1. Some updates from WorldTwitch are here.
2. More from Blue Crab Boulevard is here.
3. "More than Just Ivory-bills in the Choctawhatchee" here.
4. Bobby Harrison will speak again on April 11. Check out the details here.
Saturday
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How ironic is it that Bobby Harrison's talk at Abilene Christian University on "the holy grail of birds" will take place in an auditorium adjacent to the Bible Studies Building?
Why did they again use photos of Bobby and his ghillie suit and his kayak and 70 year old photos?
Oh yes. I forgot.
It's time for the press and the world of ornithology and science to step forward and tell Bobby, Fitz, and Hill "put up or shut up."
Doesn't it seem that Cornell should ask Fitz to resign to prevent further damage to their reputation? Doesn't that just make good sense?
This sighting–the first confirmed sighting since 1944 that two qualified observers had positively identified an Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the United States–quickly led to the largest search ever launched to find a rare bird and ultimately to the announcement in April, 2005 of the rediscovery of the species.
Confirmed? Two qualified observers? I guess anybody humility, caution, and understanding of reality need not apply to be an Ivory-billed researcher.
Help me understand this please. Worldtwitch moved to the Blue Crab Boulevard where he heard Ivory-bills in the Choctawhatchee just as Bobby was speaking about April 11?
This story is hopelessly convoluted.
I'm more apt to believe seeing a panther than an IBWO. Rob Pavey the Outdoor writer for the Augusta Chronicle had an interesting article in Nov-2006 (http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/112606/out_105996.shtml) and relates the release of panthers in Florida and migration to Eastern Georgia. One animal ended up near Augusta - nobody reported a sighting. A co-worker studied panthers in Florida in the 1980's and related tales of tracking a cats for weeks with only radio collars and never seeing the animals, only beeps on a reciever. It's a shame that Hill has taken the approach of not recognizing the presence of this species in the area - selective reporting...
dennis - augusta, ga
From Fishcrow's update on 3/25/07:
This has been very discouraging because I've never even had a possible sighting on foot--at least not until this morning, when a bird with a duck-like flight streaked across my path at canopy level. This sighting was similar to a possible sighting that I had last April, but this time I got the binos on it just before it disappeared from view. The belly was dark and the undersides of the wings appeared to be white.
Pileated? Black Duck?
And how long before "possible" gets upgraded to "probable" or "definite"?
I don't think I posted this before although I had it ready to go. Notice how Fishcrow's sightings are upgraded in each of these two cases. The original post is followed by the "*upgraded" version:
Feb. 2. I'm pretty sure that I saw an ivorybill this morning. I was drifting along in my kayak and saw a large woodpecker flush from ground level near the edge of the water less than a hundred meters ahead. It was flying nearly perpendicular to my line of sight like a bat out of hell. I immediately got my binoculars on it and saw it for a few seconds. It clearly had white patches on the trailing edge of the wings. This was easy to see since the view was from the side. Details were partially obscured by glare,
* 2-2-06. Definite sighting. I was drifting along in my kayak and spotted a bird that flushed from near the right bank and flew directly away from the water. I got my binos on the bird, but they were a little out of focus. I saw details, but they weren't sharp. I clearly saw the white trailing edge of the wings. Since the view was nearly from the side, it was clear that the white was on the trailing edge. I also saw an all-dark head and noticed a small patch of white on the neck.
Feb. 3. It was six years ago today that I heard ivorybill calls here at Stennis. I started the day near that location but, as expected, didn't see or hear anything. I then proceeded to the Pearl and headed back to stake out the location of yesterday's sighting. About a half mile downstream from that site, I noticed a woodpecker flying over from the left. It was large but clearly not a pileated. My initial impression was of a gigantic flicker. As I reached for my binoculars, it was passing almost directly overhead. I twisted my body to try to stay on it and nearly capsized the kayak. I saw white on the trailing edge of the wings, but it was another less than satisfying sighting. The sightings of the past two days have been very exciting, but I would have to answer "No" if I were an ornithologist and had to put my job on the line by answering the question, "Are you absolutely certain?" I hope to be able to say "Yes" to this question before long.
* 2-3-06. Definite sighting. I was paddling upstream and saw a large woodpecker flying over from my left. I immediately suspected ivorybill based on the size, flight style, long wings, and overall jizz. It was passing directly overhead as I reached for my binos. I got them on it for a split second and clearly saw a white rectangle on the trailing edge of the right wing. At that instant, I was twisting my body to stay on the bird and the kayak started to roll. Fortunately, I didn't end up in the water that time.
The man is nuts. Over at BirdForum there is somebody complaining about "name calling", but there is more evidence (in the form of Mike's actions and statements) that he's nuts than that the IBWO still exists. Here's just the latest in a long string:
One of the consequences of this lack of support from birders is that satisfying the skeptics has become a higher priority than the welfare of the species; while trying to obtain better data, searchers in the Choctawhatchee have disturbed two pairs of ivorybills, which will probably be prevented from nesting this year.
Two pairs of ivorybills? Probably prevented from nesting? Nobody can even show decent evidence for ONE bird and Mike is spouting about 2 PAIRS and NESTING. He's bonkers.
From Publisher's Weekly review of The Ghost with Trembling Wings: Science, Wishful Thinking and the Search for Lost Species:
Approximately 30,000 species of animals and plants go extinct every year. Weidensaul's narrative concerns those rare occurrences when a supposedly extinct animal makes a surprise reappearance, and the much more frequent occasions when scientists or civilians only think they've sighted a vanished creature. (My bold)
This was written before Cornell's "rediscovery."
"Two pairs of ivorybills? Probably prevented from nesting? Nobody can even show decent evidence for ONE bird and Mike is spouting about 2 PAIRS and NESTING. He's bonkers."
Please give credit where it is due. Drs. Hill and Mennill hypothesized that they have found a full-blown population of IBWOs in Florida and that these are likely nesting. Mike Collins' view is that of well-known PhD ornithologists who write nice books and peer-reviewed articles.
Please give credit where it is due.
Exactly. And Hillcrow and Mennillcrow are actually dilusional. Whereas, Fishcrow is the greatest practical joker of all time.
God bless Fishcrow. He's just posted this on ID Frontiers;
Last year, I flushed an Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the
Pearl River and then obtained several short video clips during the next 12 minutes. This wasn't far from Kulivan's sighting, and I had several other sightings in the same location during the preceding four days.
This video was briefly discussed on this board last year, but this was before I had a chance to carefully analyze it and before I was aware of a key piece of footage.
One of the sequences is hard to interpret since the bird is partially hidden by vegetation, but Michael DiGiorgio has prepared illustrations that make it easier to understand. He has also prepared
illustrations that bring to life my four best sightings. I have not managed to obtain additional
footage this year, but I have obtained data that has been useful for analyzing last year's video. This updated material is presented here...
http://www.fishcrow.com/winter06.html
Mike Collins
Pearl River
Hope he's wearing a hard hat on top of the tinfoil one......
I just love the photos with the Ivory-billeds painted into them. Very helpful.
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