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20 comments:
I found an Ivory-bill
http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=5/13817530938.jpg&s=f5
MAYBE WHEN THE LATTE-SIPPING GREENHORNS LEAVE THE WOODS A REAL OUTDOORSPERSON WILL GET THE PHOTO OF THE BIRDS THAT HAVE BEEN IN ARKANSAS ALL ALONG.
Searchers for Jimmy Hoffa discover an IBWO near suspected burial site.
Cornell and The Nature Conservancy today announced that one of the people digging up a Michigan farm, in hopes of finding the remains of Jimmy Hoffa, reported a teasing glimpse and a tantalizing sound that could only be an Ivory-billed Woodpecker. The species, thought to be extinct for decades, then thought to be alive for about a year, then thought to be extinct for about 48 hours, is now thought to be alive again.
"As you can imagine this has been a roller coaster week for us" sighed the Cornell media representative, who asked not to be named (and who also asked this reporter if they knew of any job openings in institutions that still had some credibility). She continued “But the CLO has asked me to say that this search has always been about hope and anyone digging random holes in a Michigan farm trying to find a union leader who was last seen in 1975 knows what hope is all about.”
Cornell plans to act quickly and have its well trained army of birders move into a nearby farmhouse, don their camo and start the search.
“This is more than I could have ever hoped for” said John Fitzpatrick of the CLO “This entire story has been about resurrection and with these sightings both the IBWO and my career have a new beginning”
While there has not been a valid sighting of an Ivory Bill in six decades and Jimmy Hoffa has not been seen in the last three decades, there is hope that a combined search may provide the synergy that will allow both to be “rediscovered” again.
Thanks to Tom Nelson's hard work, we now know for certain that the IBWO is extinct. You go, Tommy-boy! Without this blog none of this would have been possible.
Anonynous wrote:
MAYBE WHEN THE LATTE-SIPPING GREENHORNS LEAVE...
Go get 'em Bobby!
I think you're right. It appears you have to sip more than lattes to find these AR birds.
P.S. You'll find the "Caps Lock" right above the left shift key.
What happened to the cult of
true believers over at BirdForum?
They're as quiet as an Arkansas
Ivorybill.
The authorship should have given it away
Because we were all so excited that IBWO had been "seen" we didn't pay enough attention to the 17 "ornithologists” who authored the “rediscovery” paper.
It is now clear that the majority were CLO and TNC functionaries who had no reason to be on a scientific paper discussing the evidence for why a species thought to be extinct was now extant. They were people who are career bureaucrats in the non-profit conservation bureaucracy that runs on the donations of both the concerned and naïve. They couldn’t lose any status in the ornithological community because they never were part of it.
Rather than being driven by scientific curiosity about birds or a need for rigor in observations they were preoccupied with maintaining and increasing the stream of funds to their parent institutions.
And when you look at some of the biggest “rediscovery” defenders on the web you find that one (Erickson) gushes about the CLO in her attempts to pawn off optics to the public while another (Zickefoose - who goes out of her way to stand up for Fishcrow) used to work for TNC and now sells paintings to Cornell.
Finding any major player who didn’t or doesn't have a financial stake in the rediscovery is next to impossible.
Clearly these people should have just gone directly into the corporate world where this sort of greed is respected. If they had the legend and mystique that Ivory-bills once had would still be intact.
To tell you the truth I thought I would feel smug in knowing the outcome of this years search, but I don't.
This whole episode was just plain wrong and I guess having Tom expose all the faults in their evidence was the right thing to do. It had to be done for the good of science.
As I watched this whole thing unfold I thought - "Look at all these dopes running around the woods.They're all just wasting their time." But as time went on I felt more ashamed at berating these people.
Mainly I felt bad for all the volunteers who honestly believed in what they were doing. I eventually wanted them to find the IBWO. Hell I even wanted Mike Collins to find the bird. Anyone!
I did so want to be proven wrong in this case. Wouldn't it have been magical?
I'm sorry guys.
A beautiful day up here on the central flyway and the Carpinterio reflects on the the scene there in Brinkley as the Ghillie suits are folded neatly and the GPS units are packed away and all the data in the little waterproof books is cartoned up for futhther analysis over the long cold winter in Ithaca.
The good Dr. Fitzcrow has gone to ground, looking forward to some quiet time in Christmas Cove and some space to read and think about how to address the real conservation challenges of our day: Species loss, habiat fragmentation, climate change, illeagal logging in amazonia, Peruvian forest policy ... the solid issues that, though intractable, bedevil him only in the sense that it is hard to adress them without offending any donors.
But now this woodpecker thing dogs him everywhere,
But one note of advice ... Rhyme of the Ivorybill Ornitholigist
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.
Fitzpatrick can't participate in the conference calls, his email is full up, his voicemail overfloweth, the press can't reach him ... but here in Sapsukerwoods, he meets a hermit, and the hermit tells him there is one way out:
`O shrieve me, shrieve me, holy man !'
The Hermit crossed his brow.
`Say quick,' quoth he, `I bid thee say--
What manner of man art thou ?'
Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched
With a woful agony,
Which forced me to begin my tale ;
And then it left me free.
Ah ! well a-day ! what evil looks
Had I from old and young !
Instead of the cross, the Ivory Bill
About my neck was hung.
Hey get a load of Birdchick reports. What a hoot. She saw an IBWO!
Good for her. Somehow I knew she wouldn't let us down.
Anonymous wrote:
Mainly I felt bad for all the volunteers who honestly believed in what they were doing.
I was one of the volunteers, don't feel bad for me :) . I want to thank Tom for this site since after reading it (and the Jackson perspective) I went down there with the attitude of maybe there is something here, maybe there isn't. I still felt (and still do feel) my efforts were worthwhile since it was going to take people looking for the bird to draw conclusions about Cornell's claim (unless you are a true non-believer). Not seeing a bird is still data. I met a lot of interesting people and spent 2 weeks birding in a place I've never been before. No complaints from me. I would do it again even knowing what I know today. It still was disappointing when they made the end-of-season announcement though.
Sorry about what? We all feel the same way except for our feelings towards:
Gallagher
Harrison
Sparling
Laneau
Fitpatrick et al
They rode the gravy train, if they had requested PEER review from Sibley and Jackson, I believe none of this would have happened. They weren't interested in peer review only Fame, Glory, Money, Prestige, et al.
If the issue is profiteering... somebody tell me what's up with land acquisition. We know the that TNC is very happy collecting public and private money, and that they're in the business of land purchase. The Federal government has specifically pitched in acquisition funds. What choice ivory-bill habitat are they buying with all of that money and who are they buying it from? Exactly who is pocketing a multi-million dollar windfall to sell their otherwise low priority swampland at ivory-bill urgency prices? It only takes a rumor to elevate real estate prices... and of course that's all we really ever had.
I think that is a good point. We have been told to not worry about finding IBWOs because the means justify the ends.
But what price are they having to pay? Isn't it now an elevated price? Could land have been bought cheaper at pre-IBWO prices?
Live by the IBWO....Die by the IBWO..
(Reputations...that is...I trust no one actually died out there in those Arkansas swamps)
Thank god for Texas....Home of the last surviving IBWO's.
Anyone heard from John Arvin and Fred Collins? Are they OK? Are we in secrecy blackout?
Signed,
The True Believer
I think most of the land purchased in AR (after the discovery) has been farmland planted in hardwoods adjacent to the refuge. Not IBWO habitat. Well not for another 60-100 years at least.
"Not seeing a bird is still data" wrote one of the volunteer searchers on this thread, 22 May. The volunteer searchers did a heck of a good job overall, and it is very true that no data are still data. Thus, the net result of all searching done to date, and of all "evidence" we have been presented with is undeniable: WE CAN BE SURE THAT THERE ARE NO IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKERS IN THE WHITE/CACHE RIVER AREA OF ARKANSAS. I'm convinced -- they have thoroughly proved it. Now let's hope other searches are productive. I think east Texas has the best chance.
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