Ivory-billed Woodpecker (formerly updates) (17 Viewers)

[fangsheath]

Steve - Thanks for the feedback.

Choupique - If there is one thing the people of Louisiana learned last year is that they have to take care of themselves and their landscape. The federal government is not going to do it for them. That is nothing against the USFWS, I am delighted that they were able to create Bayou Teche NWR among others. Saw tracks, still looking forward to seeing my first La. bear in the wild.

 

[humminbird]

well, seriously... ask an intelligent question please.

we were just reaching some common ground too

go back to banging on about circular reasoning cant you?

Tim

I agree:
Who is he to report it to? If he has already reported it to the state and federal agencies, then where else is he to go. Put up or shut up please!

What specifically are we to do to protect this animal? The ESA makes it illegal to kill or harass the bird. The habitat is already getting serious consideration for protection when there is indication the bird might (sorry Chou but I have seen nothing conclusive to date) be there. Put up or shut up please!

What studies are needed? How are these going to be done on this presumed fragile population without harassing the birds? Put up or shut up please!

Sorry folks. No bird flu of the virulent variety in the US or Canada to date.

 

[jbissell]

Tim,

Ok, now is the TIME to spill it! Be very specific and detailed in you answer, not just a short sentance or two to the effect that these birds need reporting and protecting.

Just what do you mean when you say REPORT?
Report to whom - give names of actual PEOPLE that need to know.
What needs to be reported - list at LEAST 10 items.

What do you mean by PROTECTING the birds?
List at least 10 ways to 'protect' this species.

And last but not least:
How do you KNOW that these steps are not being ALREADY taken?

If you are unwilling to write DETAILED answers to the above - then quit responding with your 2 sentance trolling posts!

Alright, THIS kind of 'posting' has GOT to 'stop'!

For some reason, the quotes and caps aggravate the hell out of me. Isnt there some sort of net etiquette about typing sentences like this? I think your point can be made without doing this.

 

[kyanite]

Sorry folks. No bird flu of the virulent variety in the US or Canada to date.

But quite seriously it may be inevitable that H5N1 avian influenza will soon show up in waterfowl in the Mississippi flyway and Gulf coast... does anyone know if picidae are particularly susceptible to it? or to West Nile?

 

[gws]

I just received today a copy of the June, 1937 National Geographic. In it is a article by Arthur Allen entitled "Hunting with a Microphone the Voices of Vanishing Birds." In it he describes the searching for the ivorybill in FL and carrying over to NE Louisiana where Kuhn was so helpful. Great pictures although they are pretty much the same as in the Hoose book. The article is not just about ivorybills but continues with others like the Lesser Prairie chicken and the Cornell team travels on up into Montana for the trumpeter swan. Very interesting article.

 

[choupique1]

Steve - Thanks for the feedback.

Choupique - If there is one thing the people of Louisiana learned last year is that they have to take care of themselves and their landscape. The federal government is not going to do it for them. That is nothing against the USFWS, I am delighted that they were able to create Bayou Teche NWR among others. Saw tracks, still looking forward to seeing my first La. bear in the wild.

fang in all my time... in the wild here... .. 4 encounters.. with bears....

 

[John Mariani]

Many years ago (mid-80s, early 90s) I had a couple of opportunities to do some birding along the Pearl River. Wasn't looking for IBWOs and at the time I wasn't aware of any possibility of any still being there, I was just looking for the usual southeastern swamp birds - warblers and such. I was following directions from the old Pettingill book "Bird Finding West of the Mississippi" and I remember taking the Honey Island Swamp exit. Wonderful birding in there but VERY buggy. But I have yet to find any swamp with that much wildlife, and not just birds. I remember seeing snakes, beaver, raccoon, armadillos, etc.

Question - Every once in a while I get to go to SE Louisiana (my wife's family is there). Next time I might try to sneak off for a morning to do some birding. Does anyone in this forum know the location of the Kulivan sighting? Was it in the Honey Island Swamp? I understand it was in an accessible area, and if so I'd like to do some searching in the vicinity - that is unless someone in this forum knows of an easily accessible and more reliable IBWO stakeout... :-O

 

[fangsheath]

John - My understanding is that the Kulivan sighting occurred not far from the firing range in Pearl River WMA. This is north of old Hwy. 11 Be advised that this entire area was severely blasted by the hurricane and it is very tough going in there now.

 

[cyberthrush]

Question - Every once in a while I get to go to SE Louisiana (my wife's family is there). Next time I might try to sneak off for a morning to do some birding. Does anyone in this forum know the location of the Kulivan sighting? Was it in the Honey Island Swamp? I understand it was in an accessible area, and if so I'd like to do some searching in the vicinity - that is unless someone in this forum knows of an easily accessible and more reliable IBWO stakeout... :-O

Kulivan's sighting was surprisingly near the shooting range at Pearl (on a day when the shooting range wasn't open) -- the point is it was an area generally way too close to loud human noise and an area that has since been poured over, probably not worth wasting more time on; Kulivan's IBWO's were almost certainly just passing thru foraging, not living in that immediate area. You need to get deeper in as far away from roads, traffic, human noise as possible, or you might even try Bogue Chitto just north of Pearl.

 

[humminbird]

Kulivan's sighting was surprisingly near the shooting range at Pearl (on a day when the shooting range wasn't open) -- the point is it was an area generally way too close to loud human noise and an area that has since been poured over, probably not worth wasting more time on; Kulivan's IBWO's were almost certainly just passing thru foraging, not living in that immediate area. You need to get deeper in as far away from roads, traffic, human noise as possible, or you might even try Bogue Chitto just north of Pearl.

Interesting line I was unaware of.

Kulivan - within easy earshot of the shooting range. Gallagher/Harrison within eye and ear shot of the hiway.

?????

 

[John Mariani]

Interesting line I was unaware of.

Kulivan - within easy earshot of the shooting range. Gallagher/Harrison within eye and ear shot of the hiway.

?????

...So if their sightings were valid I think it would suggest that this is a bird that behaves like other birds in regard to human disturbance. May have habitat preferences that generally keep it away from populated areas but no real aversion to man-altered landscapes. Like other birds it would be expected to occasionally fly across roads & powerline cuts, appear near buildings and boat launches, etc.

We always watch for IBWOs when we drive I-10 across the Atchafalaya Basin - my wife likes to taunt me by calling out sightings from time to time.

 

[Jesse Gilsdorf]

Interesting line I was unaware of.

Kulivan - within easy earshot of the shooting range. Gallagher/Harrison within eye and ear shot of the hiway.

?????

Be not so surprised. Lamb reports ivory bills nesting in close proximity to a mill. Apparently, the birds were unmolested by the local workers (he says either the workers weren't hungry or the mill boss told em to leave the birds alone). He reports instances were some birds would follow people for some distances in remote areas, (my take - apparently intrigued by humans) and that the birds IF UNMOLESTED would be indifferent to humans.

He reports, however, once hunted, or stoned, or attacked, the birds became very wild and wary about humans. Even in the 50's these birds were food to Cubans.

The sad thing is that the Corporations that owned the land in the 50's were willing to protect the birds, hire wardens, and the like. But things change, including governments, and....

I would note that in the galapagos their is one island where hunting occurred albeit briefly and the animals to this day, centuries later, still treat man like a predator. The other islands apparently the animals are indifferent.

The birds may be more human tolerant in different areas. Cars driving by may not bother the birds as they may not view this as any threat at all. This would be particularly true now as opposed to when the roads first went through.

 

[gws]

The South is so chopped up now that any birds left wouldn't have much choice but to fly over roads, powerlines, etc now and then.

Gobbler Bayou in the Pearl was where the Kulivan sighting occurred. I would imagine it is a mess right now.

 

[IBWO_Agnostic]

The South is so chopped up now that any birds left wouldn't have much choice but to fly over roads, powerlines, etc now and then.
....

Yes, and that is why skeptics have such a hard time believing the bird has stayed relatively hidden for the last 60 years. There is no other North American bird that has done so.

 

[gws]

Yes, and that is why skeptics have such a hard time believing the bird has stayed relatively hidden for the last 60 years. There is no other North American bird that has done so.

I can certainly understand that point of view. None of this is rocket science.

I just happen to feel there is probably just a small remnant of them hanging on here and there.

 

[choupique1]

Yes, and that is why skeptics have such a hard time believing the bird has stayed relatively hidden for the last 60 years. There is no other North American bird that has done so.

figure...25-50 birds.... not a lot of pipeline or canal flyover opps....but.. several la sightings do involve pipelines or pipeline canals....

and yes the birds do seem to like noisy areas.......

 

[John Mariani]

The South is so chopped up now that any birds left wouldn't have much choice but to fly over roads, powerlines, etc now and then.

Gobbler Bayou in the Pearl was where the Kulivan sighting occurred. I would imagine it is a mess right now.

Thanks for the info! Found Gobbler Bayou on the map and may check it out next time. Incidentally while doing an online search on Honey Island Swamp/Pearl River WMA I found out there have also been bigfoot searches going on in that area. Apparently they are about as elusive as the woodpecker.

I would expect a lot of downed trees. Saw what Katrina did to the woods around Mandeville/Covington, what a mess. Rita did similar devastation to forest here. But I was surprised that roads in the Big Thicket were cleared as quickly as they were. Talking with a local ranger who said that the tree removal had actually been a bit over-zealous. The crews must have been paid by the truckload because they took a very liberal view of what needed to be removed, and actually opened up the forest quite a bit, along the roads anyway. Once you get away from the roads there are fallen and snapped off trees everywhere. Kind of complicates getting around, as if it wasn't already hard enough.

So I'm thinking the roads are probably open by now, might even be easier to see some distance with some of the trees gone.

 

[Jesse Gilsdorf]

I can certainly understand that point of view. None of this is rocket science.

I just happen to feel there is probably just a small remnant of them hanging on here and there.

And ad nauseum, people have been seeing the bird, have been reporting it, and have been ignored.

 

[MMinNY]

I just got Fielding Lewis's book and did a quick skim of the Ivory-Bill chapter. A couple of interesting tidbits. He reports that the last time he saw the birds was in 1988. More significant, in my mind, is the fact that a number of other local outdoorsmen he knew also saw them from time to time and didn't seem to consider it all that extraordinary. Of course, this doesn't prove anything, but it sure made me think the bird has been hiding in plain sight all these years

 

[fishcrow]

I just got Fielding Lewis's book and did a quick skim of the Ivory-Bill chapter. A couple of interesting tidbits. He reports that the last time he saw the birds was in 1988. More significant, in my mind, is the fact that a number of other local outdoorsmen he knew also saw them from time to time and didn't seem to consider it all that extraordinary. Of course, this doesn't prove anything, but it sure made me think the bird has been hiding in plain sight all these years

It's really quite simple. Birders, in all their arrogance and sloth, failed to document the species while rountinely dismissing reports from those who saw it.