[obol] Re: speaking of woodpeckers...
- From: Dan Gleason <dan-gleason@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2015 11:25:04 -0800
I think that if there is any chance of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker still living,
it would be in Cuba. The chance of this is exceedingly small, however. Lester
Short was one prominent ornithologist who saw living birds in Cuba in the
mid-1980s in a remote forested region of Cuba. The last bird seen there was a
female in 1987. A few searches in the early 1990s found no birds or evidence of
any living birds (sounds, fresh drillings, etc.). This region has been off
limits by the Cuban government for many years so there is a very, very remote
possibility of some woodpeckers still living. However, most experts believe
that the Cuban Ivory-billed Woodpecker was extinct by 1990 and there is no
evidence to suggest otherwise, although a very large portion of the habitat has
not been searched.
The taxonomy of the Cuban Ivory-billed Woodpecker remains uncertain. Some
people consider it to be a sub-species of our Ivory-billed Woodpecker and
others consider it a closely related, but separate species. It is unlikely that
we will ever see ours or the Cuban Ivory-billed again.
Dan Gleason
---------------
dan-gleason@xxxxxxxxxxx
• Co-owner, Wild Birds Unlimited of Eugene
• Author of "Birds! From the Inside Out" and "Looking for Yellowheads"
• Instructor of Field Ornithology, University of Oregon
541-953-4726
On Feb 11, 2015, at 10:02 AM, David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> Linda et al.,
>
> As Mike Patterson suggests, the report(s) of Ivory-billed Woodpecker from 11
> years ago are not deemed as credible by more than a few true believers. Many
> who dissected the famous David Luneau video, the hardest piece of evidence
> supporting the claim of Ivory-billed Woodpecker being extant, believe that
> the bird in the short clip is a Pileated Woodpecker.
>
> Most all birders seem to have an emotional investment in this bird, with many
> clinging to the remotest possibility that it exists. Given the amount of
> effort and technology applied to the recent searches, I am not one who is
> hopeful.
>
> There is one table-pounder named Michael Collins, who for nearly a decade has
> been packaging and repackaging some very poor video of a distant bird and
> then applying a lot if his own murky calculations in an effort to convince
> the world that it's an Ivory-billed. If nothing else, his drumbeat keeps the
> discussion "alive," even though the bird probably isn't.
>
> Dave Irons
> Portland, OR
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Feb 10, 2015, at 1:36 PM, "Linda Fink" <linda@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> pill e ated, pile e a ted, peel e a ted ...take your pick
>>
>> but don't ever forget its outsized relative... and what might have been...
>>
>> It's been 11 years since the Lord God Bird was re-sighted...
>>
>> Here are two beautiful... and heartbreaking... retrospectives (thanks to
>> cyberthrush, http://ivorybills.blogspot.com/ for these links)
>>
>> http://craigeley.com/01-27-2015/recording-rare-bird/
>>
>> https://soundcloud.com/longhaulpro/lord-god?in=longhaulpro/sets/lord-god
>>
>>
>> --
>> http://lindafink.blogspot.com/
>> http://lindafink-birdnotes.blogspot.com/
>> http://fffwildflowers.blogspot.com/
>> http://finkfamilyfarmtrees.blogspot.com/
>>
>>
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>
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