Ivorybill Searcher's Forum: Insights and current reports (1 Viewer)

[theveeb]

What are folks wearing for camo?

I find even when videotaping common birds that a face mask has a remarkable effect. Often get more of a curious reaction than alarm even when in close. When I was in the Cache NWR I had a mink walk up within 10 feet, stop, and look right at me. I could see the little gears going in its head, "What the heck is that?" Unfortunately I had inadvertently bumped the timer button (somebody at Canon should be shot for where they put that on the Rebel XT) so all I got was a shot of the ground at the water's edge where the full-frame mink was 10 seconds before. At least it wasn't an IBWO .

A face mask cuts down a bit of field of view depending on the mask but it does work wonders.

the veeb

 

[fishcrow]

What are folks wearing for camo?

It's still very hot and humid in the Pearl. So I'm not wearing camo right now. The purpose of this visit was mainly to do some scouting. After having a sighting a few days ago, I may have to put on the camo and just deal with the heat.

 

[gws]

That;s the idea. To each his own. If we actually share information like Prof. Hill has done -- BRAVO to that -- We may actually locate, research, and save this species (if it even needs our help - more likely it needs no hindrance). Tree stands may work. Go for it. Personally, I walk. Others disagree and use kayaks.

Each area is going to have to be surveyed and each person will have to decide what is best. The last bird I saw finally was lost to visual NOT be canopy leaves but by trunks of trees in the swamp. That is why I would not use a tree stand. Others may have a good vantage point that it would be logical to use one.

As I said before, Kayaks are great, unless there is mud. By using 10 different methods maybe 2 will achieve success. We have no idea which ones those are at this time. Just don't know enough.

Jesse

Jesse,

How many times have you felt sure you saw an ivorybill?

How good a look did you get?

 

[gws]

Jesse - I expect there has already been considerable migration of snakes to overwintering sites in your region. There is a rather famous road called LaRue Road near Wolf Lake, Illinois that is closed every year from early Sept to late Oct to facilitate snake migrations.

There is some smallish lake up in Tennessee or Kentucky, the name escapes me at the moment, that is infamous for the sheer number of cottonmouths.

The one thing that has always made me wonder about cold weather and snakes is that twice in SW Mississippi I have seen copperheads out and about on some of the coldest Jan/Feb days.

 

[gws]

Everyone seems to love a kayak here, but I enjoy using my forest green OT canoe in the swamps. It is stable and can carry more, plus the stuff you carry is more accessible. Plus, I enjoy sitting up higher in the canoe and having the advantage of being able to change positions.

 

[HASnyder]

Spent an hour yesterday in an ultralight looking for raptors. These planes might have potential...they go slow, like 40 mph or less. Our altitude varied from 20 feet to 200 and can of course go higher, which would be better for IBWO as you could see more and be not so much right on top of the birdlife.FlyingMourning Doves and towhees were easy to identify from the air, and it was easy to spot an in-flight Cooper's Hawk against the mountainside at probably 200 feet distant even tho it blended well with the desert background. The planes were less noisy that I expected too.

 

[Edward woodwood]

yeah, go for it

am i dreaming?

Tim

 

[fishcrow]

I don't like the fact that people can post garbage on this forum anonymously. Ah, but there is a risk. Anonimity may give one a false sense of security. The identity of one of the most idiotic posters here has been exposed. He is from Jacksonville, Florida. If he keeps it up, I will expose him. I would like to thank the person who uncovered his identity. Just to let this person know what people think of him, I will include the following...

"Thought y'all might be interested in this information: The utterly obnoxious twit "***" on Bird Forum is *** of Jacksonville FL..."

 

[fishcrow]

I have posted an update of my search in the Pearl here, including a sketch of the ivorybill that was seen on Saturday. I'm not able to update my website from Stennis but will try to update it from Slidell once or twice a week.

 

[Goatnose]

Blinds are Fun

Yes they are, just wanted to get your attention. Much information has been posted recently on blinds/hides and it is good information. I have got to tell ya thought that I have had fun with my lay out blind. Posted this before, yes, but once more it is an Avery Power hunter and the best I can equate to you is that it is like taking a lounge chair and laying it flat on the ground, covered with camo of course. Recently, another close Pileated,tried to slip my hand out of the blind and flip on the Video camera and busted out again, as long as I remain in my lay out blind I am undetected. The video on my website of a large White Tailed Buck was from my lay out Blind., they do not get this close (20 yards) typically not at that size. Previous post on the lay out blind from March 2006, these blinds work.
"Tried a new approach this past time out. I marked a tree with fresh scaling and then came back the next morning to observe. The new approach included an Avery Power Hunter Blind. This is a layout blind, 10 lbs with straps to carry as a back pack, that lies out as a sleeping bag but with a back rest and hood to cover one's face. Yes you can focus a camera or binoculars through the camouflage mesh hood. Results were I could move around inside the blind to focus my camera or turn my head or body without detection, comfortable too for a couple of hours. Results included a Pileated close enough to see the yellow of her eyes. You just lay out the blind and cover with the natural vegetation or leaves around you, just sprinkle leaves and sticks on top of the blind once you climb in. The Pileated detected me only when I reached outside of the blind to turn on the video camera that I kept beside me mounted on a tripod. She(the Pileated) flew down within 15 feet and did one of those pick -a -boos before sailing off. Too much fun... can't wait to get back out there."

 

[Curtis Croulet]

I have posted an update of my search in the Pearl here, including a sketch of the ivorybill that was seen on Saturday. I'm not able to update my website from Stennis but will try to update it from Slidell once or twice a week.

The sketch suggests that the bird -- whatever species it may be -- is being viewed from the ventral side, that we are seeing the underside of the wings. Yet it shows the topside pattern of an IBWO. Mike, I need your help to interpret this sketch.

 

[Bernie Nikolai]

Spent an hour yesterday in an ultralight looking for raptors. These planes might have potential...they go slow, like 40 mph or less. Our altitude varied from 20 feet to 200 and can of course go higher, which would be better for IBWO as you could see more and be not so much right on top of the birdlife.FlyingMourning Doves and towhees were easy to identify from the air, and it was easy to spot an in-flight Cooper's Hawk against the mountainside at probably 200 feet distant even tho it blended well with the desert background. The planes were less noisy that I expected too.

Ultralight airplanes were used last year in Arkansas, at least for a very few days. The folks who are guiding whooping cranes from Wisconsin to Florida and trying to start a migratory eastern flock train young birds to follow the ultralights from Wisconsin to Florida. If the whoopers are not "taught" how to migrate, they don't. Once in the wintering area of Florida, the birds can fly back to Wisconsin the next spring, and this year a pair even hatched and raised two young Whooping Cranes. The seventh migration is just about to start from Wisconsin any day now with 18 new Whooping Crane chicks.

Anyway, four of these planes were asked to fly slowly, in formation, just over the treetops in Arkansas. The pilots had video cameras on their heads that would record any bird they spooked. They apparently were very successful in recording many birds flying off, but no Ivory-Bills. After about 4 trys the flights were called off due to scheduling concerns of the pilots. The big concern is for the safety of the pilots. If an engine cuts out, the ulralight has no choice but to glide a crash landing in the tops of the trees, which could easily cause the death of the pilots. Great idea though. You could cover a lot of ground in formation, and the pilots would record many birds, and hopefully an Ivory-Bill in the mix, flying away from the slow moving ultralights moving at perhaps 30 mph in formation just above the treetops.

 

[fishcrow]

The sketch suggests that the bird -- whatever species it may be -- is being viewed from the ventral side, that we are seeing the underside of the wings. Yet it shows the topside pattern of an IBWO.

I don't see how you can get this impression from a projection into the plane.

 

[bigdad]

Based on the attached Tanner photo it would seem that the white underwing lining of ibwo can look dark if viewed in flight from below.

The sketch suggests that the bird -- whatever species it may be -- is being viewed from the ventral side, that we are seeing the underside of the wings. Yet it shows the topside pattern of an IBWO. Mike, I need your help to interpret this sketch.

 

[HASnyder]

You could cover a lot of ground in formation, and the pilots would record many birds, and hopefully an Ivory-Bill in the mix, flying away from the slow moving ultralights moving at perhaps 30 mph in formation just above the treetops.

What altitude did they fly at?

The one I was in gets 35 mpg, has a range of about 300-350 miles, and a noise output of 65 dB, less than a Ford diesel truck (I assume these comparative figures are at some standardized distance) . It was mobile enough that if a bird were sighted one could pivot it around, almost twirl on a wingtip, to keep a flying bird in sight.

 

[Bernie Nikolai]

What altitude did they fly at?

The one I was in gets 35 mpg, has a range of about 300-350 miles, and a noise output of 65 dB, less than a Ford diesel truck (I assume these comparative figures are at some standardized distance) . It was mobile enough that if a bird were sighted one could pivot it around, almost twirl on a wingtip, to keep a flying bird in sight.

They basically flew just above the treetops, certainly within 200 ft, depending on the terrain. As I remember reading, they were 4 abreast, and flew roughly 10 miles in a straight line, surveying the forest. The next flight was also about 10 miles, but they "moved over" to cover new ground, in a sort of military grid formation. The thinking was any bird spooked would fly from the ultralights, and the pilots by just looking at the birds would get a video of them, as the cameras were mounted on their heads, similar to a "miner's light". They flushed many birds and recorded them, but no Ivory-Bills, in the 4 or so days they flew.

Depending on the model, you can get an ultralight to fly very slowly, even a bit under 30 mph, and they would be not much louder than a truck going down the road. This would be the very best way I can think of of covering a lot of ground quickly, and hopefully flushing out an Ivory-Bill for the "million dollar video". In a few days a convoy of 4 or so ultralights could fly down a river in Florida, in pattern perhaps 50 yards apart, just above the treetops, and record an amazing number and variety of birds flushed. They would then repeat the flight, but in a different grid along the same river. At least we would be leaving no stone unturned in the search....

 

[Curtis Croulet]

I don't see how you can get this impression from a projection into the plane.

Your interpretation (evidently) is that the bird is banking toward us, dipping its right wing downward, revealing the bird's dorsal side. This interpretation also implies marked dihedral of the wings, else how could the lower wing be so foreshortened (as you apparently see it).

What I see is that the bird is banking away from us, showing only its ventral side. The lower wing is drawn distinctly smaller than the upper wing, and hence the lower wing is further away from the observer, and dihedral is slight or nil. Therefore, the upper wing is the bird's right wing, the lower wing is the bird's left wing, and we see the ventral side of the bird.

I wasn't there. All I see is the drawing, and that's what the drawing says to me. I'm taking the drawing as it is, not filling in details of "well, what I really meant to show was..." If this drawing were posted with no explanation whatsoever, I couldn't see it as showing anything other than the bird's ventral side.

 

[HASnyder]

They basically flew just above the treetops, certainly within 200 ft, depending on the terrain. As I remember reading, they were 4 abreast, and flew roughly 10 miles in a straight line, surveying the forest. The next flight was also about 10 miles, but they "moved over" to cover new ground, in a sort of military grid formation. The thinking was any bird spooked would fly from the ultralights, and the pilots by just looking at the birds would get a video of them, as the cameras were mounted on their heads, similar to a "miner's light". They flushed many birds and recorded them, but no Ivory-Bills, in the 4 or so days they flew.

Depending on the model, you can get an ultralight to fly very slowly, even a bit under 30 mph, and they would be not much louder than a truck going down the road. This would be the very best way I can think of of covering a lot of ground quickly, and hopefully flushing out an Ivory-Bill for the "million dollar video". In a few days a convoy of 4 or so ultralights could fly down a river in Florida, in pattern perhaps 50 yards apart, just above the treetops, and record an amazing number and variety of birds flushed. They would then repeat the flight, but in a different grid along the same river. At least we would be leaving no stone unturned in the search....

Might take some fancy paperwork to be able to do this over Stennis, Eglin etc. but it would let you cover private land, all nice and legally. From what I saw yesterday you could fly at 500', and farther apart, and be able to get total coverage while covering more ground efficiently with less noise. The kite-wing lacked the fine sharp vibration of a fixed-wing and cameras with vibration reduction would further enhance any images.

 

[lewis20126]

Depending on the model, you can get an ultralight to fly very slowly, even a bit under 30 mph, and they would be not much louder than a truck going down the road. This would be the very best way I can think of of covering a lot of ground quickly, and hopefully flushing out an Ivory-Bill for the "million dollar video". In a few days a convoy of 4 or so ultralights could fly down a river in Florida, in pattern perhaps 50 yards apart, just above the treetops, and record an amazing number and variety of birds flushed. They would then repeat the flight, but in a different grid along the same river. At least we would be leaving no stone unturned in the search....

Would "..flushing out an Ivory-bill" be an appropriate way to survey for a species listed as an Endangered Species?

 

[HASnyder]

Would "..flushing out an Ivory-bill" be an appropriate way to survey for a species listed as an Endangered Species?

Isn't that what every ground and water-based searcher has done to date?