Imperial Woodpecker
 

Hello BirdForum....newbie here....never posted before but just curious to know what is the opinion on the existence of the Imperial Woodpecker....with the re-discovery of the Ivory Bill....are there any similar projects looking for the Imperial?

Hi jtate and welcome to Birdforum. If you do a search for Imperial Woodpecker you will find that there have been a few discussions of this species in Birdforum over the years. The discovery of the Ivory-bill must make everyone wonder what is still to be discovered or re-discovered in parts of the world where there are very few active birders. There must be some chance still for the Imperial Woodpecker. However, if it is found, I doubt if it will attract the same attention or megabucks that its gringo relative did. The main problem for a species like this is the loss of its habitat, though Howell and Webb state that it was also hunted for food. They comment that it may still survive in the remostest areas of Sierra Madre Occidental.
Tom

Hi, jtate! A warm welcome to you from all of us on staff here at BirdForum!

Tom's advice is right on -- under the "Search Forums" button, either of these two species names entered as keywords will give you hours of reading enjoyment. ;)

hello, welcome to bird forum!

The colleague of a friend is married to a Mexican from the Sierra Madre Occidental and goes twice a year to the area. He says he regularly sees trucks leaving the protected area with huge tree-trunks. Periodically the army moves in, arrests the loggers - then a few weeks later they are back to barracks and the whole things starts again.

Hi Jtate

Welcome to BirdForum!

Taryn o:)

imperial woodpecker
 

Ivory Bills were also apparently hunted. From old accounts relating to both they were apparently considered, quoting now, "by some crackers, better than duck." I don't know what exactly a "cracker" is, but I believe it is southern (U.S.) slang for "poor white trash".

Other accounts for imperials, particularly Tanner, reports a large amount of hunting of imperials for food as well. I would like to search the Sierra Madre Occidental to see if imperials are still around.

Jesse

In Florida a "cracker" is a word that came from early residents that earned their livelihood gathering free range cattle. They did this on horseback (and with help from dogs) driving the cattle out of the swamp / range by "cracking" their rawhide whip. Lots of the decendents from these settlers today still call themselves Florida Crackers with some pride.

I know it does also have a negative connotation today in other areas.

Well Hello everyone and thank you for the information and the warm welcome. Recently returned from a trip to Southern Georgia and visited the Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge. Was a great day of birding and saw some interesting species including the painted bunting, wood stork and a pair of pileated woodpeckers. Havent had a birding experience like that since I visited Southern Texas (wish I kept up my bird list then).

I have relatives in Mexico including a cousin that is involved with forestry but she primarily works in the southern region. Perhaps she knows of someone that works in the northern part of the country. It is sad to hear about the illegal logging going on in the country.

Looks like the membership is very diverse....Canada, El Salvador, South Africa, Italy.
I have spent a little bit of time in Costa Rica & East Africa (again didnt keep a bird list) hope to go back to both regions and document the birds I see. Thanks for all who responded regarding the Imperial ...I plan on visiting Mexico soon and hope to get a chance to visit its former range.

Again thanks for the info--this forum should be very valuable to a rookie birder like myself.

extremely unlikely as until very recently there was no suitable habitat left in Mexico

recently though, a suitable small canyon with the right vegetation was found. I think it stil needs to be surveyed though.

Tim