• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Ivory-billed Woodpecker (formerly updates) (1 Viewer)

I got some feedback that my chart may be confusing. Here's the deal; someone should check to see how fast red-headed woodpeckers fly. If actual RHWO flight speeds don't overlap what my chart shows for the video, then one might be able to eliminate RHWO as the bird in Mike's video. Worth checking, IMO.
 
Wonderful work!
It is amazing how much information can be extracted from a few seconds of video by an expert.
My only question is what lens was assumed. Mike's blog said it was at full zoom, but does not state the specifics.
The speeds derived from the analysis seem at the low end of normal flying speeds. Small bird flight speeds are more usually in the 20+mph class, so it would be surprising for an RHWO to crawl through the sky at less than 15mph. Likewise, if ducks typically travel at 40mph, should not a similar appearing IBWO flight be in the same class?
 
Well I don't consider myself an expert, but thanks for the compliment.

Sorry, I forgot to inlcude the lens information. Mike informed me that the camera is a Sony HDR-HC3 HDV 1080i Handycam® Camcorder, and he confirmed he was at full optical zoom with no digital zoom. The specs for that camera state the lens is 41.3-485mm in 35mm equivalent (16:9 Camera Mode).

There is an Angle of View page on Wikipedia (link) which provides a convenient table relating 35mm focal length to angle of view. I did a simple linear interpolation for 485mm to get 4.423 degrees horizontal viewing angle. I was concerned about the correctness of this conversion because of the 16:9 aspect ratio, but I did find a review of this camera which reports a 45 degree FOV for the wide angle setting at 16:9, which does match the value I get using this technique with the 41.3mm setting => 45.628 degrees. Ideally, I'd still like to get some confirmation of the 4.42 value I'm using in the calculations.
 
Last edited:
Very helpful and informative!
The combination of dedicated individuals and capable small optical recorders, plus intelligent selection of sites and search techniques, ( especially treetop level area surveillance) rekindles hope. If the birds are there and with a little bit of luck, this should work.
 
Fantastic footage.....!! The woodpecker has got balls! Off the top of my head it looks more like a Crimson-crested. Thanks for posting the link
 
hooray - more withheld photos! What's the point? If I found an ivorybill, I wouldn't be thinking about what ownership rights I'd got, I'd be getting the proof out there so that things can be done about its protection.
 
AFAIK, anyone can post anything they want at those kind of press release sites. Who knows, maybe it's somebody's fictional writing assignment from a marketing class to measure what kind of buzz they can generate out of some random fictional story. Just because somebody writes down some authoritative names doesn't mean they're actually involved. I'd wait so hear something from a real person before getting too excited about this. That much at least should sort out in a few days.
 
yes, the press-release site is VERRRRY hokey (not a good sign); having said that, there are possible reasons for using it (though I think they stretch credulity). The pics exist, and are being passed (so far as I can tell) to all or most of the individuals cited, but no idea when a preliminary verdict on them might come (as my readers know, I ain't hopeful).

dave_in_michigan said:
AFAIK, anyone can post anything they want at those kind of press release sites. Who knows, maybe it's somebody's fictional writing assignment from a marketing class to measure what kind of buzz they can generate out of some random fictional story. Just because somebody writes down some authoritative names doesn't mean they're actually involved. I'd wait so hear something from a real person before getting too excited about this. That much at least should sort out in a few days.
Click to expand...
 
If the photos are analog, and not digital, as someone has commented elsewhere, then the delay is maybe understandable. Inevitably, they have to stand the 'light of day' test. Ironically, I've fished Toledo Bend several times...great habitat.
 
I have to say, I still have hope. Not expectations, but hope. I wouldn't wait too long for this individual sighting, though. If I don't hear anything about it soon, I'll consider it just a hoax. The venue of the announcement does not bode well, either. Why would you announce something on such a site? Why not wait until your expert references weigh in?

On a note unrelated to this newest post, I am of the opinion that even if the 2004 sighting was valid, it doesn't prove that the species is still around. They were/are pretty long-lived- I've heard 30 years. Assuming there was at least one Ivory-bill in 2004, that means there were at least two in 1974. Those birds' parents could have been born shortly after the Singer Tract was cut. It's very unlikely that it would happen that way, but it's still possible. So even accepting the 2004 sighting, the outlook isn't necessarily bright.
 
Info I've now gathered, but not comfortable stating publicly, compels me to say this story (Rainsong claim) ought be trashed as soon as possible. It has ZERO credibility, except as a poorly done hoax.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 6 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

Mono
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker lives on...
Replies
1
Views
876
Lisa W
Lisa W
F
Ivory-billed Woodpecker: takeoffs with deep and rapid flaps + wing noises
6 7 8
Replies
154
Views
16K
jurek
jurek
F
  • Locked
Ivory-billed Woodpecker: Debunking the Critics
10 11 12
Replies
224
Views
24K
ZanderII
Z
F
YouTube videos on habitats, Peru, IBWO, 4K, etc.
Replies
2
Views
1K
400+birder
4
M
  • Locked
Ivory-Billed Woodpecker continued
32 33 34
Replies
662
Views
62K
Steve
Steve

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top