Rare Woodpecker sighting questioned

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beverly

beverly

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Back in April we were excited to learn that the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker - long thought to be extinct, was sighted in Arkansas. I was so impressed that I made the woodpecker my avatar. VFTT thread
Now, three ornithologists are disputing the claim. A scientific paper is about to be published that says the that there is not enough evidence to establish that the ivory-billed exists.
Prum and his colleagues scrutinized a video taken by a Cornell University team in the forested swamps east of Little Rock, Arkansas. Detailed studies of the bird's size and white markings suggest it could be a pileated woodpecker rather than an ivory-billed, they say. The Cornell team had considered this possibility and discounted it.
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article
So, there is a big dust-up in the scientific community. The team that did the investigation said they are sure that it wasn't a pileated woodpecker, as they painstakingly reviewed the evidence, including 7 sightings, audio recordings and a fuzzy video. This will be a troubling disappointment if they can't establish that the ivory-billed really exists. Millions of dollars are being poured into the area to preserve the habitat and tourists are flocking to the area. It appears it may be some time before this is finally resolved.
For the difference between the ivory-billed and the pileated woodpecker see a comparison at this site.
 
Personally, I believe the reports. The clincher for me was the great footage and photos I saw at Cornell this spring. I happened to be taking an ornithology course at eh Laboratory of Ornithology when the news broke. We were treated one night to a fabulous lecture with big screen footage of the bird.
 
I just bought and read (and enjoyed) the book "The Grail Bird" which is about the re-discovery of the Ivory-Bill. If the report turns out to be false will Barnes & Noble give me my money back?
 
Birders!! :mad: They always want to be the first for a rare sighting.

Once, when out with my son who was five at the time, we hooked up with some of the prominent birders in my area. My son claimed he saw a red headed woodpecker, which is rare for these parts. He was instantly doubted by a veteran. "No it must have been a red bellied." Next day somebody had listed the red headed on the RBA.

With more confirmed sightings this will be a none issue. I think this is more a study of human nature.
 
Rare Bird Sitings

Puck- I so get what you wrote about birders. Beware, especially, of the prominate ones or any claiming to have major league status. They are usually minor league egos :p .
 
Birder snobs must just be ignored. As someone who has had more than my share of this LL Bean equiped group, all you can do is ignore them and move on. They feel so self important that they can't believe anyone except themselves, unless you also "look" like you know what you are talking about.
I think it's funny; I go to Cape May almost every fall to watch the hawk migrations, and end up watching them instead. :eek:
 
Hawk Mt.

on the AT in PA is another place to find this not-so-rare species. The first time I took my kids 25 years ago, I thought, great, folks who know what they are talking about can help ID these big birds for us.
Instead, we wound up watching one clicque backbite another.
So, there's two sources of fun when you were only expecting one. Serendipity.
Saw some odd bird behavior Friday evening at the Trenton train station which is mobbed by thousands of crows. A hawk that looked like he lost a fight (badly ruffled feathers on back) was sitting atop a light pole on top of the parking garage. Crows were taking runs at him but the little birds were sitting on the wall just below him, seemingly unconcerned.
 
Recordings convince skeptics

Yet another article - now confirming the Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers are indeed in Arkansas.
It is hard to keep track of how many times this near-mythic bird, the largest American woodpecker and a poignant symbol of extinction and disappearing forests, has been lost and then found.
Now it is found again.Even the most skeptical ornithologists now agree. More important, even the skeptics now say that newly presented recordings shows that at least two of the birds are living in Arkansas.
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The evidence was so convincing - the characteristic nasal "kent" call and double raps on a tree - that Dr. Prum and Dr. Robbins withdrew their critical challenge.
"The thrilling new sound recordings provide clear and convincing evidence that the ivory-billed woodpecker is not extinct," Dr. Prum said in a statement.
The snippet of videotape that until now was the strongest individual piece of evidence showed only one bird. But the sound recordings, made over many months in the White River refuge, just south of Cache River, provided vital signs that a potential breeding population persisted, according to experts and officials involved with the search.
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NY Times article

There is now consensus and the naysayers are silenced.
 
I love Bobby Harrison's unassuming response. A true believer who doesn't need to convince anyone.
 
I heard recently that they are killing trees to create habitat for the Ivory Billed. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I guess as long as it not an obsene number of trees. According to this article it would be approximately 200 trees out of 11,200 which is roughly 2%.

Article
 
cgarby said:
I heard recently that they are killing trees to create habitat for the Ivory Billed. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I guess as long as it not an obsene number of trees. According to this article it would be approximately 200 trees out of 11,200 which is roughly 2%.

Article
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Hmmm. What is your house made of?
 
The latest story:

Once again, scientists report they have found evidence of ivory-billed woodpeckers, this time in Florida. But having observed the turbulent disputes among ornithologists and birders that followed the report last year that the bird had been found in Arkansas, these researchers are proceeding with caution.

Geoffrey Hill, of Auburn University in Alabama, and Daniel Mennill of the University of Windsor, in Ontario, both biologists and ornithologists, say 14 sightings and extensive sound recordings “provide evidence that ivory-billed woodpeckers may live along the Choctawhatchee River in the Florida Panhandle.”

Full story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/26/s...rss&adxnnlx=1159275821-JdrrlJXOqrfDgHtSqA2X9A
 
Omg

In a phone interview, Dr. Hill said only an indisputable photograph or DNA evidence would be scientifically conclusive. He said he knew how heated the subject of ivory bills had become, but asked, “Once we found them, what was I supposed to do?”
“The mistake,” he added dryly, “was ever looking for them.”
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Let's find 'em and kill 'em. Then we'll have the DNA proof.:mad:

Here's hoping the scientists and bird lovers continue to seek proof of the existence of this beautiful bird.

Thanks for the article, Tom.
 
beverly said:
Let's find 'em and kill 'em.
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Worked for Audubon himself... :)

Asked my professional ornithologist sister-in-law last month about the status of the ivory billed woodpecker sightings. She said that some believe the evidence, some don't. We will just have to wait and see what people find.

Doug
 
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Interesting comments about birders. When I first started to go "birding" I was surprised that people actually kept lists, and some obsessed greatly as what should and shouldn't be allowed. I thought that was quite unusual.

...and then I met hikers and my understanding of "lisiting" and obsession was greatly expanded.
 
DougPaul said:
Worked for Audubon himself... :)

Doug
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Actualy Audubon was very fond of roasted ivory billed woodpeckers. He may have liked them better then eskimo curlews and passenger pigeons but not as much as the heath hen. The shift from collecting to observing happened around 1900.

Anyway lets hope they can extract DNA from the droppings.
 
beverly said:
Back in April we were excited to learn that the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker - long thought to be extinct, was sighted in Arkansas. I was so impressed that I made the woodpecker my avatar.
Click to expand...
I'm familiar with the red-capped, piliated and Woody but the ivory-billed is a stranger to me. I am very curious, however, about the mammal in your latest avatar ... is it extinct, endangered, extirpated or just plain spoiled? :)
 
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