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Rightfully so, the Florida news has captured everyone's attention lately, but no one should forget that this winter there will also be organized searches in Arkansas, Texas, and South Carolina at a minimum; and if you time it right you can participate in at least two different states. I would hope that some level of official, organized (academic or FWS-sponsored) searching would take place in Louisiana, Mississippi, southern Georgia, southern Alabama, and western Tennessee as well, but don't know what the chances are. Probably those birders both willing and able to commit to such exploits will already be spread thin enough with just those first four states.
This year's AOU meeting in Veracruz, Mexico, begins Oct 3. Thank goodness all the Florida stuff is out on the table ahead of time so that attendees can actually have some intelligent discussion of it. What may be just as interesting as any empirical discussion of the evidence will be the more human elements, reactions, emotions, chatter, controversy, exhibited. This whole topic is such a hot potato by now, I suspect we will witness the same hesitancy (even cowardice I would say) on the part of many ornithologists to stick their necks out or take the issue seriously as has been exhibited for 50 years -- fearing to voice the minority view that Ivory-bills survive. Rather than take a proactive stance for fear it might turn out to be wrong, they'll instead sit back in a do-nothing-say-nothing, cautious, wait-and-see posture. In the meantime the life of a species hangs in the balance. It is ashame that at a time when we should be encouraging all possible reports/claims from credible sources to be turned in cynics, with their derision, negativity, antagonism, general disparagement are once again discouraging/hindering such disclosures. In regard to the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and the majority of birders/ornithologists who ought to be on its side, that old adage seems to hold forth: "with friends like these who needs enemies."
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Friday, September 29, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
-- ...And Another Commentary --
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Thanks to Laura Erickson for clueing me in to this IBWO commentary, in the Miami Herald, from a 'developers' point-of-view:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15624722.htm
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Thanks to Laura Erickson for clueing me in to this IBWO commentary, in the Miami Herald, from a 'developers' point-of-view:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15624722.htm
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-- Are We Having Fun Yet!? --
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Here we go again... the bashing of the Florida Ivory-bill sightings and sighters is under full-swing from the Ivory-bills-are-extinct-because-we-say-so crowd. It is clear that until photographic evidence is obtained other forms of evidence for the existence of Ivory-bills are virtually a moot point in many quarters at this point. This is a horrible state-of-affairs (given again that it is based on an unsupported presumption of the bird's extinction), but it forces the hand of all those doing searches --- effort that might better be expended in other ways and study, must now be concentrated on attaining the demanded photographic evidence, before other progress can follow. With that in mind, just a few suggestions regarding the forthcoming Florida winter search:
1. whenever possible searchers should operate in pairs (one of whom carries a videocamera), and should proceed from opposite ends of search areas -- i.e., if a main search area is a 3 mi. stretch along the Choctawhatchee, half the search teams start at the north end (both sides of river and in the river itself) moving slowly south and half at the south end moving north.
2. at least one person (maybe more) on the project should have significant, if not professional-level, photography skills, operating a quality zoom camera (not just a videocam) under the given habitat conditions. This person need not even be a knowledgeable birder, but rather have the requisite wildlife photography skills and experience.
3. until photographic evidence is obtained, concentrate time looking for and monitoring FRESHLY-made scrapings and cavities, and less time on cataloguing all cavities and foraging signs, and thoroughly search such areas for feathers-of-interest as well. In areas of fresh appearing scrapings slather a molasses-type product on nearby tree trunks/stumps to try and further attract the birds (or attract insects that will attract the birds). Frankly, spend less time in general on sound recordings (but of course monitor areas from which sounds emanate), field notes, routine data collection, going to the bathroom(!), etc. until the necessary video/photo is obtained --- in short, initially forego a lot of normal and potentially valuable study data, in favor of simply documenting the species photographically. Once obtained then the study can proceed in the comprehensive manner that is most important. It is a sad state of affairs when one feels compelled to tell a team of scientists, "DON'T do research for the time being, do PHOTOGRAPHY," but that is where we've arrived at in the current Bizarro world of ornithology. One wonders what scientists a century henceforth will think when they look back at the foolishness of those who would let a species die by sheer neglect for lack of a pretty picture.
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Wednesday, September 27, 2006
-- Summary of Links --
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Just a quick summary of some of the most relevant links from the last 24 hrs. (on Fla. Ivory-bills):
Dr. Geoff Hill's Auburn webpage on the Florida discovery:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/cosam/departments/biology/faculty/webpages/hill/ivorybill/index.html
Dr. Dan Mennill's (collaborator with Dr. Hill) website on the discovery and evidence:
http://web2.uwindsor.ca/courses/biology/dmennill/IBWO/IBWOindex.php
current issue of online journal Avian Conservation and Ecology including Dr. Hill et.al.'s research:
http://www.ace-eco.org/
To apply for a position with the Auburn team as a field tech this winter:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/cosam/departments/biology/faculty/webpages/hill/ivorybill/Join.html
Good newspaper coverage of the Florida find:
http://www.annistonstar.com/opinion/2006/as-columns-0925-jflemingcol-6i25u1829.htm
Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission report on "historical distribution and habitat" for Ivory-bills in the state:
http://myFWC.com/imperiledspecies/reports/FloridaReportRecoveryPlanFinal_June06.pdf
Radio program ("Wildside News") including an interview with Dr. Hill:
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/wildsidenews/wsnsegments/092806a.wax
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Just a quick summary of some of the most relevant links from the last 24 hrs. (on Fla. Ivory-bills):
Dr. Geoff Hill's Auburn webpage on the Florida discovery:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/cosam/departments/biology/faculty/webpages/hill/ivorybill/index.html
Dr. Dan Mennill's (collaborator with Dr. Hill) website on the discovery and evidence:
http://web2.uwindsor.ca/courses/biology/dmennill/IBWO/IBWOindex.php
current issue of online journal Avian Conservation and Ecology including Dr. Hill et.al.'s research:
http://www.ace-eco.org/
To apply for a position with the Auburn team as a field tech this winter:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/cosam/departments/biology/faculty/webpages/hill/ivorybill/Join.html
Good newspaper coverage of the Florida find:
http://www.annistonstar.com/opinion/2006/as-columns-0925-jflemingcol-6i25u1829.htm
Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission report on "historical distribution and habitat" for Ivory-bills in the state:
http://myFWC.com/imperiledspecies/reports/FloridaReportRecoveryPlanFinal_June06.pdf
Radio program ("Wildside News") including an interview with Dr. Hill:
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/wildsidenews/wsnsegments/092806a.wax
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Tuesday, September 26, 2006
-- Florida Cliff Notes --
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Here's a brief summary and commentary of the news from Florida -- and I want to stress people should still read as much of the online material on their own as they can in order to get a sense of the detail I am leaving out:
In May of 2005 experienced birder Tyler Hicks (while with 2 other people from Auburn University) spotted an Ivory-bill in flight along the Choctawhatchee river in the Florida panhandle. Since then at least 13 credible sightings have been recorded by the Auburn team consisting of lead investigator Dr. Geoff Hill, Dr. Dan Mennill of U. of Windsor (in Canada), and grad students Brian Rolek, Tyler Hicks, and Kyle Swinston. Hicks' 2 sightings are regarded as 2 of the most detailed (including sighting a female), but Rolek has actually had 10 of the total sightings. Also worth noting, 2 of the sightings were of a pair of the birds. Dr. Hill is quoted as saying, "I am 100% positive I saw an Ivory-bill," and additionally as commenting in regards to the amassed evidence, "I can't imagine how we could be wrong."
7 observers to the area heard either "kent" calls or double-knocks as associated with IBWOs, and these occurred over 41 separate occasions. As many as 50 kent calls and 45 double-knocks occurred during the single greatest instance. 7 automatic recording units that were put in place recorded 210 instances of possible kent calls, and 99 possible double-knocks.
Numerous large cavities were found in the area including 131 that were measured and catalogued. Significant instances of bark scaling were also documented, including the tightness of the bark-adherence, which in some cases only an Ivory-bill could likely accomplish.
The Choctawhatchee has ~60 km of bottomland habitat likely suitable for IBWOs, only a small patch of which was actively explored. Dr. Hill DOES NOT want the specific location of their study given out, for obvious reasons, and would like the birds and his team to be left undisturbed when on premises. However, he does list several other areas on his webpage along the Chocawhatchee that are worthy of study (also, they found no evidence for IBWO north of the Choctawhatchee in Alabama). And I'll just add that there are areas in every single southern state, and also Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky that need some attention, so, please, don't everyone think of rushing to the Florida panhandle. Again I would surmise that IBWOs exist in a minimum of 5 states and possibly as many as 9.
Though the team involved in this find is thoroughly convinced of the presence of Ivory-bills, they concede that in today's atmosphere their evidence falls short of 'definitive, due to the lack of adequate video/photo documentation (they have some very poor video/photo, which they have chosen, I think wisely, not to release -- in today's atmosphere, as they have acknowledged, having no video/photo is better than having fuzzy video/photo, which simply distracts from the rest of the evidence).
Now, for some commentary -- just initial reaction from my first go-over of the data/evidence:
1. any such bottomland backwater area is likely to include many large woodpecker cavities; I don't find anything very convincing in the specific cavities that are exhibited on the website, despite the measurements, which in some cases might be indicative of IBWO (but could've been enlarged by other means or animals, as well). Many of the photoed holes seem clearly not to be IBWO and I'm not clear what the purpose of even including them on the site is (unless it is strictly for comparative purposes).
2. auditory evidence is always difficult to assess due to many variables; the sheer volume of it here however is rather impressive; the fact that 'kents' and double-knocks are often found in conjunction with one-another, and also in conjunction with major bark-scaling is certainly enticing, as well as the fact that so much was picked up on ARUs in addition to what humans heard; intriguing evidence to be sure, but not conclusive.
3. the scaling of tightly-adhering bark (assuming the measurements are accurate) is a very suggestive sign, although in general, we are not at a point yet where scalings can be diagnostic yet for either PIWO or IBWO.
4. finally, yet once again, what is most powerful in this evidence (in my view) are the human sightings/descriptions by credible, experienced birders who know Pileateds from IBWO -- at least 13 total -- including again, different days, different angles, different observers, and sightings of female birds (and yes, there happen to be field notes as well).
From my standpoint we are dealing here with Ivory-bills until shown otherwise, because those on-site who should know, believe so --- this is opposite of how skeptics choose to see it ('they saw Pileateds until proven otherwise'), because of their underlying, ill-supported, but unwavering belief in Ivory-bill extinction which skews their perception of any gathered evidence.
In fairness to skeptics though, let me concede that this still could all be an elaborate hoax involving cleverly-made, remote-controlled mechanical decoys (at least I know of NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER ruling this out) --- until someone catches and cuts open one of these Florida specimens to see if perchance they are filled with mere electromechanical circuits and hardware, in place of muscle and internal organs, we must be open to all alternative explanations... or so at least may run the next line of argument from some cynic out there!! It won't surprise me. Seriously, I fear the eventual result of all this controversy, in an area that simply cannot be policed, will at some point be delivery of a dead carcass. And THEN, maybe, perhaps, we'll ALL be convinced.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a brief summary and commentary of the news from Florida -- and I want to stress people should still read as much of the online material on their own as they can in order to get a sense of the detail I am leaving out:
In May of 2005 experienced birder Tyler Hicks (while with 2 other people from Auburn University) spotted an Ivory-bill in flight along the Choctawhatchee river in the Florida panhandle. Since then at least 13 credible sightings have been recorded by the Auburn team consisting of lead investigator Dr. Geoff Hill, Dr. Dan Mennill of U. of Windsor (in Canada), and grad students Brian Rolek, Tyler Hicks, and Kyle Swinston. Hicks' 2 sightings are regarded as 2 of the most detailed (including sighting a female), but Rolek has actually had 10 of the total sightings. Also worth noting, 2 of the sightings were of a pair of the birds. Dr. Hill is quoted as saying, "I am 100% positive I saw an Ivory-bill," and additionally as commenting in regards to the amassed evidence, "I can't imagine how we could be wrong."
7 observers to the area heard either "kent" calls or double-knocks as associated with IBWOs, and these occurred over 41 separate occasions. As many as 50 kent calls and 45 double-knocks occurred during the single greatest instance. 7 automatic recording units that were put in place recorded 210 instances of possible kent calls, and 99 possible double-knocks.
Numerous large cavities were found in the area including 131 that were measured and catalogued. Significant instances of bark scaling were also documented, including the tightness of the bark-adherence, which in some cases only an Ivory-bill could likely accomplish.
The Choctawhatchee has ~60 km of bottomland habitat likely suitable for IBWOs, only a small patch of which was actively explored. Dr. Hill DOES NOT want the specific location of their study given out, for obvious reasons, and would like the birds and his team to be left undisturbed when on premises. However, he does list several other areas on his webpage along the Chocawhatchee that are worthy of study (also, they found no evidence for IBWO north of the Choctawhatchee in Alabama). And I'll just add that there are areas in every single southern state, and also Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky that need some attention, so, please, don't everyone think of rushing to the Florida panhandle. Again I would surmise that IBWOs exist in a minimum of 5 states and possibly as many as 9.
Though the team involved in this find is thoroughly convinced of the presence of Ivory-bills, they concede that in today's atmosphere their evidence falls short of 'definitive, due to the lack of adequate video/photo documentation (they have some very poor video/photo, which they have chosen, I think wisely, not to release -- in today's atmosphere, as they have acknowledged, having no video/photo is better than having fuzzy video/photo, which simply distracts from the rest of the evidence).
Now, for some commentary -- just initial reaction from my first go-over of the data/evidence:
1. any such bottomland backwater area is likely to include many large woodpecker cavities; I don't find anything very convincing in the specific cavities that are exhibited on the website, despite the measurements, which in some cases might be indicative of IBWO (but could've been enlarged by other means or animals, as well). Many of the photoed holes seem clearly not to be IBWO and I'm not clear what the purpose of even including them on the site is (unless it is strictly for comparative purposes).
2. auditory evidence is always difficult to assess due to many variables; the sheer volume of it here however is rather impressive; the fact that 'kents' and double-knocks are often found in conjunction with one-another, and also in conjunction with major bark-scaling is certainly enticing, as well as the fact that so much was picked up on ARUs in addition to what humans heard; intriguing evidence to be sure, but not conclusive.
3. the scaling of tightly-adhering bark (assuming the measurements are accurate) is a very suggestive sign, although in general, we are not at a point yet where scalings can be diagnostic yet for either PIWO or IBWO.
4. finally, yet once again, what is most powerful in this evidence (in my view) are the human sightings/descriptions by credible, experienced birders who know Pileateds from IBWO -- at least 13 total -- including again, different days, different angles, different observers, and sightings of female birds (and yes, there happen to be field notes as well).
From my standpoint we are dealing here with Ivory-bills until shown otherwise, because those on-site who should know, believe so --- this is opposite of how skeptics choose to see it ('they saw Pileateds until proven otherwise'), because of their underlying, ill-supported, but unwavering belief in Ivory-bill extinction which skews their perception of any gathered evidence.
In fairness to skeptics though, let me concede that this still could all be an elaborate hoax involving cleverly-made, remote-controlled mechanical decoys (at least I know of NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER ruling this out) --- until someone catches and cuts open one of these Florida specimens to see if perchance they are filled with mere electromechanical circuits and hardware, in place of muscle and internal organs, we must be open to all alternative explanations... or so at least may run the next line of argument from some cynic out there!! It won't surprise me. Seriously, I fear the eventual result of all this controversy, in an area that simply cannot be policed, will at some point be delivery of a dead carcass. And THEN, maybe, perhaps, we'll ALL be convinced.
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-- Florida IBWO Webpage/ Addendum --
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Dr. Geoff Hill's IBWO webpage appears to be back up at same URL used yesterday (can't tell at a quick glance what changes/updates there may be), but assume this is the updated version. It includes a link to their online journal article.
Having a lot of problems this morning uploading posts on Blogger --- great timing Blogger ! : - (((
I know some others around the country are having same difficulty, so not sure how often I'll be on today, but at some point today or tomorrow will try to summarize the Florida findings. In the meantime read and digest... For others having same difficulty I did have some luck switching from Firefox to a different browser just for uploading purposes, FWIW.
===> Addendum: those interested in APPLYING FOR POSITIONS with the search team can go directly to this page for application info:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/cosam/departments/biology/faculty/webpages/hill/ivorybill/Join.html
Also, just realized that the first issue of the online journal in which Dr. Hill's paper appears contains an additional Ivory-bill article (essay) on saving the the species' habitat:
http://www.ace-eco.org/vol1/iss1/art6/
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Dr. Geoff Hill's IBWO webpage appears to be back up at same URL used yesterday (can't tell at a quick glance what changes/updates there may be), but assume this is the updated version. It includes a link to their online journal article.
Having a lot of problems this morning uploading posts on Blogger --- great timing Blogger ! : - (((
I know some others around the country are having same difficulty, so not sure how often I'll be on today, but at some point today or tomorrow will try to summarize the Florida findings. In the meantime read and digest... For others having same difficulty I did have some luck switching from Firefox to a different browser just for uploading purposes, FWIW.
===> Addendum: those interested in APPLYING FOR POSITIONS with the search team can go directly to this page for application info:
http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/cosam/departments/biology/faculty/webpages/hill/ivorybill/Join.html
Also, just realized that the first issue of the online journal in which Dr. Hill's paper appears contains an additional Ivory-bill article (essay) on saving the the species' habitat:
http://www.ace-eco.org/vol1/iss1/art6/
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-- More Reading --
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Given that we have yet to see a summary report of last season's Arkansas search come out of Cornell yet, good article here on the past and upcoming more-streamlined Cornell efforts:
http://www.cornellsun.com/node/18563
If you like being able to say "I read it in The New York Times" you can peruse their initial (somewhat weak) coverage of the Florida find here (requires free registration), but hardly worth bothering with since the Anniston article below is MUCH better.
Also, for anyone interested in a one-year position in South Carolina take a look at this post over on Birdchick's blog requesting applicants for an Ivory-bill search leader in prime S.C. locales:
http://www.birdchick.com/2006/09/ivory-billed-woodpecker-job.html
no doubt there will be many more coverages of the Florida news in next day or two, but once Dr. Hill's webpage is posted (soon) I probably won't cite very many other references unless they truly add additional news or perspective to the story.
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Given that we have yet to see a summary report of last season's Arkansas search come out of Cornell yet, good article here on the past and upcoming more-streamlined Cornell efforts:
http://www.cornellsun.com/node/18563
If you like being able to say "I read it in The New York Times" you can peruse their initial (somewhat weak) coverage of the Florida find here (requires free registration), but hardly worth bothering with since the Anniston article below is MUCH better.
Also, for anyone interested in a one-year position in South Carolina take a look at this post over on Birdchick's blog requesting applicants for an Ivory-bill search leader in prime S.C. locales:
http://www.birdchick.com/2006/09/ivory-billed-woodpecker-job.html
no doubt there will be many more coverages of the Florida news in next day or two, but once Dr. Hill's webpage is posted (soon) I probably won't cite very many other references unless they truly add additional news or perspective to the story.
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-- News Article --
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While awaiting the re-posting of Dr. Hill's Florida IBWO-sightings website it is worth reading this nice, extensive coverage of the announcement in the Anniston Star newspaper (if you need a registration to open the article you can get a free 24-hour trial under the "services" section). Some good quotes and additional info:
http://www.annistonstar.com/opinion/2006/as-columns-0925-jflemingcol-6i25u1829.htm
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While awaiting the re-posting of Dr. Hill's Florida IBWO-sightings website it is worth reading this nice, extensive coverage of the announcement in the Anniston Star newspaper (if you need a registration to open the article you can get a free 24-hour trial under the "services" section). Some good quotes and additional info:
http://www.annistonstar.com/opinion/2006/as-columns-0925-jflemingcol-6i25u1829.htm
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Monday, September 25, 2006
-- The Florida Announcement + Addendum--
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The announcement of Ivory-bills found in Florida was, by mistake, briefly posted on the internet today 24 hours earlier than intended. It has since been removed and I assume will be re-posted on Tues. as originally intended. Even though many saw the site and have begun reporting on it, following the original plan I will leave out most details and simpy relay in a general way what will be found there:
multiple sightings of Ivory-bills by multiple individuals, including 10 sightings by one individual alone, have been recorded within a small area on the Florida panhandle over about a 15-month period; these include a clear sighting of a female in flight by Tyler Hicks (as most know, FEMALE sightings are particularly significant in IBWO reports). There have also been a significant number of detections of Ivory-bills by sound, both by humans on site and by automatic recorders. Scrapings and large cavities also recorded.
However, due to the current lack of adequate video/photographic evidence or direct DNA evidence the authors are unable to call their find absolutely definitive at this point in time, although they themselves are confident of the presence of Ivory-bills and obviously searching will proceed this winter. Many skeptics who now have a very vested interest in Ivory-bills never being found or confirmed will no doubt latch onto this lack of videotape to continue their cause. The team involved will be releasing all of their evidence for public perusal (except for the precise location of the sightings, for obvious reasons), and will be further presenting the evidence both in publication form and at the AOU meeting next week. Assuming their IBWO website is re-posted tomorrow I will link to it at that time, possibly with further comment (or I may have no further comment 'til after the AOU presentation).
Addendum: I've been informed the website mistakenly posted today is also an OUTDATED version with some old information; so tomorrow morning please be sure and link to the updated version (I assume this means possibly a new URL).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The announcement of Ivory-bills found in Florida was, by mistake, briefly posted on the internet today 24 hours earlier than intended. It has since been removed and I assume will be re-posted on Tues. as originally intended. Even though many saw the site and have begun reporting on it, following the original plan I will leave out most details and simpy relay in a general way what will be found there:
multiple sightings of Ivory-bills by multiple individuals, including 10 sightings by one individual alone, have been recorded within a small area on the Florida panhandle over about a 15-month period; these include a clear sighting of a female in flight by Tyler Hicks (as most know, FEMALE sightings are particularly significant in IBWO reports). There have also been a significant number of detections of Ivory-bills by sound, both by humans on site and by automatic recorders. Scrapings and large cavities also recorded.
However, due to the current lack of adequate video/photographic evidence or direct DNA evidence the authors are unable to call their find absolutely definitive at this point in time, although they themselves are confident of the presence of Ivory-bills and obviously searching will proceed this winter. Many skeptics who now have a very vested interest in Ivory-bills never being found or confirmed will no doubt latch onto this lack of videotape to continue their cause. The team involved will be releasing all of their evidence for public perusal (except for the precise location of the sightings, for obvious reasons), and will be further presenting the evidence both in publication form and at the AOU meeting next week. Assuming their IBWO website is re-posted tomorrow I will link to it at that time, possibly with further comment (or I may have no further comment 'til after the AOU presentation).
Addendum: I've been informed the website mistakenly posted today is also an OUTDATED version with some old information; so tomorrow morning please be sure and link to the updated version (I assume this means possibly a new URL).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- The N.C. Chainsaw Massacre --
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This article isn't about Ivory-bills, but it does give some indication of why any discovery of Ivory-bills can't just be announced willy-nilly to the public in the manner a lot of cynics might like to have done. A lot of preparation and planning (months if not well over a year) must precede any such announcement... why?... because homo sapiens are boobs... read away.
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This article isn't about Ivory-bills, but it does give some indication of why any discovery of Ivory-bills can't just be announced willy-nilly to the public in the manner a lot of cynics might like to have done. A lot of preparation and planning (months if not well over a year) must precede any such announcement... why?... because homo sapiens are boobs... read away.
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Sunday, September 24, 2006
-- Fitzpatrick Talk --
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This article tells a little about the talk Ivory-bill sighter Jim Fitzpatrick gave at the Meadowlands a week ago. One passage caught my eye:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article tells a little about the talk Ivory-bill sighter Jim Fitzpatrick gave at the Meadowlands a week ago. One passage caught my eye:
"How the bird survived is the $64,000 question," he said. "The speculation is that while all of the bird's habitat was being removed, parts of the ivory billed woodpecker population were driven into the heart of the big thickets in Texas. There, away from people, it could have been breeding for decades"I've never heard this "theory" put forth before and don't know where it stems from. Personally, I have some doubts that any Ivory-bills remain in the Big Thicket, but wish this winter's searchers there the best of luck. What seems likely to me is that Ivory-bills have been breeding in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi all the while, and surviving along the bottomland river corridor system that links these states (and in many minds, of course, S. Carolina remains highly viable as well). The more intriguing question, by far though, is just how far north (in locales possibly rarely ever searched) might they have established themselves? In that regard folks may want to be on the lookout for an Ohio publication cited in this internet posting which apparently will discuss some of the historical evidence for the Ivory-bill in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.
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Friday, September 22, 2006
-- Final Note on Field Techs --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To those of you who sent me your names/qualifications for the winter (NON-Cornell) IBWO study and have not heard anything back yet here is an update: as presumed, the P.I. is currently "swamped," not actively hiring at this moment, but will be soon. When the official announcement-of-the-finding is made there will be simultaneously a call for field techs; I would guess they'll be asking for a full resume and letter(s) of recommendation at that time. Watch for that notice (it should be easy to spot, and I'll no doubt link to it as well); when you see it respond with whatever is requested directly to the signified individual (some of you sent me fairly extensive 'blurbs' that were passed on, but an official resume will likely still be wanted). To the extent that there are qualified individuals who can free up enough time to take part in this project I'd expect the competition for slots to be significant. I'm already very excited for 2 people (including 1 personal acquaintance) who are joining the project team, and would love to see others of my readers get picked for this historic endeavor (...except uhhh, Tom Nelson probably need not apply, even though he reads me absolutely religiously).
Have a splendid weekend all; leaves are falling, it's a marvelous time of year... and, it's a marvelous time to be a birder in America.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To those of you who sent me your names/qualifications for the winter (NON-Cornell) IBWO study and have not heard anything back yet here is an update: as presumed, the P.I. is currently "swamped," not actively hiring at this moment, but will be soon. When the official announcement-of-the-finding is made there will be simultaneously a call for field techs; I would guess they'll be asking for a full resume and letter(s) of recommendation at that time. Watch for that notice (it should be easy to spot, and I'll no doubt link to it as well); when you see it respond with whatever is requested directly to the signified individual (some of you sent me fairly extensive 'blurbs' that were passed on, but an official resume will likely still be wanted). To the extent that there are qualified individuals who can free up enough time to take part in this project I'd expect the competition for slots to be significant. I'm already very excited for 2 people (including 1 personal acquaintance) who are joining the project team, and would love to see others of my readers get picked for this historic endeavor (...except uhhh, Tom Nelson probably need not apply, even though he reads me absolutely religiously).
Have a splendid weekend all; leaves are falling, it's a marvelous time of year... and, it's a marvelous time to be a birder in America.
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Thursday, September 21, 2006
-- Annie Dillard/ Mike Collins --
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From the ridiculous yesterday ("Ivory Bill Jones") to the sublime today --- a passage, just for the heck of it, by Annie Dillard from Pilgrim At Tinker Creek, Chapter 2, entitled "Seeing" ) :
"Unfortunately, nature is very much a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't affair. A fish flashes, then dissolves in the water before your eyes like so much salt. Deer apparently ascend bodily into heaven; the brightest oriole fades into leaves. These disappearances stun me into stillness and concentration; they say of nature that it conceals with a grand nonchalance, and they say of vision that it is a deliberate gift, the revelation of a dancer who for my eyes only flings away her seven veils. For nature does reveal as well as conceal: now-you-don't-see-it, now-you-do. For a week last September migrating red-winged blackbirds were feeding heavily down by the creek at the back of the house. One day I went out to investigate the racket; I walked up to a tree, an Osage orange, and a hundred birds flew away. They simply materialized out of the tree. I saw a tree, then a whisk of color, then a tree again. I walked closer and another hundred blackbirds took flight. Not a branch, not a twig budged: the birds were apparently weightless as well as invisible. Or it was as if the leaves of the Osage orange had been freed from a spell in the form of red-winged blackbirds; they flew from the tree, caught my eye in the sky, and vanished. When I looked again at the tree the leaves had reassembled as if nothing had happened. Finally, I walked directly to the trunk of the tree and a final hundred, the real diehards, appeared, spread, and vanished. How could so many hide in the tree without my seeing them? The Osage orange, unruffled, looked just as it had looked from the house, when three hundred red-winged blackbirds cried from its crown.===> AND, on a separate note, Mike Collins arrived back in the Stennis/Pearl River area (La.) yesterday for a new winter search season and reported back to BirdForum a tad cryptically as follows:
"....Peeping through my keyhole I see within the range of only about thirty percent of the light that comes from the sun; the rest is infrared and some little ultraviolet, perfectly apparent to many animals, but invisible to me. A nightmare network of ganglia, charged and firing without my knowledge, cuts and splices what I do see, editing it for my brain. Donald E. Carr points out that the sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain: 'This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means that only the simplest animals perceive the universe as it is.' "
"This morning, I saw some very, very exciting data. As I mentioned several months ago, studying the ivorybill is going to be like studying a new species. Some of the data that I saw this morning is unlike anything I have ever seen in the field or in the literature. It's downright fascinating."I assume, but don't know for certain, that this has to do with data to be presented soon at AOU, for which there may be a news release or publication in the week prior to the Veracruz meeting (unsure). Given how few Ivory-bills have been studied in the past, and how long ago the last ones were recorded one might well expect MUCH new (even surprising) information/data to arise. As previously stated here, two of the bigger problems in IBWO discussions are simply 1) how much we don't know with certainty, and 2) how much we think we do know, that is wrong or incomplete. James Tanner's study, as good as it was, simply handed us for decades afterwards an illusion of knowledge that never was that solid. Good luck in the season ahead Mike.
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Wednesday, September 20, 2006
-- Will the Fun Never End --
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If you're looking for a respite from the occasional IBWO rancor in some quarters you can check out "Ivory Bill Jones'" saga of his search for an Ivory-bill for a quickie chuckle. I previously linked to part 1 of his effort a little while back and since then he's out with parts 2 & 3:
part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78AFGvhLiIE&mode=related&search=
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjHYkV7m-q4
part 3: http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2772775
and his homepage is here: http://www.ivorybillwatcher.com/
....keep 'em comin' Bill
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If you're looking for a respite from the occasional IBWO rancor in some quarters you can check out "Ivory Bill Jones'" saga of his search for an Ivory-bill for a quickie chuckle. I previously linked to part 1 of his effort a little while back and since then he's out with parts 2 & 3:
part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78AFGvhLiIE&mode=related&search=
part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjHYkV7m-q4
part 3: http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2772775
and his homepage is here: http://www.ivorybillwatcher.com/
....keep 'em comin' Bill
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Tuesday, September 19, 2006
-- Fun Tricks --
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In some corners of the Web, I'm seeing some opportunistically-timed, strategic backpedalling by card-carrying members of the negative, scoffing, cynical, shallow, contentious, obstructionist, CYA, all-knowing, circular-reasoning, logic-challenged, video-obsessed, Ivory-bill extinctionist-and-abandonment crowd lately. Backpedalling when you're plummeting off a cliff is a neat trick... But, hey, seriously, this debate is actually far, far from over; just headed for a new turn.
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In some corners of the Web, I'm seeing some opportunistically-timed, strategic backpedalling by card-carrying members of the negative, scoffing, cynical, shallow, contentious, obstructionist, CYA, all-knowing, circular-reasoning, logic-challenged, video-obsessed, Ivory-bill extinctionist-and-abandonment crowd lately. Backpedalling when you're plummeting off a cliff is a neat trick... But, hey, seriously, this debate is actually far, far from over; just headed for a new turn.
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Monday, September 18, 2006
-- Ivory-bill Shoppers --
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Here's the current eBay page for Ivory-billed Woodpecker wares, just on the off-chance you want to stock up on any items ahead of any possible future news or pronouncements.
And totally separately, here is an item I've picked out specially just for the resolute cynics out there to bid on and use ; - ) In fact if they're in a shopping mood they may as well pick up a few of these (from another site) for friends and family as well.
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Here's the current eBay page for Ivory-billed Woodpecker wares, just on the off-chance you want to stock up on any items ahead of any possible future news or pronouncements.
And totally separately, here is an item I've picked out specially just for the resolute cynics out there to bid on and use ; - ) In fact if they're in a shopping mood they may as well pick up a few of these (from another site) for friends and family as well.
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Sunday, September 17, 2006
-- Tanner Again --
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The locale where Ivory-bills will be announced at the Oct. AOU meeting was never visited by James Tanner, and one has to wonder how many other such sites his 'definitive' study completely missed, especially since he didn't have the benefit of aerial photography. Tanner's monograph on Ivory-bills is often referred to as a 3-year study, but by his own admission he only spent 21 months in the South, and a lot of that time was travelling on the road and engaging locals in conversation for information-gathering. Over 10 months alone were spent solely at the Singer Tract where all of his personal observations were made, leaving less than 11 months for a single individual to cover the entire remainder of the south -- essentially an impossibility for anyone to do today adequately, with good roads, better/lighter equipment, and far fewer key areas to explore, and truly an impossibility in Tanner's day (indeed, he likely spent more hours in the front seat of a car on dusty, bumpy rural roads of the 1930's South than he did trampling through any actual Ivory-bill habitat outside of La.).
Tanner claimed he visited 45 locales in that time (actually, some of them were adjacent to one another, so it's debatable if they could justly be called separate locales), but only spent a week or more in about 5 of them; the rest usually got only a 1-to-4 day visit, hardly enough time for adequate exploration of large forest tracts. In the end he only observed birds at the Singer Tract (thanks to a guide who led him to them) -- statistically, not only was it a wholly inadequate sample size, it was not a random sample of IBWOs either, and of course it was never replicated -- these are rather minimal scientific requirements. While Tanner gathered some other anecdotal and occasionally more empirically-based information along the way to throw into his mix, still there was little solid basis for the generalizations and conclusions that would follow his work. As I've often said, his is a wonderful, fascinating, and astute study of a handful of birds, but a largely inadequate and incomplete study of an entire species.
It is somewhat revealing that people will try so hard to tear down the work of Cornell University in the Big Woods of Arkansas with wholly-unproven and debatable arguments, yet blithely accept the narrow findings of a single lowly grad student from 60+ years ago, and moreover assume those findings still hold today if they ever did. If searchers ever thoroughly explore all of the appropriate habitat out there no telling what they may find, while cynics busy themselves with their pre-formulated armchair analysis. In their typical manner many of them are already deriding (pre-deriding?) the evidence to be announced in Veracruz without having seen it (more good empirical technique -- this applies to some, of course not all, the skeptics). It has reached a point that some of them must quietly hope and wish that the Ivory-bill is extinct in order to save face (their claims to the contrary are disingenuous and whenever IBWOs are confirmed, it will be fun to watch their faux excitement). It is a point, needless to say, we ought never have reached.
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The locale where Ivory-bills will be announced at the Oct. AOU meeting was never visited by James Tanner, and one has to wonder how many other such sites his 'definitive' study completely missed, especially since he didn't have the benefit of aerial photography. Tanner's monograph on Ivory-bills is often referred to as a 3-year study, but by his own admission he only spent 21 months in the South, and a lot of that time was travelling on the road and engaging locals in conversation for information-gathering. Over 10 months alone were spent solely at the Singer Tract where all of his personal observations were made, leaving less than 11 months for a single individual to cover the entire remainder of the south -- essentially an impossibility for anyone to do today adequately, with good roads, better/lighter equipment, and far fewer key areas to explore, and truly an impossibility in Tanner's day (indeed, he likely spent more hours in the front seat of a car on dusty, bumpy rural roads of the 1930's South than he did trampling through any actual Ivory-bill habitat outside of La.).
Tanner claimed he visited 45 locales in that time (actually, some of them were adjacent to one another, so it's debatable if they could justly be called separate locales), but only spent a week or more in about 5 of them; the rest usually got only a 1-to-4 day visit, hardly enough time for adequate exploration of large forest tracts. In the end he only observed birds at the Singer Tract (thanks to a guide who led him to them) -- statistically, not only was it a wholly inadequate sample size, it was not a random sample of IBWOs either, and of course it was never replicated -- these are rather minimal scientific requirements. While Tanner gathered some other anecdotal and occasionally more empirically-based information along the way to throw into his mix, still there was little solid basis for the generalizations and conclusions that would follow his work. As I've often said, his is a wonderful, fascinating, and astute study of a handful of birds, but a largely inadequate and incomplete study of an entire species.
It is somewhat revealing that people will try so hard to tear down the work of Cornell University in the Big Woods of Arkansas with wholly-unproven and debatable arguments, yet blithely accept the narrow findings of a single lowly grad student from 60+ years ago, and moreover assume those findings still hold today if they ever did. If searchers ever thoroughly explore all of the appropriate habitat out there no telling what they may find, while cynics busy themselves with their pre-formulated armchair analysis. In their typical manner many of them are already deriding (pre-deriding?) the evidence to be announced in Veracruz without having seen it (more good empirical technique -- this applies to some, of course not all, the skeptics). It has reached a point that some of them must quietly hope and wish that the Ivory-bill is extinct in order to save face (their claims to the contrary are disingenuous and whenever IBWOs are confirmed, it will be fun to watch their faux excitement). It is a point, needless to say, we ought never have reached.
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Friday, September 15, 2006
-- Ivory-bill Update Next Week --
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For anyone in the LSU area next week, Jon Andrew, chair of the Steering Committee of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Recovery Team, will be giving a talk entitled simply, "Ivory-billed Woodpecker Update" on Wed., Sept. 20, for the Baton Rouge Audubon Society at LSU's Hilltop Arboretum. General public welcome.
I presume this will be an "update" specifically on Cornell's efforts (previous and upcoming), and not include much if any of the information that will be announced at the October AOU meeting, which is spearheaded by a different academic team altogether (although Cornell knows of it). If any reader in attendance thinks something new or interesting is discussed, though, feel free to send it along to me for blog inclusion.
Quite a bit farther off, Cornell's Ken Rosenberg will be the keynote speaker on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker for North Carolina's "Wings Over Water" Festival at Nags Head, NC. on Nov. 10, 2006.
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For anyone in the LSU area next week, Jon Andrew, chair of the Steering Committee of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Recovery Team, will be giving a talk entitled simply, "Ivory-billed Woodpecker Update" on Wed., Sept. 20, for the Baton Rouge Audubon Society at LSU's Hilltop Arboretum. General public welcome.
I presume this will be an "update" specifically on Cornell's efforts (previous and upcoming), and not include much if any of the information that will be announced at the October AOU meeting, which is spearheaded by a different academic team altogether (although Cornell knows of it). If any reader in attendance thinks something new or interesting is discussed, though, feel free to send it along to me for blog inclusion.
Quite a bit farther off, Cornell's Ken Rosenberg will be the keynote speaker on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker for North Carolina's "Wings Over Water" Festival at Nags Head, NC. on Nov. 10, 2006.
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