Ivory-Billed Woodpecker-- is it extinct after all?

[ailsagirl]

Remember some years back, researchers said they spied an IBW deep
in the swamps of Arkansas? I don't believe anything has been seen
since-- does anyone know? I was delirious when I first heard the
news-- I LOVE woodpeckers and these beauties are hard to forget.

[semillama]

1. Maybe is your best answer.

But if you ask Mike Collins (aka "Fishcrow") the answer is a definitive NO.

http://fishcrow.com/

Collins comes a bit out of left field and has had a lot of problems getting professional ornithologists to take him seriously, but he's doing some interesting things with flap rates and the physics of flight that to my admittedly math-challenged mind seem to be pretty darn good evidence for a large, non-pileated woodpecker in the Pearl River. For the life of me, I don't know why he relies on the digital camcorder and not a high megapixel digital camera with a big 500mm lens on it. Might have gotten the definitive picture if he did, since his camcorder stuff ends up with stuff that is less than indisputable.

You can also check out "Ivorybills LIVE!!!" - a good news round up blog about the IBWO:

http://ivorybills.blogspot.com/

[ailsagirl]

2. Thanks, semillama :=)

What a letdown if the sightings were bogus.
:(