who has been the face reporting the story to the public (though at every opportunity that he has had to walk away from the story, he seems to double-down on it, despite some of the published material being retracted).
I am always on the watch for hoaxes, and don’t rule it out 100% in this case, but my own take has been that this is a more complicated, nuanced circumstance, involving mental/psychological aspects that place it in a different category than simple “hoax” (at least relative to some of the prior straight-out IBWO hoaxes that have transpired). I won’t discuss those nuances, as it would be too speculative and uncertain, but simply submit that “hoax” might not be the best, or most accurate, word for it (...always possible, though, that time will prove me too generous here!).
In any event, I don’t believe Ivorybills are extant in South Carolina… but IF they are, surely not in Saluda County. Evidence (reeeal and definitive evidence) that they persist in Saluda, let alone have been there for over 2 decades, would be perhaps the most incredible story in the entire annals of American ornithology. I’ll gladly settle for an incredible story coming say out of the Atchafalaya or Apalachicola or Pascagoula; no reason to reach for the fantastical.
Speaking of the swamps, for any who've never seen it, will conclude with this old video tribute to our special bird from long-time IBWO searcher/enthusiast Mike Brown:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/179784035376368/permalink/5294385227249531/
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3 comments:
The Saluda data was excellent, yes of a too-good-to-be-true level, but it was real. I am guessing you did not read the USFW submission nor studied the linked videos. The nomadic nature of the species certainly could bring them there-- not far from Congaree, not far from the Savannah River. There also was an unrelated report from the Saluda area at that time. The main problem with the entire event was the data-owner's personality which was unstable, insulting, over-reaching, vain, and prejudiced. Would you like to see the hundreds of emails he sent me revealing these qualities? He obtained even better data than was presented that I tried negotiating for release, even going so far as offering to ghostwrite. I recognized the data was important and put a lot of effort and time into analysis. Anyone who claims hoax or mis-ID has not been able to refute it with the necessary level to be taken seriously. And-- it's a shame about Dwight's FB site-- the off-topic postings now outnumber IBWO five-to-one (similar to Susan Cook's FB site). I stood up to bullies and trolls there, when Dwight was absent from any kind of moderation (on his own site). There were people using obscene, vulgar, and personal language, writing the same post ten times, basically taking over the site that way. A number of these were birders with professional links and jobs. I retired as a secondary school teacher and my professionalism was 24-7. If I behaved that way on social media I could have lost my job. The birders with professional links and audiences should be held to the same standards. Dwight does not like me to the extent he writes "He hypes this as the most important news on Ivorybills since the 1930s". Hype is insulting-- show me where I write with hype Dwight. Quote me. I prefer to write with understatement and let the data speak for itself. The real victims here are the serious young biologists who go to Dwight's site and are not seeing the real research advances being made for the IBWO. Project Principalis' are great but are not the only ones.
What are these "real research advances" that are being made?
Perhaps it is the sound data that has since been withdrawn. From my understanding, that data also comes from the Saluda, S.C. source.
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