Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Rediscovered in Arkansas

[Puglover]

<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4622633>

Morning Edition, April 28, 2005 · A group of wildlife scientists believe the ivory-billed woodpecker is not extinct. They say they have made seven firm sightings of the bird in central Arkansas. The landmark find caps a search that began more than 60 years ago, after biologists said North America’s largest woodpecker had become extinct in the United States.

Wow, some good news for a change!

[mopinko]

1. .

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[bertha katzenengel]

2. They've SEEN IT?!

Fantastic!!

Thank you, Puglover. You made my day.

[NickB79]

49. It says they have it on video, and have known about it for over a year!

WOW!

[BOHICA06]

3. WoooHoooooo!

Love to see progress .... but could use a little less progress with them alligators :o

[Puglover]

4. I remember being in grade school

a few (ahem) years back and hearing about how this bird was extinct and being really sad about it. It's so great to read this. A real gift. I wonder if it was sighted on Whitewater land?
:evilgrin:

[Lochloosa]

73. Oh come on BOHICA06....Gators are you friend

[livetohike]

5. In my heart, I knew it!

This has been my bird watcher's dream for thirty years. Must get to Arkansas :-).

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[5X]

6. For birders, this is huge.

birders will spend a fortune to increase their
life list of birds, this is one here in the usa.

[On the Road]

7. Picture from the Artcle:

Is this what they saw? I think they've been tricked by a fake. :smoke:

No seriously, I've seen a pileated woodpecker a couple of times in Maryland and it is one impressive bird. The ivory-billed is kind of a sister species. I had heard that Cuba was the most promising location for rediscovering it. Maybe it's in both places.

[Puglover]

8. It says underneath the pic that

it's an artists image. There is a blurry pic on CNN.

[On the Road]

17. Just Foolin'

I thought it was funny to see a photo of the men in the boat with binoculars accompanied by the picture of the museum display.

[trekbiker]

9. they have it on video...

arkansas... white river bottomlands I think??? video'd and confirmed by several experts early last year. Nature conservancy and several others have been keeping the discovery hush hush while they buy up more land to protect the habitat..

[Ilsa]

10. The pileated has much darker bill, and doesn't have those

wonderful contrasting white stripes, etc.

[jpak]

20. The Cuban Ivory Bill is highly endangered but this gives me hope

http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:5qCGEo3hwgwJ:elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v065n04/p0497-p0507.pdf+imperial+woodpecker+cuba&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

I think this rediscovery is absolutely electrifying!!!!!!!!!!

I sincerely hope that these survivors are not loved-to-death by adoring birders or poached by endangered-feces-hatin' freeps....

This is just too fucking cool.

[kilgore65]

55. Thanks for the link on the Cuban Ivorybill...

fascinating read!!!

[XemaSab]

69. the ivory billed is about 20 inches

from tip to toe, compared with 17 for the pileated.

Much bigger bird.

[TahitiNut]

11. The "Lord God" Bird

The more exotic colloquial name for the ivory-billed woodpecker is the "Lord God" bird.

"The story goes that the name came about because when a person first spotted one, they'd say 'Lord God, what a woodpecker,' because the birds are really, really big," said Jerome Jackson, an ornithologist at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Jackson served on the planning team for the expedition and has written a book on ivorybills that will be published next year by the Smithsonian Institution.

The birds are huge as birds go; about 20 inches (51 centimeters) long with a wingspan of nearly three feet (0.9 meters). Because they are so large, they need a lot of forest in which to live, and were probably never very numerous. They declined steadily in number as a result of hunting and habitat loss from clear-cutting of forests.

"Between 1880 and 1910, most of the virgin forests of the Southeast United States were cut," said Jackson. "It was also the heyday of collecting—the birds were shot and stuffed for decorating the parlor and for museum collections."

In addition, Native Americans revered the ivorybill as a symbol of success in warfare. The bills were widely traded, "almost like currency," Jackson said, and have been found in graves and Indian middens as far away as Colorado and Michigan. "I saw one war pipe in a museum collection that had seven bills and scalps dangling from it," said Jackson.

The ivorybill is officially listed as endangered, but not extinct. The last viable population of the birds was documented by James Tanner in the 1930s in what is now the Tensas National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Louisiana.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/01/0115_020115woodpecker.html

[Puglover]

12. Tahitinut

Thanks for the excellent back ground. I feel like such a nerdbucket but I really am thrilled about this!

[tabasco]

13. Me too. It is truly a reason to rejoice.

You should not feel like a nerdbucket (but then again I don't know what that is).

I pray that it is true.

A beautiful species that maybe we didn't wipe out.

[tencats]

14. Mary Scott, recounts her personal encounter with the bird in Arkansas.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Mary Scott, an Arizona birding enthusiast who has pursued the ivory-billed woodpecker for years, posted on the Internet an account of her personal encounter with the bird in Arkansas. She said her sighting two years ago of the white-striped woodpecker with a crested crown helped spur scientists and conservation officials to come to Arkansas and confirm that the bird, indeed, is living there.

http://www.birdingamerica.com/ivorybilledwoodpecker.htm

"Many of you have wondered why after years of searching for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, giving lectures about the bird and the search, and reporting on the bird, my website came to a complete halt in the spring of 2003. It is because I actually saw the bird."

[sinkingfeeling]

16. Wish she said where in Arkansas she was. I have a woodpecker

around that was trying to 'peck' on a metal attic pipe about 2 weeks ago. I never looked too closely at it, just assumed it was a large, normal, red-headed woodpecker. If I see him again, I'll certainly take a closer look.

[pie]

25. A woodpecker with a three foot wingspan!

What a sight that would be.

[Gildor Inglorion]

15. I wish they wouldn't publicize it....

I grew up among hillbillies in north Georgia. If the Arkansas variety are they same (and I'm pretty sure they are!), hundreds of them are already combing the woods with their rifles, hoping to "bag" an ivorybill. Why? Because it's there, and because they can.
:(

[Sabriel]

18. If you want to read more about it:

There's a wonderful young adult book called The Race to Save the Lord God Bird, by Philip Hoose. I guess he'll have to write another chapter for the next edition!

[Name removed]

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[Bridget Burke]

21. Reading comprehension problems?

There's some pretty good evidence this sighting is real.

[Name removed]

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[Bridget Burke]

24. My, what an intelligent answer.

Did you read the article?

[Name removed]

26. Deleted message

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[frictionlessO]

33. These posts are the Lord God Pessimist posts...

Are you sincerely trying to keep people form getting their hopes up are do you just enjoy taking the piss out of peoples hopes??

Other than that, you might be right and you could very well be wrong. They took several years and kept this hushy, not something someone who is trying to garner attention for themselves is likely to do.

And big ol' Welcome to DU to you.

[Puglover]

23. Great to know we have an Ornithologist

on site.


:sarcasm:


Welcome to DU!

[Name removed]

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[jpak]

30. This was published in the journal Science

Science is one of the most prestigious scientific journals on the planet - and it is peer reviewed.

Please write a technical comment on the article and see how the editors and authors respond to it....

on edit: link to Science abstract...

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1114103

[Name removed]

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[jpak]

42. The authors had this under wraps for at least two years...

...and they have undisputed photographic evidence.

...and the review process took nearly a month to complete.

The authors and editors did not take shortcuts and this is the real deal.

Troll on...

[Name removed]

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[jpak]

48. Extinct!

n/t

[Sabriel]

29. Looks like we've sighted a Loud-Mouthed Smoke-Blower here

Too bad THEY aren't extinct.

[Bridget Burke]

31. Not extinct yet....

But definitely endangered!

[Name removed]

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[Sabriel]

50. Too bad! NOW it's extinct. n/t

[hatrack]

57. Say, what happened to Mark Trail?

Oh, I guess he had to go bust some drug smugglers with sideburns and five-o'clock shadow. :evilgrin:

[Name removed]

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[pmbryant]

32. Absolutely spectacular news

I didn't believe it at first, but after reading about it, this seems like the real deal.

http://pmbryant.typepad.com/b_and_b/2005/04/ivorybilled_woo.html

:bounce:

Peter

[Greylyn58]

34. I love hearing good news for a change

This is so great. I love that a creature has survived us instead of being wiped out because of us. A beautiful bird. I have a feeder on my apartment balcony and I have a cute little Downy Woodpecker that comes around every day to eat.

This is so great that this bird is still around.

[Toucano]

35. That's fantastic!

I remember reading that people were searching for them based on their call a few years ago.

I'm so glad they're not gone.

[BreweryYardRat]

36. Glee!

Too excited for words. And too pressed for time to wait and calm down before posting, so:

YAY!!!

[Massachusetts]

37. So, there is where Monica has been....

[dbackjon]

40. Been so excited all morning

Incredible.

And with Nature, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and TNC in on this, I do not doubt the sightings are genuine.

[Name removed]

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[Julius Civitatus]

43. After the discovery, the Bush administration will sign...

the new Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Protection Act, that will allow all NRA members to hunt the bird, for its own good. "We would have to destroy the woodpeckers in order to save them."

:sarcasm:

Now seriously, it wouldn't surprise me if they did.

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

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[Julius Civitatus]

47. I believe you may have missed the big "sarcasm" sign

in my post. I thought so.

Nevertheless, I have very little sympathy for those who hunt defenseless animals for sport.

[booksenkatz]

45. Puglover, you've just made this birder's day... woo-hoo!! :)

When we lived in Florida, we had a blast seeing all of those pileated woodpeckers that look like they're from Mars, and the ladderbacks; it was always so sad to think that we'd never see an ivory-billed. This is really great news!! Now we need to hightail it to Arkansas!

[ozone_man]

51. Great news!

Back from extinction. I've seen Pileated Woodpeckers, but it would be great to see one of these one day.

[dbt]

52. Johnny Cash, Al Green, Billy Bob Thornton, Levon Helm,

Mary Steenburgen, Louis Jordan, Johnnie Taylor, Glen Campbell, Patsy Montana, Bill Clinton, J. William Fulbright, Dale Bumpers, David Pryor, Dizzy Dean, Bob Burns, Lum and Abner--

and now the ivory-billed woodpecker. Thank you, Goddess, for putting me in Arkansas.

[The Stranger]

53. Now the problem is people pursuing it and damaging what is left of the

species. Too bad everyone cannot just know at least one is still out there, and give to the Nature Conservancy in the hopes that it may find another, and prosper.

[Beowulf]

54. A terrific children's book

was published last year on this bird and the efforts to save it from extinction. THE RACE TO SAVE THE LORD GOD BIRD by Philip Hoose.

No, I'm not the author, related to the author, know the author, met the author, or in the business of selling books.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0374361738/102-5082738-7911331?v=glance

[Chicago Democrat]

56. This is the Woody Woodpecker species of woodpecker!

I always wondered why I never saw an actual woodpecker that looked like the cartoon charactor!

Isn't it amazing that when the cartoon started the bird must have been common enough to recognise. I didn't even know it was an actual species with red pointy hair. I am glad they found a couple of them.

[Up2Late]

60. DDT and out of control logging almost killed off a bunch of our birds

Most remember the Bald Eagle as endangered in the 1970's. But, if it hadn't been for the Bald Eagle becoming endangered, we could have killed off a lot of our bird, before banning DDT.:hippie:

[ozone_man]

63. The Pileated Woodpecker is similar.

They both have big red heads like Woody, but the Ivory Billed is larger and appears to have a taller red crest.

[AngryAmish]

58. What does someone have to say to get banned ...

in a WOODPECKER thread.

I can see religous v. atheist, mac v. pc, yankees v. red sox. But what is there to argue about in a thread about a rediscovered woodpecker?

[Robeson]

62. I don't know.....

...they deleted the person before I saw the messages. They must have been acting like a real jerk or were flamebaiting, or are just pissed that the species will be protected, and they want be able to hunt them to extinction. Probably a combination of all three.

[Up2Late]

59. I just can't understand why they kept the sightings secret for 14 Months.

Is is this an ego thing? or would telling more folks, risk sending it deeper into the woods?

One thing that disappointed me about the NPR story was, they didn't say if they analyzed the SOUND recordings! I hear several Pileated Wood Peckers in the background noise.

Their might be the sound of the Ivory-billed (the sound of an Ivory-billed is that of a "False note" of a Clarinet), but it sounds to high to me, but, because it's in a different part of the country, it could be slightly different that the sound scientist remember from 60 years ago. Sound is how I know that I still have Pileated woodpeckers in my neighborhood.

I'm not sure if these links have been posted here yet but, here you go:

'Science Magazine' Paper Confirming Sighting

Here is a PDF file (with Photos) from the Science Magazine article.
<http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/rapidpdf/1114103v1.pdf>

IvoryBill.org -- Press Releases, Search and Refuge Preservation Details
:hippie:

[geniph]

64. They've kept it quiet for 2 reasons:

First, to verify that what had been repeatedly reported was indeed the presumed-extinct species, and second, to keep people from rushing in there (amateur birders and collectors of exoticism) and driving them out of what little habitat remains to them.

This news brought tears to my eyes. This has been the holy grail of ornithology for my entire life.

[Robeson]

61. Great News!....

...and Thanks!..:thumbsup:

[ima_sinnic]

65. oh, that is fabulous!!

I will always remember what a rush it was, near the end of one winter, to follow the drumming sound of a woodpecker in the little woods behind my house in Maine to a pileated tearing hell out of a dead tree. He was waling on that thing, sending shreds of dead wood all over the place. And even up in Maine I always looked closely at any pileateds to see if maybe, MAYBE his bill was ivory! :D

[0007]

66. "The Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker" was spotted on the Senate Floor today

[obreaslan]

67. Hooray!!!

WOodpeckers ar my favorite birds. This is good news!

[quaoar]

68. The link says it was found in central Arkansas

I imagine it was close to the Mississippi River, although I'm sure the exact location will remain secret to keep out souvenir hunters.

I sure hope the land where the birds are living can be protected. A protected preserve needs to be established.

The ivory-billed woodpecker lived in bottomland hardwood forests along rivers and ate a diet almost exclusively of certain kinds of grubs. It suffered from development and logging because it was never able to adapt the way pileated woodpeckers have. Pileateds can be seen in suburbs now.

The last time they were studied in the 30s and 40s by James Tanner it was in the Singer Tract in northeast Louisiana. This was a large tract of forest owned by the Singer Company (the one that makes sewing machines). Tanner tried to persuade the company to establish a preserve in part of the tract, but Singer refused and logged it. The birds had not been seen since -- until now.

To this day I refuse to buy anything with the Singer brand attached.

[DFWJock]

71. This is very cool

right wing nuts probably blaming Bill and Hillary for initial extinction.

[quaoar]

70. From the Audubon Society

http://www.audubon.org/news/press_releases/index.html

CONSERVATIONISTS WORLDWIDE CELEBRATE REDISCOVERY OF IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER

Globally Significant Discovery Offers Second Chance to Protect America’s Largest Woodpecker


New York, NY, April 28, 2005 – National Audubon Society, BirdLife International, and other conservationists around the globe joined in celebration at today’s announcement that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker has been found in eastern Arkansas. The last accepted sightings of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker were in Cuba in 1987 and 1988, and the last fully documented United States sighting occurred in Louisiana in 1944. While there have been a number of reports of possible Ivory-billed Woodpecker sightings since then, none have been confirmed prior to today’s announcement.

“All of us who share this planet owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the individuals and organizations whose tireless efforts led to the rediscovery of this bird,” said John Flicker, president of the National Audubon Society. “Thanks to their dedication, we all have a second chance to save this magnificent woodpecker from extinction. As it inspires our hopes, this resilient Ivory-billed Woodpecker must also inspire our commitment to protect the habitat it needs for survival.”

“This extraordinary rediscovery provides hope for the 18 species classified as Potentially Extinct, such as Jamaican Petrel, Javan Lapwing and Pink-headed Duck,” says Dr. Michael Rands, director and chief executive, BirdLife International.

A large, approximately 20-inch bird, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is dependent on old-growth forests of very large trees, such as cypress, for its habitat. Destruction and fragmentation of virgin bottomland forests throughout the southern United States, including floodplain forests along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, led to its decline and eventually to its believed extinction.

[XemaSab]

72. Wow!

I thought I had "finished" the woodpeckers two months ago in Texas with the Golden Fronted.

Amazing!

Looks like Arkansas is the next destination!

[Up2Late]

75. Good luck!

I live in a part of Georgia with a LOT of Pileated Wood Peckers, and even though I hear them all the time, I've only SEEN one twice in 5 years.:hippie:

[XemaSab]

76. The survey crews

spent 7,000 hours surveying, and had 15 sightings.

At 10 hours a day, that's almost 2 years, and that makes one sighting every 1.6 months, or about 6 1/2 weeks. 6 1/2 weeks of 10 hour days is a LONG time to slog through the bottomland hardwood.

I wonder how many cottonmouths the researchers saw in those 2 years.

[Up2Late]

74. 2 NEW Stories, Just aired on NPR's All Things Considered!

Here are the links, If you are out West, you will probably catch the replay in about 2 hours.

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Found Not to Be Extinct

On-line Audio for this story will be available at approx. 7:30 p.m. ET

All Things Considered, April 28, 2005 · The ivory-billed woodpecker was thought to be extinct. Now, scientists say it's been sighted again and conservationists are planning ways to protect it. The striking bird has been discovered in the Big Woods area of Arkansas. Christopher Joyce reports.

The Ivory-Bill, Found

by Julie Zickefoose
On-line Audio for this story will be available at approx. 7:30 p.m. ET

All Things Considered, April 28, 2005 · Our commentator has been dreaming of ivory-billed woodpeckers since she was eight years old. She and other bird-lovers around the world are excited at news that the species, once feared extinct, has been rediscovered in the Arkansas wilderness. But now she's begun to worry whether the bird can survive all the attention mankind will heap on it.

[SlowDownFast]

77. that IS good news!

best news in a long while.

[ashling]

78. 'Extinct' Pecker pops up

I posted this headline from th sun, but apparently mine got the eye of the monitors - I can't find it and its not on my my posts page.
mayybe they objected to my viagra comment