Fred Collins responded with the email below (posted here with his permission):
I recently came across your blog.
For the record:
I am not related to, nor do I know Mike Collins. I have looked at his web site but I do not enjoy or put much stock in blurred photographs either.
I will be in the woods of East Texas in the coming weeks and throughout the summer because I believe that a family group with fledglings in tow and communicating with them will be detectable. Unlike the Arkansas situation (at least the public one), we have some likely nesting areas located.
And yes, I am an Aggie ( Class of '71).
And either I or one of those crazy enough to join me will eventually get indisputable evidence of an animal that scales bark from trees and makes double knocks only in mature bottom land forest since we don't see those things in other east Texas sites where Pileated Woodpecker, squirrels and the like are common. It may be that some common animal acts differently in mature bottom land forest and perhaps a Pileated Woodpecker, a squirrel or big foot is producing the scaling we have documented but if I were to bet, (and I am betting with my time,) I'm betting an IBWP made that scaling.
What else can I say, I am a believer. I would like to see an IBWP, I have not. But most of all, I want to know they exist, reproduce and will have an opportunity to flourish in the future. If that can happen, I'm happy to be the brunt of any good natured harassment the "skeptics" want to dish out. I will put in my time in the woods and hopefully, I or someone like me out there will produce the proof so all might come to know that the Ivory-bill still flies in the south.
Fred Collins
Posts
17 comments:
Too much emphasis has been placed on evidence of bark scaling (sometimes the stuff just peals after being undermined by insects, and PIWO's do it too!) and "double-knocks" (echoes, two wood peckers in proximity, kids building a treehouse, etc.)
This sort of "evidence" can be found in southwest Ohio, where I live; I harbor no expectations of finding an IBWO here! In a nearby Indiana forest, the PIWO's will happily scale bark for you!
I am beyond the point of believing anything but a clear SET of photos, or several seconds of CLEAR video ... with the wing pattern and IVORY bill showing. And perhaps a few feathers.
The carpinterio has nothing but praise and admiration for Fred Collins - he is a belivers' beliver in my book.
1. Admits that he has NOT seen IBWO - but wants too.
2. Admits that IF the birds are there, that they are DETECTABLE.
3. Thinks he knows EXACTLY where the IBWO's are.
4. Is happy to joke around.
5. Does not have a Tom Nelson voodo doll.
The Carpinterio bows his head to pray:
God bless Fred Collins, and help him on his way. Give him the strength he needs to search those big trees and keep him safe from fuzzy videos and lead him not into the analysis of pixelated images and discussion of blobs - and let him not hate the skeptic and forgive them their trespasses as they forgive those who trespass on timber company land
Amen.
Fred;
Good to see a True Believer who has a sense of humor. Now, that's a miracle.
Let us sum the indisputable Evidence from Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana to date.
1. One 4 second fuzzy wuzzy video.
2. Doubly knocky things that could be from any number of sources.
3. Kent Calls - see #2 above.
4. The lost reputations of 17 scientists and high brow ornithologists.
5. Innumerable power point presentations from CLO and Fish Crow.
6. The potential for losing millions of dollars of Federal and Non Profit Funding in order to further one's own reputation.
7. Innumerable visual sightings of some bird. See #2 and #3 above.
Kudos, Fred, for the candor and ability to realize that even a little dialogue on this matter can do much to stop the polarization. However if you come back with inconclusive evidence and ask for government and private donations you will just be doing the Fitz Pack Trick that requires others to fund the fantasies of you and your friends. You sound too grounded for that I like your approach of having a hypothesis (the scaling and double-knocks are being made by some species and it is likely a IBWO) and going out to find evidence that either lets you accept or reject that hypothesis. It is a different approach than heading out saying “I’m determined to see an IBWO” and then coming back and telling everyone that you were successful in something you have wanted to do your whole life.
Fred,
You and I are Simpatico!!
I'm teary eyed. But please do not try to upstage the eminent Dr. Fitzpatrick's May 20th announcement of 7 pairs of IBWO in the big woods of Arkansas.
I'm so excited I could pee on myself. Just 7 days to go to the most momentous announcement of the last 1000 years! Are you guys/gals feeling the excitement as much as I am.
Even the Skeptics will win. It will be win/win. Everybody wants the IBWO to exist!
Signed,
The One and Only True True Believer
Well, aren't you Skeptics just being all nicey nice. I hope you feel better.
But really, maybe you Skeptics should go back and actually read what Mr. Collins actually wrote.
After reviewing the Arkansas data he "believed more strongly than ever" and that he was "sure even more birds are in Texas" Does this sound like a man on an even keel?
Hello!!!! Skeptics!!!!
You Skeptics sounds like your mother used to beat you and now you will make nicey nice with every tom/dick/harry who has a few nice words to say to you.
Give me a break!
Dear "Give me a break":
As someone who was nice to Fred I would like to point out that there is no reason not to be nice to someone who took the time to contact Tom and agree to have an email posted to this blog.
And while he did say that he believes they exist he also said that he was betting on his belief with his time. He did not say he was going to confirm his beliefs with his time. And perhaps most importantly he did not include the obligatory life story about how he has always wanted to see one ever since he: 1) was born, 2) started birding 3) realized he didn’t have too much going on in his life.
And being civil to someone who is also being civil is not usually looked on as being something caused by parent-induced childhood trauma. That might have been true for your neighborhood but not for mine, so please leave my mother out of the discussion.
If I may...all that we ask is for some photos, crisp would be nice, a video is fine, but we'd really really really like it if the bird(s) were SEEN by more than one person on more than one occasion, and that there was some honest to Mom evidence.
Don't set the bar too high. CLO said they really wanted a roost or nest hole this year, and to date we still don't even have any pictures or proof that the bird is extant.
You don't need to find breeding pairs, babies gently taking the food from the mouth of their Mother (get the Moother's Day theme yet - send the lady a card whydontcha, give her a call!) Mommies fluffing their feathers to show their brood patch as they gently snuggle down to incubate their eggs, Daddies kenting and double-knocking to establish that "Yes, they ARE Kings of this mature southern bottomland forest."
All you need find 1 bird that can be seen repeatably, take some pictures and/or video of just 1 IBWO - pictures that the world agrees are identifiable and real, and then show some other people the bird.
That is all that anyone has asked. And if the birds are there it should be do-able. Please Please please don't come back with bad photos, leaking kayaks, bad audiotapes, single field marks seen for just 3 seconds, ....what have I left out....signatures of secrecy, fundraising galas all that obfuscating drivel.
Oh yeah, methinks y'all shouldn't forget to call Mom.
Skeptics! You retreat!
Let me remind you of the facts. The IBWO is extinct. Fred Collins is going to be a part of a $100,000 federal grant to look for an extinct bird.
I have no respect for that. We are 7 days away from Fitz announcing that he is going away. The scientists are going away. All we will be left with is the Fred Collins of the world looking for UFO's, Elvis, and Bigfoot.
We are returning to the time, which some of us remember, when if you announce that you saw an IBWO then people are going to laugh and say "yeah, yeah...where's the photo?"
As a Skeptic, I yearn for the return of science. And the end of stupidity.
signed,
Give me a break!!!!
Ok, Tom, I cleaned it up. How about this one?
Fred Collins
Is stallin
I do say
There’s no way
He will see
More than me
In my yard
Home of bard
As for you
This blog’s glue
You are sick
To predict
All but this
He’s remiss
One brick flowed
From his load
One brick shy
On this guy
My mom is as extinct as the IBWO.
Dear G.M.A. Break:
I too yearn for an end to stupidity but I also yearn for a return of civility. Fred Collins is saying he is going looking for IBWO. Unlike CLO/TNC he is not showing bad evidence and asking for funds based on that evidence. That is stupidity. Most importantly, perhaps, he sees blurry video for the blurry video that is it.
A knee-jerk reaction by skeptics dumping on Fred feeds into an "us and them" mentality that is encouraged by the unintelligent on both sides.
And if you really want to look into how parents can influence their children’s adult behavior, I suggest you look at the background of the 17 "rediscovery" authors to see what caused them to seek fame rather than credibility.
Hey, has anybody noticed the follow up that Fishcrow posted on Birdchat?
He says that now that he has proven that there are at least 2 IBWO's in the Pearl area please do not come and look for them.
He says, "It would almost certainly be a waste of time."
I couldn't agree more.
"Unlike CLO/TNC he is not showing bad evidence and asking for funds based on that evidence."
Yes he is. Just read his email orginally posted by Tom. The history is that Houston Audubon was going to go search, but instead they are now joining forces with the $100,000 John Arvin GCBO federal funding. All of it based upon the hype and bad evidence presented by Fitz et al.
Q.E.D.
Signed,
G.M.A.B.
Yo G.M.A.B.:
Fred is not showing any evidence other than talking about the scalings that he finds intriguing. And he is expressing his lack of respect for blurry videos. I have not heard him on NPR telling people his scalings are the conservation story of the century nor will the scalings show up on a credit card sometime in the next few months. If you do any research on him on the Internet you can read how he has been intrigued with IBWO but is not wearing the Rosc-Colored binocs that are so popular in Arkansas.
I understand now why you want someone to give you a break because you are clearly in need of one. Fred came to this blog to explain what he was doing and exposed himself to whatever judgments skeptics would have about his search. Some people were nice to him and that pissed you off. If you think what he is doing is similar to what CLO/TNC has done then you can hold that view. I don’t and your earlier speculations about why people might be nice to him say much more about you than I need to know.
I notice you didn't address any of my points.
As for Fred not showing any evidence, how could he? The IBWO is extinct.
G.M.A.B.
Fred is not "not wearing the Rose-Colored binocs".
Whaaaaa? Are you kidding? He accepts the Arkansas evidence. And he "believes that Texas has even more birds."
Yes, you are right. He is not as bad as Fitz. He's worse!!!
Post a Comment