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May 02, 2005
The Woodpecker is Back
The Washington Post reports that after 60 years of presumed extinction a ivory-billed woodpecker has been spotted.
"Last seen in 1944 and long assumed to be extinct, is alive and well and living in Arkansas. One at last.
A male ivory bill was seen by a lone kayaker on Feb. 11, 2004, in a cypress and tupelo-gum swamp in northern Arkansas. Since then there have been six other sightings. A year ago this week, a video camera mounted in a canoe recorded four seconds of the bird in flight, catching its distinctive white wing patches.
"This is confirmed. This is dead solid confirmed," said John W. Fitzpatrick, head of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the lead author of a paper describing the discovery published online yesterday by the journal Science.
Word of the woodpecker's survival -- long rumored, never proved -- came at a news conference here featuring two Cabinet secretaries, two senators, half a dozen biologists (including one who moved from the Netherlands to pursue the elusive bird), representatives of several conservation organizations and the kayaker. They spoke with amazement, ardor and reverence."
Read the rest of the Washington Post article.
Posted on May 2, 2005 in Bird Corner | Permalink
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Comments
I saw a woodpecker just yesterday. I live in Ontario, Canada and like some others, I had no idea they were at one point, thought to be extinct. I was working at the time and didn't have my camera. It was only about 10 feet away from where I stood and it was pecking at bugs on a small tree. It looked just like the pic above and was very beautiful!
Posted by: Linda | Sep 5, 2008 8:23:00 AM
We have one in our backyard as well. We live in South Carolina and my daughter was able to get a picture of it on the side of a tree. I was surprised to see that they are near extinction.
Posted by: Clair | Jun 13, 2008 1:16:53 PM
I just saw (for the 3rd time) an ivory-billed woodpecker in our backyard scavenging our old oak tree for bugs. He is big and beautiful just like Woody Woodpecker! Thought I was seeing things. He has appeared over the last 3 years or so. Did not get a picture because I did not think I needed to. We live in Central Texas in the Lost Pines area. What a gorgeous bird.
Posted by: Ben | May 14, 2008 6:03:27 PM
i just saw one,in evansville, indiana.. i googled it and the picture confirmed that what i thought was an extinct bird was in fact an ivory billed woodpecker!!! it is a rather large bird and took me by suprise,i ran in the house to find a camera and it had flew away by the time i got back outside,i can hear him pecking away out there now!
Posted by: Kristy Collins | Apr 26, 2008 11:26:30 AM
I have two wood peckers living in my backyard. They are living in a hole in a dead tree. I see them everyday and until today, my husband thought I was seeing things.
Posted by: Tai | Apr 22, 2008 8:25:44 PM
I was in total shock today when i saw this huge bird fly infront of me on a country road. It landed on a tree and looked EXACTLY like this woodpecker. I was in total awe and amazement of this site. I felt as if i lived a national geographic moment. I plan on sitting there on that road the same time soon and see if i can see it again AND get a picture. This woodpecker was exactly like this one here. I will say i am still in shock i saw this and couldnt wait to get home to look up what type it was. This was in Walworth N.Y. on Daansen Rd. Wether they say theres no proof of its existance or not i know what i saw and this one DOES exist. And its a truly magnificent beautiful bird.
Posted by: Janet Leschhorn | Mar 24, 2008 9:42:37 AM
I believe I saw one this afternoon Feb 16, 2008 on Duck Creek. This is on Grand Lake of the Cherokee's. I have been seeing this bird for the last 3 to 4 years but I can never get a pic. They are so fast, the slightest sound and their gone. But this time I got a good look and the bill is ivory but I'm going to keep trying to get a pic to prove it.
Posted by: Donna | Feb 16, 2008 3:02:16 PM
I saw one, no, two ivory billed woodpeckers.
In my dreams too, of course.
Posted by: Dreamy | Jan 19, 2008 6:42:24 PM
I was so glad to see the excitement that sighting the Ivory billed has caused. I lived in Northern Arkansas on the white river corridor for almost twenty years and my son and I have seen the ivory billed while hiking in that region. I never made a public statement about it because I was afraid it would cause some to hunt for it. I assure you it is on the come back. We saw two separate pairs that were over twenty miles apart in 1989 and as late as 2002,
Posted by: Daniel T. Watkins | Sep 19, 2007 12:59:29 AM
SEPTEMBER17 2008 i saw a ivory bill woodpecker at HIGHROCK LAKE. In LEXINGTON,NC
Posted by: CRUMFELT | Sep 18, 2007 7:34:45 PM
I saw one of these in 1995 at Lurton, Ark...thought it was a piliated but then i realize the ivory bill has more red on the head... it had to be an ivory bill...
Posted by: jeanne | Dec 17, 2006 1:01:46 PM
