I'm not much into e-birding. In fact this is my first
post in five years. It's a follow up to my last post,
when I reported on some interesting calls that I heard
on Feb. 3, 2000, near the location where ivory-bills
had been reported the year before. At the time, I was
not aware that recordings existed. What I heard
sounded very interesting based on the written
description, but I wasn't even sure it was a bird. All
I knew is that it wasn't someone with a tape recorder
and that it wasn't a Blue Jay.
It was on Stennis Space Center land, which is across
the Pearl River from the 1999 sighting. There were no
other people in the area. The calls went on for a few
minutes, and there was never any sign of a Blue Jay. A
few weeks later, I learned about the recordings. I was
stunned when I heard them. The calls I heard were a
dead ringer for the ivory bill recordings. Now that
the species has been confirmed in Arkansas, I feel
safe to come out of the closet. I have no doubt that
Kulivan's 1999 report was valid. Ditto for many other
reports over the years from other locations. I would
highly recommend the following books on this
subject...
"The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker," James T. Tanne
"In Search of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker," Jerome A.
Jackson
"The Race to Save the Lord God Bird," Phillip Hoose
"The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed
Woodpecker," Tim Gallagher
I had just finished reading the books by Jackson and
Hoose when the rediscovery was announced. Gallagher's
book just came out. It's a masterpiece.
I do most of my local birding at Wakefield Park in
Northern Virginia. A Swainson's Warbler showed up
there on Saturday. This park is excellent for Mourning
and Connecticut Warblers. A Mourning Warbler defended
a territory there between May 9 and June 27 last year.
On good fall mornings, I have seen both Mourning and
Connecticut. I saw three Connecticuts there one
morning.
One of my favorite non-local birding destinations is
Peru. In the next year or so, I plan to organize a
trip to Manu Park for four people. If any of you are
interested, please let me know. I saw nearly 400
species in this spectacular park a few years ago. It
is very safe, and the area is free of malaria. Machu
Picchu makes for a wonderful day-trip afterwards. I
know an excellent guide who makes all the arrangements
for lodging, transportation, meals, etc. He has a
four-wheel drive van for doing Manu road into the
park, with stays at lodges at different elevations.
Then it's a spectacular boat ride down to a lodge in
the lowland jungle. I have some photos posted at
fishcrow.com. I also have a list of species seen if
anyone is interested.
Well, that it until 2010.
Mike Collins
Annandale, Virginia
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Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 14:18:17 -0500
Reply-To: Virginia Birding
<VA-BIRD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sender: Virginia Birding
<VA-BIRD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: Mike Collins
<collins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Barred Owl snagged by fish hook
Last week, I had an experience (story below) that
reminded me of the dangers of fish hooks left by
careless fishermen. I'm sure all of you are aware of
this problem, but I'd like to encourage you to keep an
eye out for fishing lines and hooks that are left
tangled in trees along the shore.
I was in Mississippi on business and decided to check
out the location nearby where an Ivory-billed
Woodpecker was recently reported. Hey, you never know.
My plan was to stop in this area on the way to
meetings each morning. On the first morning, I heard a
call that sounded very interesting, but I wasn't able
to locate the source. Since the call sounded right
based on what I've read and was unlike anything I've
heard, I didn't have any trouble getting motivated to
show up there at dawn the next morning. Unfortunately,
I got side tracked. I saw some movement on the far
side of a lake, which turned out to be a Barred Owl
dangling by a fishing line. I made my way around the
lake and realized it was on an island about 100 feet
out. I went back around the lake hoping it was just a
peninsula, but there was no way to get out there
without getting wet. Since it was a chilly morning, I
didn't want to get my clothes wet. So I stripped down
to my underwear and stepped into the lake. I
immediately sank down to my knees. I thought about
giving up but couldn't bear to leave the owl to
suffer. I walked up the bank and found a place where I
only sank up to my calves and made it across in waist
deep water. When I got to the island, I noticed an
alligator. Great. Here I am naked on an island with an
alligator in the middle of winter and having to cross
the murky water again. I made my way over to the owl,
which began snapping its bill and flashing its talons.
I looked around for something to put over the owl's
head to calm it down. All I could think of was my
underwear. That calmed it down, but left me a bit more
vulnerable. I had no experience handling owls but
managed to avoid its talons and grab hold of its legs.
I got bitten once, but that wasn't too bad. I was
hoping to release the owl, but the hook was really set
in the wing. So I took it to a rehabber, who found no
broken bones and thinks it should be OK. There is a
bit of humor to this story, but it was also very
traumatic. I hope anyone who reads this will attempt
to remove fishing lines that they find while birding.
Mike Collins
Annandale, Virginia
collins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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