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A _crow is born

As reported at BINAC here, another very odd "Ivory-bill" tale has resurfaced. It appears that this one wouldn't have seen the light of day if not for the Hill/Mennill claims.

Again, this whole hysteria is far more about psychology than ornithology.

Yesterday, Cyberthrush briefly pointed to this story under the headline "A Very Merry Christmas From Jim Stephenson", along with this text:

I assume this is legit (...if it isn't, killing a feral cat will be the least of Jim's crimes) --- master birder Jim Stevenson of Texas weaves an interesting, previously-untold tale of Ivory-bill discovery here...

That post has now been replaced with this one:

Since too many elements of the Jim Stevenson article seem non-credible I'm deleting it unless or until there is further validation for it. If you didn't read it don't worry about it; if you did consider it entertainment for now.

Don Kennedy editorial

Here.

An excerpt:

...The worst miss was the prediction that the ivory-billed woodpecker would be re-found. Come on, birders, give us some help out there; a good photo, please, not the skin.

State of Science, 2006

The IBWO debacle is prominently mentioned in an article by AP science writer Seth Borenstein here.

A photo of a guy standing by a pretty big tree

Now available here.

Why the IBWO is like Santa

An emailer wrote:

Santa: brings gifts to those who believe in him
IBWO: brings donations to those who believe in it

Santa: inexplicable sightings from all over the country reinforce rather than discourage believers
IBWO: inexplicable sightings from all over the country reinforce rather than discourage believers

Santa: Media plays along with his existence - news shows report “sightings from NORAD” on Christmas Eve since it is a “feel good story”
IBWO: Media plays along with existence - NPR reports “sightings from kayaks” in Arkansas since it is a “feel good story”

Santa: his elves wear ridiculous costumes and appear not to have lives of their own
IBWO: his searchers wear ridiculous costumes and appear not to have lives of their own

Santa: even those who know he doesn’t exist think he is important for what he represents
IBWO: even those who know it doesn’t exist think it is important for what it represents

Santa: no picture that can’t be debunked
IBWO: no picture that can’t be debunked

Santa: propelled by the astonishing flight of 8 gravity-defying reindeer
IBWO: propelled by the astonishing hubris of 17 reality-denying authors

Santa: Ho, ho, ho.
IBWO: Kent, kent, kent.

Christmas cheer

An emailer writes:

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
An ivorybill in a Chinese tallow tree.
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Two paddle-cams
And an ivorybill in a Chinese tallow tree.
On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Three ARUs, two paddle-cams
And an ivorybill in a Chinese tallow tree.
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Four seconds of video, three ARUs, two paddle-cams
And an ivorybill in a Chinese tallow tree.
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Five golden ghillie suits,
Four seconds of video, three ARUs, two paddle cams
And an ivorybill in a Chinese tallow tree.
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Six remote cameras – five golden ghillie suits,
Four seconds of video, three ARUs, two paddle-cams
And an ivorybill in a Chinese tallow tree.
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Seven Lord-Gods leaping, six remote cameras,
Five golden ghillie suits,
Four seconds of video, three ARUs, two paddle-cams
And an ivorybill in a Chinese tallow tree.
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eight swamps for searching, seven Lord-Gods leaping,
Six remote cameras – five golden ghillie suits,
Four seconds of video, three ARUs, two paddle-cams
And an ivorybill in a Chinese tallow tree.
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Nine double-raps, eight swamps for searching,
Seven Lord-Gods leaping, six remote cameras,
Five golden ghillie suits,
Four seconds of video three ARUs, two paddle-cams
And an ivorybill in a Chinese tallow tree.
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Ten kents a’callin, nine double raps, eight swamps for searching,
Seven Lord-Gods leaping, six remote cameras,
Five golden ghillie suits
Four seconds of video, three ARUs, two paddle-cams
And an ivorybill in a Chinese tallow tree.
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eleven book-signings, ten kents a’callin, nine double raps,
Eight swamps for searching, seven Lord-Gods leaping,
Six remote cameras – five golden ghillie suits,
Four seconds of video, three ARUs, two paddle-cams
And an ivorybill in a Chinese tallow tree.
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Twelve speaking engagements, eleven book-signings,
Ten kents a’callin, nine double raps, eight swamps for searching,
Seven Lord-Gods leaping, six remote cameras,
Five golden ghillie suits,
Four seconds of video, three ARUs, two paddle-cams
And an ivorybill in a Chinese tallow tree.

Another exciting update from the AP

Here.

An excerpt:

And Rideout said it is possible that Davis and Robison did see an ivory-billed woodpecker.

"It's definitely not always a black or white with this kind of thing," Rideout said. "I think because the sighting was in an area where there have been other sightings, we will have some search effort in that area this year," she said.

Update: The Commercial Appeal (Memphis) gives the story this headline: "Sighting revives woodpecker hunt".

The Chester Moore connection

I just found this Cryptomundo posting on Chester Moore. An excerpt:

There is a new interview with Texas-based monster metal band FREAK13’s Chester Moore who tells about his upcoming tour during the summer of 2007. In the interview, Moore seems to be saying he more or less indirectly was involved in the discovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker. A friend of Ted Nugent, Moore is an outspoken advocate for killing a Bigfoot to prove they exist, which is not discussed.

Moore is described as a "wildlife researcher/author" in this April 2005 article. An excerpt:

Moore has logged expeditions search for the elusive species in Louisiana and Texas and even got to spend time in the field with the Zeiss-sponsored research team in the Pearl River Wildlife Management Area in 2002.

“I have been doing ivorybill research since the late 1990s, but going out in the field with Zeiss team members David Luneau and Martjan Lammertink really opened my eyes up to the possibilities. They were very enthused with the habitat they found in one tract we were in and I looked around and realized it is identical to that found along the Sabine River,” Moore said.

This accompanying photo is captioned "Researcher Chester Moore points out ivorybill sign in the Sabine River bottoms."

Moore's Cryptokeeper web site is here.

Finally, don't miss the "Chester Moore donates materials for a Southern Bigfoot Exhibit" article here (PDF format).

Comparing IBWO skeptics to Santa skeptics

Here.

Discovery Channel story

The Discovery Channel gives that ubiquitous AP story (female IBWO allegedly swoops behind a truck) this headline: "Ivory-Billed Sightings Piling Up".

They also include this picture, with a caption including this text:

People in the region report spotting the bird nearly every day.

WorldTwitch again

An excerpt from this page:

Update: Winging It has printed idiotic Audubon propaganda about the ridiculous, copycat claims from Auburn University, warning birders to stay out of the study site in Florida -- "we can all agree that [the report] inspires hope" etc. (Nov/Dec 2006, p.20). No we can't. What this article actually inspires is fury that money that should be spent on essential habitat conservation and research by competent biologists is being wasted and that organizations founded by serious birders are now run by charlatans. It's a zero-sum game, and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker nonsense is zeroing out legitimate projects.