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...from the Web Grab Bag, check here to see if the movie "No End In Sight" is playing in your area:
http://noendinsightmovie.com/
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Thursday, September 27, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
-- Sam Keen on the Ivorybill --
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American best-selling writer and philosopher Sam Keen has a short new book out called "Sightings," on his experiences as a birder... from a philosophical slant. The next to last chapter tells an anecdote from his childhood of a possible, though unlikely, encounter with a shot Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Pikeville, Tennessee, in 1942. An interesting, entertaining (or, if truly an Ivorybill, quite sad!) read. Ironically, the essay was originally written in March of 2005... one month before Cornell's original jolting announcement.
..................................................................
....and from the Web Grab Bag, this homage to the Passenger Pigeon from "10000 Birds" blog:
http://10000birds.com/in-memory-of-martha.htm
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American best-selling writer and philosopher Sam Keen has a short new book out called "Sightings," on his experiences as a birder... from a philosophical slant. The next to last chapter tells an anecdote from his childhood of a possible, though unlikely, encounter with a shot Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Pikeville, Tennessee, in 1942. An interesting, entertaining (or, if truly an Ivorybill, quite sad!) read. Ironically, the essay was originally written in March of 2005... one month before Cornell's original jolting announcement.
..................................................................
....and from the Web Grab Bag, this homage to the Passenger Pigeon from "10000 Birds" blog:
http://10000birds.com/in-memory-of-martha.htm
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Sunday, September 23, 2007
-- A Few Spots Here and There --
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From the analysis compiled for the official IBWO Draft Recovery Plan, here are some of the areas mentioned, state-by-state, as potentially worth a further look-see for presence of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker:
Alabama: stretches of the Tombignee, Alabama, Sipsey, and Buttahatchie River systems
Arkansas:
White River NWR
Cache River NWR
Wattensaw WMA
Bayou Meto WMA
Dagmar WMA
Benson Creek Natural Area
Rex/Hancock/Black Swamp WMA
Steve Wilson/Raft Creek Bottoms WMA
Henry Gray/Hurricane Lake WMA
Bald Knob NWR
Florida:
Apalachicola and Chipola River swamps
regions of the Aucilla, Wacissa, Wekiva, and lower Suwannee River watersheds
Fort Drum Swamp
Fakahatchee Strand
Big Cypress National Reserve
(Choctawhatchee and Escambia river systems should also be included here but are not part of the analysis.)
Georgia:
Ogeechee-Savannah River basin
Altamaha River Basin
Okefonokee Swamp
Red Hills Region
Louisiana:
Atchafalaya River Basin
Pearl River Basin
Tensas River NWR and Big Lake WMA
Mississippi:
Pascagoula, Mississippi, and Pearl River floodplain areas
Delta National Forest
Panther Swamp NWR
North Carolina: Waccamaw and Lumber River drainage areas, and Cape Fear River system
South Carolina:
Congaree-Wateree-Upper Santee River region
Savannah River and lower Santee River
Waccamaw drainage complex
Tennessee:
stretches of Hatchie River
Chickasaw NWR
Meeman Shelby State Park
Reelfoot Lake
Texas: lower stretches of Neches, Sabine, and Trinity Rivers
(Illinois, Missouri, and Oklahoma were not considered in the analysis).
....oughta keep some folks busy for awhile longer.
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Tuesday, September 18, 2007
-- A Little Bit of Knowledge --
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Einstein knew a lot about physics... but there was far more he didn't know. Some folks reading this blog know a lot about Ivory-billed Woodpeckers... but there's a lot more they don't know.
Whether one's name is "Einstein" or "John Doe" we are, all of us, ignorant about most things, i.e. on any given subject, what we don't know far exceeds what we do. Einstein, and all true scientists, understand this implicitly (but science-amateurs do not!). So the naivete displayed by skeptics at times concerning Ivory-bills, and bird behavior/cognition in general, is of little note (we all share in it) --- what IS noteworthy however, is the ignorance they often display... of their own ignorance --- their willingness, based on scant information, to state with certainty, things impossible to know with certainty.
It's oft' said that 'a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing,' and it's certainly true with the thimblefull of knowledge we possess regarding Ivory-bills. Given the number and variety of credible sightings over time in various locales by various people, the greatest probability is that some of these birds yet exist, and no amount of skeptical circular arguing, conjecturing, selective use of data, or singular focus on photographic evidence, will change that in the short term.
For believers of Ivory-bill persistence the worst that can happen is that the species is never definitively documented, and we are left forever wondering, as an unanswerable question, when truly did the last individuals die. For certain of the skeptics however, the worst calamity would now be for the species to be conclusively found (heaven forbid!!)... leaving their credibility in a shambles, and that previously-disguised ignorance exposed for all to view. And should that point arrive, keep in mind, that they painted themselves into a corner of their own free accord; no one pushed them.
................................................................................
...hey, but seriously, I don't often promote commercial products here, but to my surprise in the last year have fallen in love with these : (light, mind-boggingly comfortable, sturdy, easy-to-clean, vegan-friendly, simple, many styles)
http://shop.crocs.com/c-4-footwear.aspx?reqid=4&reqProdTypeId=4&subsectionname=footwear§ion=products
or, if you're in college, may want to check out these versions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Einstein knew a lot about physics... but there was far more he didn't know. Some folks reading this blog know a lot about Ivory-billed Woodpeckers... but there's a lot more they don't know.
Whether one's name is "Einstein" or "John Doe" we are, all of us, ignorant about most things, i.e. on any given subject, what we don't know far exceeds what we do. Einstein, and all true scientists, understand this implicitly (but science-amateurs do not!). So the naivete displayed by skeptics at times concerning Ivory-bills, and bird behavior/cognition in general, is of little note (we all share in it) --- what IS noteworthy however, is the ignorance they often display... of their own ignorance --- their willingness, based on scant information, to state with certainty, things impossible to know with certainty.
It's oft' said that 'a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing,' and it's certainly true with the thimblefull of knowledge we possess regarding Ivory-bills. Given the number and variety of credible sightings over time in various locales by various people, the greatest probability is that some of these birds yet exist, and no amount of skeptical circular arguing, conjecturing, selective use of data, or singular focus on photographic evidence, will change that in the short term.
For believers of Ivory-bill persistence the worst that can happen is that the species is never definitively documented, and we are left forever wondering, as an unanswerable question, when truly did the last individuals die. For certain of the skeptics however, the worst calamity would now be for the species to be conclusively found (heaven forbid!!)... leaving their credibility in a shambles, and that previously-disguised ignorance exposed for all to view. And should that point arrive, keep in mind, that they painted themselves into a corner of their own free accord; no one pushed them.
................................................................................
...hey, but seriously, I don't often promote commercial products here, but to my surprise in the last year have fallen in love with these : (light, mind-boggingly comfortable, sturdy, easy-to-clean, vegan-friendly, simple, many styles)
http://shop.crocs.com/c-4-footwear.aspx?reqid=4&reqProdTypeId=4&subsectionname=footwear§ion=products
or, if you're in college, may want to check out these versions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, September 15, 2007
-- ...and From the Pearl --
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Persistent, indefatigable IBWO searcher Mike Collins, in a post to BirdChat offers to accompany other birders out to his previous "hot zone" for the birds along the Pearl River (La.), when he returns there next month for work. He can take people through his workplace, Stennis Space Center, offering easier access than would otherwise be the case.
He identifies the approximate location of this 'hot zone' with this map linked to from his website:
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=30.35686&lon=-89.65704&size=l&u=5&datum=nad83&layer=DRG
..........................................................................
From the Web Grab Bag:
American Airlines take note: A record-breaking Bar-tailed Godwit was recently tracked as flying over 7100 mi. non-stop from Alaska to New Zealand... without losing any luggage.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/070913-longest-flight.html
The spreading menace of red fire ants are having highly deleterious effects on songbird nesting success according to this report:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070912143334.htm
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Persistent, indefatigable IBWO searcher Mike Collins, in a post to BirdChat offers to accompany other birders out to his previous "hot zone" for the birds along the Pearl River (La.), when he returns there next month for work. He can take people through his workplace, Stennis Space Center, offering easier access than would otherwise be the case.
He identifies the approximate location of this 'hot zone' with this map linked to from his website:
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=30.35686&lon=-89.65704&size=l&u=5&datum=nad83&layer=DRG
..........................................................................
From the Web Grab Bag:
American Airlines take note: A record-breaking Bar-tailed Godwit was recently tracked as flying over 7100 mi. non-stop from Alaska to New Zealand... without losing any luggage.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/070913-longest-flight.html
The spreading menace of red fire ants are having highly deleterious effects on songbird nesting success according to this report:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070912143334.htm
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Thursday, September 13, 2007
-- Reminder --
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Taking a cue from Dalcio Dacol over at IBWO Researchers Forum....
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is asking for public comment on its Ivory-billed Woodpecker Draft Recovery Plan until Oct. 22. The Plan (~170 pgs.) is available by download at:
http://www.fws.gov/ivorybill/
or you can simply request a hard copy from US F&W at this address:
US F&W
646 Cajundome Blvd. Suite 400
Lafayette, La. 70506
I'd urge all favoring the effort to be heard by contacting US F&W with positive comments, or even just a line or two of encouragement. You can put that in writing for snail mail, or simply email to: ibwplan@fws.gov
Support from the public can definitely help.
And if your thoughts be not so positively-inclined... well, then... nnnnnnevermind! ;-)
....................................................................
...from the Web Grab Bag, yet another piece from the NY Times on Alex, the African Grey Parrot:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/12/opinion/12wed4.html?pagewanted=print
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-- Hill To Speak --
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Auburn's Dr. Hill speaks to the Linnaean Society of New York on the search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker at 7:30 pm. on Sept. 25 in Lindner Hall of the AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (free admission if you're in the area). Other talks by previous searchers are scattered around the country between now and then as well.
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Auburn's Dr. Hill speaks to the Linnaean Society of New York on the search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker at 7:30 pm. on Sept. 25 in Lindner Hall of the AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY (free admission if you're in the area). Other talks by previous searchers are scattered around the country between now and then as well.
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