Tim Gallagher

Scientists the world over are continually saddened by the news of threatened and endangered species. Every time a new animal is added to the list, there is a clamor of activity to study, preserve, and bolster that animal’s population. But what if an animal were stuck the gray area between endangered and extinct? What if the last documented sighting of a particular animal was 50 years ago? How much time has to pass before it can be declared extinct? These questions and many others are show more considered in Tim Gallagher’s latest bird book, Imperial Dreams.

Imperial Dreams chronicles the author’s many journeys to Northern Mexico to find a living example of the imperial woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis), a bird thought to have died out some time in the last fifty years. Every decade or so, though, somebody comes forward with a sighting or a story of its continued existence. So, Cornell ornithologist Tim Gallagher, who re-discovered the ivory-billed woodpecker in Arkansas in 2004, gathered fellow bird-lovers and scientists to go on expeditions to Mexico to finally see if the bird had truly gone extinct.

The funny thing about his journey is that we get much more about the people and the countryside than about the birds themselves. Gallaghers includes every passage from just about every source for anyone having even a slight connection to the imperial. His exhaustive research into ornithological history and criss-crossing of the Mexican countryside to track down leads is quite inspiring.

The scientific aspects of this book, however, often take a back seat to the history of Northern Mexico. It has been ravaged by gangs, drug cartels, civil unrest, logging companies, and blatant disregard for perserving natural habitats. Every story of a scientific expedition is countered with an equally chilling tale of kidnapping and violence. This gets to you after a while. His journey into the Sierra Madre is well-written and teeming with wonderful details. While I won’t spoil his findings, I will say that the journey is worth it. Any lover of birds or nature will have fun with this one. show less

Tim Gallagher's The Grail Bird is a rich trove of woodpecker lore. The author admits a lifelong fascination with the elusive giant woodpecker of southern hardwood swamps and his enthusiasm is contagious. Readers are treated to a whirlwind review of Ivorybill records from Jim Tanner's meticulous fieldwork in the Singer Tract in Louisiana in the 1930s to the more controversial sound recordings made by John Dennis in the Big Thicket of Texas in the 1960s and other more recent reports. Along the show more way we are introduced to two schools of thought … the skeptics who are certain there are no Ivorybills left to be found and the optimists who believe that birders just don't haunt the deep swamps where the shy, reclusive birds that have survived now take refuge. Although Gallagher, employed by the prestigious Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, understands that by casting his lot with the optimists he may be lumped with the Bigfoot chasers and "Nessie" nuts, he gamely forges ahead.

In the first half of the book, Gallagher revisits past Ivorybill haunts across the south and interviews the dwindling few who can make a credible case for having seen an Ivorybill in the wild. Upon returning to New York, Gallagher learns of an intriguing sighting by a lone kayaker deep in the Arkansas bottomland swamp. Predictably, he turns around and heads south again. He quickly assembles a small search party and is soon trailing the kayaker among the cypress and tupelo. The second half of the book recounts Gallagher's search for the grail bird. His narrative moves quickly (especially for a description of what is essentially sitting and waiting for a bird to appear) and meanders into examinations of the implications of extinction and refinding an extinct bird, the role of skepticism in fieldwork and ornithology, and the importance of acknowledging how little we actually know about how birds make their way in a world so dramatically shaped by man. A true quest story and recommended for birders or anyone interested in the relationship between humans and the creatures they have driven to extinction. show less

I remember reading an article in The New Yorker seven years ago about the initial sighting of the widely-regarded- as-extinct ivory-billed woodpecker that sparked the Big Search. It was a fascinating article and it really resonated with me. However, with my mind being consumed by library school at the time, I soon forgot about it and moved on to the matters at hand. Fast forward to the present. Anxious to feed my ever-growing obsession with birds, I was combing the library stacks for bird show more books one day when I discovered this gem by Tim Gallagher, editor of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's publication Living Bird. Early on in the book, I experienced some doubt regarding Gallagher's ability to convey the riveting excitement of the ivory-billed search. However, he came through and pretty soon I was wrapped up in this gripping tale. While this is not high literature by any means (I am sure it was written to appeal to both readers and non-readers alike), it effectively describes a monumental event in ornithological history (and beyond), that of the rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker. The bird has been a symbol for decades of not only the essence of wildness, but also the short-sightedness of logging companies, government agencies, early ornithologists, and ordinary citizens when it comes to defending and protecting wildlife. For many people proving the existence of this bird means proving that not all is completely lost yet; we may still be able to do the right thing after all when it comes to sharing this planet with so many other species of life. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys a good nature story, a good mystery, and an uplifting story of hope, all wrapped up in one single book. show less

Pretty conventional and lacking much of the excitement that I hoped Gallagher's account of the rediscovery would have; but a must-read for Ivory-bill enthusiasts.