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

[Sidewinder]

Regarding double-knocks, there are repeated comments, more so at another blog, that PIWO and other woodpecker species make these as well. However, the IBWO double-knock is very rapid and some descriptions of PIWO double-knocks I have read (I'm not gonna search for where I've read 'em) sound as though there is a fair interval between the successive knocks. If someone has any recordings of PIWO (confirmed visually) or other woodpecker species making double-knocks, let's have them for analysis. We need to know if the cadence ever matches that of IBWO. It seems odd that those claiming PIWO and other woodpecker species make double-knocks offer no data other than earwitness accounts (ooh...really bad stringy science some would contend) to support their view.

 

[dacol]

A) Visual encounters. What do you make of the 2005 Gallagher and Sparling sighting where they both report seeing the bird together and at the same time, Mike Collins reports from Louisiana and the 1999 Kullivan sigting? What about all of the other sightings in recent years from both Florida and Arkansas? In other words what do you believe they saw and why do you believe they reported them as IBWO's?

IBWO in all those sightings. All observers had enough experience with PIWOs and reported field marks compatible with IBWO.

B) IBWO-like calls recorded. Many sound recordings of IBWO call-like sounds have been collected from Arkansas and Florida over the past couple of years. They sound similar to the known IBWO "kent" calls to be sure. What do you suppose made these noises?

Inconclusive. Some certainly IBWOs others could have been produced by other animals: Blue Jays for example.

C) Double-knocks. What was/were the source(s) of the double-knock sounds recorded from both Arkansas and Florida over the past couple of years?

Inconclusive. Some could have been produced by IBWOs others by other woodpeckers and mechanical sources.

D) The famous Atchafalaya photos from the early 70's, were they real or fake?

Real. Tim Gallagher cracked the case.

E) The various cavities and foraging sign that have been photographed and documented that seem consistent with IBWO sign, what do you think?

Inconclusive. We have too few examples of known IBWO cavities and foraging signs to be able to conclude that any given one was made by an IBWO.

F) The Luneau Video. Pileated or Ivorybill?

IBWO. Cornell's rebuttal to Sibley's comment in the journal Science thoroughly debunked his arguments.

G) Mike Collins Video. Pileated or Ivorybill?

IBWO. Shape and posture of perched bird, field marks such as back stripes and white on wings that are visible once luminosity and contrast are adjusted, size of the bird (objectively determined by Mike), flight pattern very different from PIWO, wing-body proportion (viewed in the two flights videoed by Mike).

Dalcio

 

[Edward woodwood]

Gomphus,

The person who posts at fishcrow.com is stark raving mad. I only go to that website for chuckles. Same reason I read this thread.

yes, essentially that's my position - the recent discussion over % and probability in this thread is just a joke. Seeing people who take themselves sooooo seriously taking part in such ridiculous exercises is amusing in spades.

and i'm thinking more and more very day that Fishcrow is one of the best practical jokes ever perpetrated...

Tim

 

[timeshadowed]

and i'm thinking more and more very day that Fishcrow is one of the best practical jokes ever perpetrated...Tim

When he posts that clear IBWO photo on his website, the 'joke' will be on you, Tim!

 

[Sidewinder]

Regarding double-knocks, there are repeated comments, more so at another blog, that PIWO and other woodpecker species make these as well. However, the IBWO double-knock is very rapid and some descriptions of PIWO double-knocks I have read (I'm not gonna search for where I've read 'em) sound as though there is a fair interval between the successive knocks. If someone has any recordings of PIWO (confirmed visually) or other woodpecker species making double-knocks, let's have them for analysis. We need to know if the cadence ever matches that of IBWO. It seems odd that those claiming PIWO and other woodpecker species make double-knocks offer no data other than earwitness accounts (ooh...really bad stringy science some would contend) to support their view.

Apparently, Cornell has some recordings of rare double-knocks by PIWO, though, they argue, they can identify them from their context (i.e., additional non-double-knocks in temporal association ):

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ivory/evidence/listening/pw

 

[salar53]

In post 8285, Bernie Nikolai said: "If no clear photo/video is provided by the end of April, I suspect the vast majority of folks will simply stop monitoring the search, as the Ivory-bill, to them, will sadly be extinct."

And now, just a short time later, Bernie is a Moderator on ibwo.net, which is famously for believers only. (Nothing much wrong with it being for believers only, except there is little debate, and there is not so much fun).
He also mentions Choupique's "80%" picture, due out in February or March.

Bernie is a stockbroker and I would like to think that this is a clear case of insider information!
To me it is another sure sign: the ivory-billed woodpecker flies on.

 

[MMinNY]

Bill Pulliam, who used to post here, has done some very thorough, thoughtful and even-handed analysis of the Luneau video. This week, he addressed those who claim that it unquestionably shows a Pileated. Well worth reading, regardless of which side you're on, as are his other posts on the subject.

http://bbill.blogspot.com/2007/01/cant-sit-still-quietly-for-this-one.html

 

[Osprey_watcher]

He also mentions Choupique's "80%" picture, due out in February or March.

Am I missing something?
If there are any pictures available why wait to publish them?

Afraid after all this time with promise after promise of 100% evidence that never materialises I've got to think that there is none and the people who first professed to have found the bird are too chicken to admit they made a mistake.

 

[Edward woodwood]

Here is Sibley and Bevier et al's take on the Luneau video

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/conte...ey&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

and the supplementary online material
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/311/5767/1555a/DC1

Note that they don't say it could possibly be an IBWO - they say ALL features are consistent with PIWO and inconsistent with an IBWO.

People who still believe and haven't really looked at the data should read this carefully and then the boatloads of comments from numerous people about the audio evidence on Tom Nelson's blog.

The video has to be blurry, the sightings have to distant and poor. We all know why.

Tim

 

[Blackstart]

If there are any pictures available why wait to publish them?

Afraid after all this time with promise after promise of 100% evidence that never materialises I've got to think that there is none and the people who first professed to have found the bird are too chicken to admit they made a mistake.

Because the big, bad guv'mint gonna come take their land?

Or maybe the picture's still in post-production, after which time it will be 100%.

Working title: "Chicken Gumbo"

Studio: DreamWorks

Ciao, babe.

Adam

 

[Osprey_watcher]

Here is Sibley and Bevier et al's take on the Luneau video

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/311/5767/1555a?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=sibley&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

and the supplementary online material
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/311/5767/1555a/DC1

Note that they don't say it could possibly be an IBWO - they say ALL features are consistent with PIWO and inconsistent with an IBWO.

People who still believe and haven't really looked at the data should read this carefully and then the boatloads of comments from numerous people about the audio evidence on Tom Nelson's blog.

The video has to be blurry, the sightings have to distant and poor. We all know why.

Tim

Seems pretty conclusive to a non-expert like me.
No wonder there are no clear photos.

 

[Sidewinder]

Here is Sibley and Bevier et al's take on the Luneau video

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/conte...ey&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

and the supplementary online material
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/311/5767/1555a/DC1

Note that they don't say it could possibly be an IBWO - they say ALL features are consistent with PIWO and inconsistent with an IBWO.

People who still believe and haven't really looked at the data should read this carefully and then the boatloads of comments from numerous people about the audio evidence on Tom Nelson's blog.

The video has to be blurry, the sightings have to distant and poor. We all know why.

Tim

Tim, have you read Bill Pulliam's comments carefully?

http://bbill.blogspot.com/2007/01/cant-sit-still-quietly-for-this-one.html

He offers compelling arguments why ALL features are NOT consistent with PIWO. Moreover, many sightings have NOT been "distant and poor."

 

[TRE329]

Ivory Bill In Arkansas

I am an Arkansas duck hunter.On 12/31/06 I was scouting for ducks on another refuge near WRNR and CRNR.I had a nearly 8 minutes encounter at about 35 yards with a possible IBW.I am now a believer and have since been in the area 2 more days looking around.It was an amazing experience.

 

[timeshadowed]

I am an Arkansas duck hunter.On 12/31/06 I was scouting for ducks on another refuge near WRNR and CRNR.I had a nearly 8 minutes encounter at about 35 yards with a possible IBW.I am now a believer and have since been in the area 2 more days looking around.It was an amazing experience.

Will you give us a full description of what you saw as markings on the bird - ie please describe the white markings that you observered on the bird. What color was the bill? The eyes? Was the bird flying or perched?

 

[TRE329]

feeding signs

Hello MMinNY,
Would like to know where i can see these pics,i am new to forum.I have been seeing some very interesting signs that appear to be just scaled bark with very little penetration of the tree.
""The most impressive to me are some of Mike's recent photos of feeding sign from the Pearl, which don't resemble any PIWO sign I've ever seen.""

 

[TRE329]

Hello, here goes

i was sitting in the woods quietly and saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked around and started watching a very large (larger than crow sized ) bird perched on the side of a tree , realized that it was a woodpecker. It was about 35 yards away. I watched it for aprox. 6 1/2 minutes. The most outstanding features that I recall: A very striking, pointed red crest....a black head and body, with very distinct white markings on the lower wings and across the back. It would periodically do a double tap and then work at the tree. It dawned on me that I should call my friend (who is a wildlife biologist) and describe what I was looking at, to see if he had any ideas about what it could be. It was such a large and unique bird...it just really caught my attention. While I was talking to him on the phone for roughly 2-3 minutes a second bird flew in and both flew off.

 

[timeshadowed]

BTW, Welcome to BirdForum!

That is very interesting. What makes you believe that it was an IBWO and not a PIWO?

 

[TRE329]

BTW, Welcome to BirdForum!

That is very interesting. What makes you believe that it was an IBWO and not a PIWO?

I have seen a lot of pileateds as a matter of fact this area is literally crawling with them (like even in the back yard) this was no pileated.The white markings on the lower wings and back were very distinctive.Im telling you I watched this bird for at least 8 minutes as it hopped around on the tree and worked at it.
I am no bird expert but i am a duck hunter and you have to know what you are shooting at.


Thank you for the welcome,I think i will stick around a while.

 

[timeshadowed]

Could you draw a sketch of the 2 birds that you observered and post them on this forum?

 

[Terry O'Nolley]

Is this really the same thread - still alive?

Ivory-billed Woodpecker - extinct.

Luneau video - inconclusive.


What are the odds of a species remaining extant if they, for the last 60 years or so, have raised so few offspring that scientists looking for any sign of them within a very small (relatively speaking) area have come up empty-handed?

It takes numbers to survive the evolution game!

A species can't survive for over half a century if it doesn't raise broods that are, themselves, successfull in reproducing.

Forget about a couple sole survivors. The odds of some wannabe bird gods chuckling themselves into locating the last surviving Ivory Bill is ridiculous. Stats say you are deluded.

If the bird's population is self-sustaining then there would be more sightings.
If the bird's population is not self-sustaining then trying to convince people that you just happened to see one of the last Ivory-billed Woodpeckers on earth is going to take more than ambiguous and blurry images.