Post-1944 "IBWO" not ABA countable

I sent the following email to Bill Pranty:

Just checking--some time ago, I had heard that the ABA was allowing people to count recent alleged encounters with "Ivory-billed Woodpeckers" on their ABA lists.

There was a rumor that one high-end lister had ticked IBWO after seeing something while flying over the Big Woods area; David Chaffin also claims a heard-only "IBWO" as "a very memorable #799 ABA" here.

As I look at my new 2006 ABA Listing report, I see that any bird counted on these lists must be (rule 2): "a species currently accepted by the ABA Checklist Committee for Lists within its area...".

Do you think that the ABA is currently allowing people to count modern "IBWOs", a Code 6 species, on their ABA checklists?

Here is Bill's reply (posted with his permission), dated 7/24/07:

Tom,

The ABA Checklist Committee determines the legitimacy of birds reported to occur in the ABA Area (49 continental states, Canada, the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, and territorial waters up to 200 miles offshore, or half the distance to a neighboring country, whichever is less). The CLC also determines a "birding code" (1-6) that describes the likelihood of finding a species in the ABA Area.

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is -- and has been -- listed as a Code 6 species, which means that it is probably or definitely extinct, or at least extirpated from the ABA Area. The CLC will not change this code to a 5 ("accidental") unless proof of Ivory-billed Woodpecker occurrence is determined by the CLC.

The ABA Recording Standards and Ethics Committee chaired by Tony White is responsible for reviewing lists submitted by birders to ABA, and for determining under what circumstances certain species can be counted on personal lists submitted to ABA.

Tony and I work together as chairs of our respective committees.

The RSEC is aware that the CLC has retained Code 6 status for the Ivory-billed. Therefore, the RSEC should not be accepting any report of the species seen after 1944.

Nobody who submits lists to ABA for publication in ABA's annual list supplement should be claiming Ivory-billed Woodpecker seen after 1944. And any lists submitted with that species should be edited by the RSEC.

So no, ABA is NOT allowing anybody to count alleged Ivory-billeds on lists submitted to ABA. In fact, we are prohibiting such action, and have prohibited it for years.

Our annual CLC report is in review right now, set for publication in the November/December 2007 issue of _Birding_. In the report, we reiterate our stance that no recent report of Ivory-billed Woodpecker persistence in the ABA Area is accepted by the CLC. While we all remain hopeful that the species still exists and will be documented conclusively, we keep emotions out of our deliberations and focus solely on the evidence provided.

Best regards,

Bill Pranty
ABA Checklist Committee chair
Bayonet Point, Florida