Check out this article.
An excerpt:
The people coordinating the ivory-billed woodpecker search at Congaree National Park were surprised that a map in the December issue of National Geographic indicates there were unconfirmed sightings of the bird there in 2006.The ridiculous map from Mel White's article is available here (PDF format).
They don’t question the map’s accuracy; they just wouldn’t go quite that far. They stick to a strict guideline: Don’t publicize potential sightings until you have incontrovertible proof.
They don’t have that at Congaree National Park. Not yet, at least.
“There were potential encounters that occurred,” said Jennifer Koches, spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which organized the search. “But nothing that we can claim as confirmed documentation.
“We’re going to have to be totally definitive before we go forward with anything. There’s going to have to be photographic evidence.”
Koches refused to offer details about the “potential encounters” other than to say the people involved were knowledgeable about the large woodpeckers that long have been feared to be extinct. What the searchers found in the 24,600-acre bottomland forest prompted the Fish and Wildlife Service to return to the park in 2007 for another coordinated search. Federal agencies and The Nature Conservancy recently hired Matthew Moskwik to coordinate the effort.
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4 comments:
Well...that's it then....the birds are everywhere. If the National Geographic has them on one of their maps, then it must be true.
Which is why all this "aetheist" (or atheist depending on your preference) talk is absurd. Clearly the trend favors us IBWO Pantheists. But now we want to take it to the next level. And this means going from "IBWO are everywhere" to "everything is an IBWO".
When everyone adopts that view most conflicts between humans will disappear. Thank you CLO for providing a faith that allowed us to see that the petty quibbling over PIWO vs IBWO could best be ended by accepting everything as an IBWO. Given the ease with which you broke down what appeared to be a major taxonomic barrier we now see that the relatively minor differences separating groups of humans can easily be overcome.
The CLO and IBWO have shown us the way. To show their devotion to our new faith we ask all converts to face Sapsucker Woods at noon. Tearing up while doing so increases your stature in our religion - and also increases your chances of "seeing" an "IBWO".
IBWO Pantheist may be on to something.
The standard for birdwatchers and ornithologists is not, "Can you prove it was an IBWO that you saw?"
Nope. The standard is "Can you prove that what you saw was NOT an IBWO?"
Same thing with sounds. I always assumed Keith Moon was a great drummer. Now I realize that I can't *prove* with 100% certainty that some of those drumming sounds weren't made by an ivory-billed woodpecker, e.g., hiding in the Smothers Brothers studio.
This new found worldview is already filling my heart with hope and wonder. More than anything else, I am reminded of the Olympics in Lake Placid.
I will wager the owner of this Blog a subtanstial amount of money that one or more high quality videos of ivory bill woodpeckers will emerge within 12 months. The author is clueless about the latest findings in Choctawhatchee River Florida and Pearl River Louisiana. New videos from both locations exists. You will eat crow soon when proof emerges. Nesting pairs may be found and documented as well. It will come out soon. Mankind has obviously not explored the forests of USA very well. Your mind is extremely closed and you can't see your own folly. Bummer for you !
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