Southern swamps and ivorybills

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Southern swamps and ivorybills

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1tracyfox
Apr 1, 2009, 11:09 am

I'm heading to the Big Thicket and High Island (in Texas) at the end of April to do a little birding and plan to stop and put my canoe in at Ivorybill ground zero in Arkansas along the way (even though now the searchers are concentrating on the Everglades). This prompted me to finally read The Grail Bird (review follows). At least I will have read it before the movies (Ghost Bird and The Lord God Bird) come out later this year. Anyone been to the area, have any recommendations or stories to share?

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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 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. (4 stars)

2chrisharpe
Apr 1, 2009, 11:26 am

Hello tracyfox! This isn't an issue I follow too closely, but I got the impression - perhaps a false one - that news of the rediscovery of this species was never properly substantiated. I read the first few papers on this subject, none of which were convincing, but have not come across anything since. What does the book say on that?

3tracyfox
Apr 1, 2009, 12:04 pm

The book ends with the first fully staffed expedition (2004/2005). That produced some fuzzy video, a snippet of audio and seven different sightings (field observations only). The Cornell group announced their findings and presented the evidence in Science magazine. David Sibley and others then dismissed the evidence in a counter-article. A rebuttal followed ... in short, yes, the evidence was largely inconclusive.

Subsequent searches haven't produced anything else of note. In late 2006, a sighting was reported in Florida. The 2008/2009 isn't working in Arkansas at all ... they are scouring the Everglades. It seems Arkansas is desparate to regain the birding world's attention. An anonymous donor is offering a $50,000 reward for a documented sighting.

4chrisharpe
Edited: Apr 1, 2009, 12:45 pm

Hmmm... it's an interesting story. Tim Gallagher was one of the co-authors of the original paper proclaiming the rediscovery. A colleague who saw the video told me it is not an Ivorybill (nor, apparently, is the famous sound recording) and I have to say it seems incredible that a large and not inconspicuous bird like this could evade this sort of well-financed effort, even allowing for the extent of its potential habitat in the USA. It makes me wonder, given how many threatened species are out there, whether this is a wise investment of limited conservation funds that might perhaps better be spent elsewhere. Still, it's not something I know much about and perhaps I should try to get hold of the book to find out more. Please let us know more when you read the book. And good luck with your own hunt!

There are also rumours of Ivorybill sightings in eastern Cuba and survival here may be more realistic...

5tracyfox
Apr 1, 2009, 12:50 pm

I completely agree and find it highly unlikely that a bird that size could evade searchers for four seasons. Nonetheless I can remember my excitement when I first heard the story on National Public Radio while eating breakfast.

The book does discuss at some length the risks for a serious ornithologist in seriously suggesting he or she has sighted an ivorybill. It also considers the implications of making the sightings public (although I wish the book had explored that angle more).

The two main things that the discovery did was raise a lot of money for land preservation (mainly by The Nature Conservancy) in central Arkansas and raise awareness among the general public about the bird, the ecosystem, species extinction etc.

I am a big fan of documentaries (esp. with a green/nature slant) and am really looking forward to seeing how the upcoming films treat the controversy over the sighting and the advisability of making it public.

6chrisharpe
Apr 2, 2009, 9:03 am

Interesting stuff! I remember hearing about this too, from a friend in Iowa. I immediately sent the news round our local (Latin American) ornithology networks and we were all elated. If a large, not inconspicuous species could evade detetction for so long in a country with so many birders and ornithologists, then surely there must be hope for the dozens species presumed extinct in the Neotropics where there are far fewer potential observers. At this stage though, I think most of us suspect that those original authors jumped the gun. Still, it's great that the information has made it into the wider public domain through Gallagher's book and hopefully the overall impact has been positive for conservation. Oh, and don't forget to take your camera / sound recorder....

7DK1010
Apr 2, 2009, 12:33 pm

About visiting the area; a few months after the "discovery", there was an article in either Birding (American Birding Association) or in Birder's World. They had general maps of the area and some names of local birding guides. They also recommended not visiting because it is an ecologically sensitive area. If you have access to back issues of those journals, maybe you can find the maps and touring advice. Good luck, have fun.

8chrisharpe
Jan 15, 2010, 8:57 am

I've been away for a few months, but in that interim I did get chance to read up a little on the Ivorybill and I have to say that I could see no convincing evidence of its rediscovery in the literature. None of the observations I came across were substantiated. It was a heartening thought!