Tuesday, November 20, 2007
-- New Conservation Book --
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With Christmas around the corner there are a lot of good bird and nature book offerings available this season. One nicely-done, new volume worth a look for your birding friends is "Birder's Conservation Handbook," by Jeffrey Wells, covering 100 endangered birds of North America (yes, the Ivory-bill is included). Scott Weidensaul calls the book a "gold mine." Amazon link here.
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Monday, November 19, 2007
-- Thanks-Giving --
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Once again time for a yearly list of some things I be feelin' grateful for:
10. Green tea
9. Hybrid cars
8. Prime numbers
7. Apple Inc.
6. Ivory-billed Researchers' Forum
5. Noel F.R. Snyder
4. Velcro
3. Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, and Stephen Colbert
2. U.S. Fish and Wildlife IBWO Draft Recovery Plan and ALL those searching
1. Childhood intuition...
And may everyone find many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season...
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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
-- USF&W Summary --
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The US Fish & Wildlife Service has released a short summary of their 2007 Ivory-billed Woodpecker search season:
http://www.fws.gov/ivorybill/IBM-SearchSummary2007.pdf
The state searches briefly summarized therein are Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina. Possible auditory encounters and IBWO foraging or cavity sign continue to be mentioned, but of course no definitive sightings or film/video reported.
USF&W biologist Chuck Hunter, one of the leaders of the effort, concludes, “It is imperative we continue with searches for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Enough credible evidence continues to come to our attention that leads us to believe several isolated pairs or very small populations still exist.”
According to the summary, the 2008 search may make greater use of helicopters for searching from the air, while employing "smaller professional groups," but increasing citizen involvement in the effort.
Personally, I continue to doubt that IBWO will be found in Texas, though am happy for searches to continue there. The WesternTennessee-Kentucky-Illinois-Missouri corridor actually intrigues me more than Texas; possibly more even than the current sharp focus on South Carolina, which I've only slowly come to take far more seriously. And finally, the NorthFlorida-Georgia-Alabama-Mississippi-Louisiana corridor, remains, to my mind the very best chance for Ivory-bill persistence... but, nothing really more than gut hunches. And the Arkansas search of course continues as well.
Cornell should be out within a month with a more detailed account of their specific search efforts from the past year. But I suspect now that the Auburn summary of their Choctawhatchee effort may not be publicly available before the new 2008 search season is already underway.
The bottom-line message from the USF&W report is that, despite what one might think from perusing opinions in certain corners of cyberspace, many of the professionals most familiar with the data and evidence for the presence of Ivory-bills, continue to believe that the effort is worth the time, money, and manpower expended.
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The US Fish & Wildlife Service has released a short summary of their 2007 Ivory-billed Woodpecker search season:
http://www.fws.gov/ivorybill/IBM-SearchSummary2007.pdf
The state searches briefly summarized therein are Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina. Possible auditory encounters and IBWO foraging or cavity sign continue to be mentioned, but of course no definitive sightings or film/video reported.
USF&W biologist Chuck Hunter, one of the leaders of the effort, concludes, “It is imperative we continue with searches for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Enough credible evidence continues to come to our attention that leads us to believe several isolated pairs or very small populations still exist.”
According to the summary, the 2008 search may make greater use of helicopters for searching from the air, while employing "smaller professional groups," but increasing citizen involvement in the effort.
Personally, I continue to doubt that IBWO will be found in Texas, though am happy for searches to continue there. The WesternTennessee-Kentucky-Illinois-Missouri corridor actually intrigues me more than Texas; possibly more even than the current sharp focus on South Carolina, which I've only slowly come to take far more seriously. And finally, the NorthFlorida-Georgia-Alabama-Mississippi-Louisiana corridor, remains, to my mind the very best chance for Ivory-bill persistence... but, nothing really more than gut hunches. And the Arkansas search of course continues as well.
Cornell should be out within a month with a more detailed account of their specific search efforts from the past year. But I suspect now that the Auburn summary of their Choctawhatchee effort may not be publicly available before the new 2008 search season is already underway.
The bottom-line message from the USF&W report is that, despite what one might think from perusing opinions in certain corners of cyberspace, many of the professionals most familiar with the data and evidence for the presence of Ivory-bills, continue to believe that the effort is worth the time, money, and manpower expended.
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Tuesday, November 13, 2007
-- More Snyder --
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I've been pushing Noel Snyder's most recent Ivory-bill monograph lately, but might be worth noting that Snyder also has authored several book-length volumes as well, possibly of interest to folks, including extensive writing on the California Condor (the recovery program for which he helped plan), and one of the few academic volumes devoted wholly to the Carolina Parakeet. Amazon link here.
[p.s. - I have no financial interest/connection to any of Noel's works, or anyone else's for that matter.]
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I've been pushing Noel Snyder's most recent Ivory-bill monograph lately, but might be worth noting that Snyder also has authored several book-length volumes as well, possibly of interest to folks, including extensive writing on the California Condor (the recovery program for which he helped plan), and one of the few academic volumes devoted wholly to the Carolina Parakeet. Amazon link here.
[p.s. - I have no financial interest/connection to any of Noel's works, or anyone else's for that matter.]
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Sunday, November 11, 2007
-- Birds and Photos --
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It never ceases to amaze me how much of the skepticism over Ivory-billed Woodpeckers revolves around the simple lack of a clearcut, definitive photograph. The prevalence of cameras (let alone video recorders) amongst outdoorsmen and birders is a relatively new phenomena; it's not as if people have swarmed into the woods for 60 continuous years, cameras in hand, trying to capture this bird on film, as sometimes seems implied.
In a recent estimate of bird populations in North America based on various counts/censuses and statistical extrapolations, I noticed that the estimate for Pileated Woodpeckers was 930,000. How many of those have ever been photographed I wonder? A tiny, tiny, tiny fraction I suspect. Should we presume that 900,000 of them likely don't really exist for lack of a photo verifying them? Are they just figments of groupthink and statistics perhaps? And what if there were only 100 Pileateds left --- how many photos would there then be? Possibly none? Simply put, most individual woodland birds are likely never seen by human eyes, let alone photographed. That a few scarce IBWOs may have eluded humans isn't incredible, it's the norm that most individual birds accomplish. Yes, eventually, concerted efforts to capture such on film ought be successful... but eventually can take awhile, and, as has been argued before, may be dependent on finding an active nesthole of a creature that has no interest in being found.
............................................................
Elsewhere on the Web:
further update on the Wisconsin Green-breasted Mango here.
... here a bird with chutzpa.... ;-)
...and sad, sad story here (SanFrancisco Bay oil spill).
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It never ceases to amaze me how much of the skepticism over Ivory-billed Woodpeckers revolves around the simple lack of a clearcut, definitive photograph. The prevalence of cameras (let alone video recorders) amongst outdoorsmen and birders is a relatively new phenomena; it's not as if people have swarmed into the woods for 60 continuous years, cameras in hand, trying to capture this bird on film, as sometimes seems implied.
In a recent estimate of bird populations in North America based on various counts/censuses and statistical extrapolations, I noticed that the estimate for Pileated Woodpeckers was 930,000. How many of those have ever been photographed I wonder? A tiny, tiny, tiny fraction I suspect. Should we presume that 900,000 of them likely don't really exist for lack of a photo verifying them? Are they just figments of groupthink and statistics perhaps? And what if there were only 100 Pileateds left --- how many photos would there then be? Possibly none? Simply put, most individual woodland birds are likely never seen by human eyes, let alone photographed. That a few scarce IBWOs may have eluded humans isn't incredible, it's the norm that most individual birds accomplish. Yes, eventually, concerted efforts to capture such on film ought be successful... but eventually can take awhile, and, as has been argued before, may be dependent on finding an active nesthole of a creature that has no interest in being found.
............................................................
Elsewhere on the Web:
further update on the Wisconsin Green-breasted Mango here.
... here a bird with chutzpa.... ;-)
...and sad, sad story here (SanFrancisco Bay oil spill).
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Saturday, November 10, 2007
-- 2nd Annual IBWO Gala in February --
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The invitation/registration for Bobby Harrison's 2nd annual Ivory-billed Woodpecker Foundation Gala on Saturday, Feb, 23, 2008, in Huntsville, Alabama, is up on the Web through this link (pdf form). Schedule of events/speakers is included, with Jerry Jackson giving the keynote address. Tickets range from $35 to $250. [NOTE: I assume they'll get it corrected, but the date for the Gala is currently erroneously given as "Feb. 28" on the linked page.]
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In the meanwhile you may wish to email John Conyers of the House Judiciary Committee that you would very much like him to move forward promptly with Dennis Kucinich's resolution for the impeachment of Vice-President Dick Cheney. It's the least we can do for our exasperated allies around the globe who increasingly recognize this particular Administration as perilously incompetent and a significant threat to world stability.
john.conyers@mail.house.gov
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The invitation/registration for Bobby Harrison's 2nd annual Ivory-billed Woodpecker Foundation Gala on Saturday, Feb, 23, 2008, in Huntsville, Alabama, is up on the Web through this link (pdf form). Schedule of events/speakers is included, with Jerry Jackson giving the keynote address. Tickets range from $35 to $250. [NOTE: I assume they'll get it corrected, but the date for the Gala is currently erroneously given as "Feb. 28" on the linked page.]
..........................................................
In the meanwhile you may wish to email John Conyers of the House Judiciary Committee that you would very much like him to move forward promptly with Dennis Kucinich's resolution for the impeachment of Vice-President Dick Cheney. It's the least we can do for our exasperated allies around the globe who increasingly recognize this particular Administration as perilously incompetent and a significant threat to world stability.
john.conyers@mail.house.gov
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Friday, November 09, 2007
-- In Praise of.... --
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....the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, perhaps...
The folks over at "10,000 Birds" blog have a contest running to win free copies of the handsome, new, well-reviewed volume, "Bird: The Definitive Visual Guide" from DK Publishing (retail value - $50). Contest entry involves writing an essay (250-750 words) about a single favorite North American bird species of your choice entitled, "In Praise of _________." Entries need to be submitted to 10,000 Birds blog by Nov. 30 and will be published there in December prior to selection of winners. See further details at their site.
Have at it....
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....the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, perhaps...
The folks over at "10,000 Birds" blog have a contest running to win free copies of the handsome, new, well-reviewed volume, "Bird: The Definitive Visual Guide" from DK Publishing (retail value - $50). Contest entry involves writing an essay (250-750 words) about a single favorite North American bird species of your choice entitled, "In Praise of _________." Entries need to be submitted to 10,000 Birds blog by Nov. 30 and will be published there in December prior to selection of winners. See further details at their site.
Have at it....
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