Imperial Dreams: In Bookstores on April 16, 2013

Bobby Harrison (L) and Tim Gallagher (R) at Arroyo de los Monos

 The Imperial Woodpecker….an Ivorybill, and the largest of its clan, is, or was the largest woodpecker that has ever lived.  This magnificent bird is the topic of Tim Gallagher’s latest book, Imperial Dreams.  

    Tim, a great friend, and the person who was with me in 2004 when we saw the Ivory-billed Woodpecker on Bayou de View, Arkansas has spent the last four or more years on the trail of the Imperial Woodpecker of Mexico.  Tim made numerous trips to Mexico interviewing people who saw the bird in the middle of the last century, and spent considerable time tracking down recent reports that were only a couple of years old.

     I have had the privilege to read the pre-release proof of the book, and like Tim’s previous books it is a WINNER!  Tim is one the best authors I have ever read, and like his other books, once you start reading you will not want to put it down.   Tim tells a riveting story of a bird whose natural history is virtual unknown.  Tim has made a herculean effort to successfully unravel the mystery of the imperial woodpecker.   His travels through Mexico takes you to the peaceful Arroyo de los Monos, to a harrowing life and death encounter with drug traffickers in Durango.

     I was fortunate to make a trip to Mexico with Tim in February, 2009.  Tim writes about our adventure in the chapter “From Ivorybills to Imperials.”  It was a great trip, and helped me to really appreciate my life here at home.  My favorite part of the trip was Arroyo de los Monos, the site of ancient petroglyphs that dated back some eight-hundred years. 

     Tim, John, (our guide) and I spent the entire afternoon in the arroyo photographing the ancient works of art.   From the start of the trip this was the place I really wanted to visit, because it held what is believed to be the oldest known drawing of an imperial woodpecker.   Tim had been to the site on a previous trip and knowing that I really wanted to see the imperial petroglyph made it a point to get me there before the trip was over.

     Know one really knows why ancient peoples etched images onto rock surfaces.  They could have created such works to tell a story, make a statement or just pass time, but for what ever reason Arroyo de los Monos is filled with petroglyphs.  The imperial petroglyph was about twenty-feet up the side of the canyon wall, and was in a difficult spot for someone to do an etching.  Perhaps there was better footing eight-hundred years ago.  I photographed the petroglyph from every possible angle and when I finished shooting the imperial petroglyph, I turned my camera to others.  There were petroglyphs of avocets, coyotes, men, geometric shapes and creatures I could not identify.  I shot them all.  I could not have imagined a better way to end my adventure in Mexico.

     Tim’s book, “Imperial Dreams” will go on sale April 16, 2013.  If you love “The Grail Bird,”  You’ll love “Imperial Dreams.”

Tim’s blog:  www.imperial-dreams.blogspot.com is up and running.  He is posting about his adventures into the land of the Imperial Woodpecker every few days.  Check-it-out.

I have placed the address in “Bobby’s Favorite Blogs”  here to the right for easy access.  Tim has been posting quite often so check out the blog frequently.

Congratulations on another GREAT book Tim!

    

Here are a few images from my trip with Tim.

Arroyo de los Monos, Mexico.  Imperial petroglyph to right

Imperial Petroglyph, close-up

     

Imperial Woodpecker Art

  

   This is a handcolored lithograph of an Imperial Woodpecker from the book, Das Buch der Welt.  The book was published by, Hoffmann'sche Verlags-Buchhandlung“ in Stuttgart/Germany, 1866.  The artist is E. Hochdanz who was a prominent natural history illustrator of the time.

     Other birds in the illustration are the: Northern Flicker (yellow shafted flicker, or Yellowhammer if you’re from Alabama), Female red-naped Sapsucker, as the red on the forehead extends to the bill.  This could possibly be a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker as illustration of this era lack accuracy, and Lewis’s Woodpecker. I am extremely happy to add this to my collection of Ivory-bill art!

Search Update

     I continue to search for the ibwo in Arkansas.  I am working with a small supporting group and have made a few excursion to deploy cameras, and retrieve data from the cameras.

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Update

     Bill Pullium has done additional analysis of the imperial woodpecker, Rhein film, in relation to the Luneau video.  The 11 comments that follow the new information that Bill presents are worth reading as well.
Follow this link:
http://bbill.blogspot.com/2011/11/woodpecker-wingbeats-revisited.html 

Interesting exchange of comments!

Imperial Woodpecker mount I photographed
at the American Museum of Natural History.
Photo by Bobby Harrison; 2006.
Courtesy of the AMNH

     There is an interesting series of comments on the the "IVORY-BILLS LIVE" blog.  Those making the comments are: Cyberthrush, Bill Pulliam, David Sibley, Fred Virrazzi, and Mark (?).  Click on the link below to  see the comments made for Tuesday, November 08, 2011 post.   A very interesting exchange takes place;  it makes for interesting reading.

http://ivorybills.blogspot.com/2011/11/further-imperial-analysis.html#links

Additional Imperial Woodpecker Sites

Here are some additional links about the Imperial Woodpecker:


     Tim on "Science Friday," November 11, 2011:
http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201111113

     The Wilderness Center has posted a pod cast interview with Tim Gallagher about the Imperial Woodpecker and his adventures in Mexico.  The pod cast can be found at:

http://www.wildernesscenter.org/podcasts/files/wild-ideas...the-podcast-136.mp3

Tim's interview is 35 minutes long and begins  24minutes, 21 seconds into the pod cast.  This is an excellent interview.  Great job Tim!

     Tim Gallagher's article, "Return to Darango," in Living Bird Magazine.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=2314&utm_source=Cornell+Lab+eNews&utm_campaign=9fd3ba100c-Cornell_Lab_eNews_2011_10_2610_26_2011&utm_medium=email#top

Analysis of Imperial Woodpecker Film

Painting from the
Auk, 1889; Vol. 15,  No3; p217-223

     Ivorybill investigator Bill Pulliam has posted an analysis of the launch behavior, wing beat rate, and flight mechanics of the 1956 William Rhein imperial woodpecker film. The analysis compares the imperial film with the Luneau ivorybill video with interesting results.  Follow this link and read the report for yourself:    http://bbill.blogspot.com/2011/11/imperial-film.html

Imperial Woodpecker in the News

     Living Bird Magazine has published a recent artilce written by Tim Gallagher about the only known photographic images of the Imperial Woodpecker of Mexico.  The article describes how woodpecker expert Martjan Lammertink found the film, and the trip that he and Tim made to Mexico to find the location where it was shot.   The film of the female Imperial was taken by dentist William Rhein in 1956, just south of Guacamaylta, in the state of Durango.  
     A scientific article was published in the Auk as well.  Martjan was the lead author of the Auk article with Tim and others as co-authors of the article.  The following links will take you to the Auk article abstract, and the film.  Enjoy!

Auk article abstract:  www.birds.cornell.edu/imperial
The film:  http://www.youtube.com/embed/bZCTPkQIJj4?rel=0

     In addition to the articles in Living Bird and the Auk, the story has appeared across the world on the web and in newspapers.  I was contacted by "grrlscientist" for permission to run my photo of the Imperial, Ivory-bill and Pileated specimens that I took at the Ammerican Museum of Natural History on her blog.  The image ran with the Living bird article.  You can see the image on this blog at the October 12, 2010 post,  and at the address below.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/grrlscientist

Tim Gallagher Interview

Tim Gallagher, Editor; Living Bird Magazine
Cornell Lab of Ornithology

     Tim Gallager was intervied on a NYC National Public Radio station concering "Pip," A Red-tailed Hawk nestling, whose parents built a nest on a 12th floor ledge of the New York Universtiy building.  Follow this link to hear the interview:  http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/2011/jun/21/following-hawk-cam-goodbye-pip/

The following is the program description from the website with additional links:
Pip is preparing to leave the nest, and the Hawk Cam, and start his life in the wilds of New York City. We get an update on the hawk family from Emily Rueb, senior producer on the Metro desk at the New York Times, and Tim Gallagher, editor of Living Bird magazine at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and author of Falcon Fever: A Falconer in the 21st Century.

Ivory-billed Woodpecker

     A couple of weeks ago I ran into Matt Mendenhall, associate editor of Bird Watching Magazine, while photographing migrants at Magee Marsh on the south shore of Lake Erie.  Matt and I talked briefly about  ivorybills.  Follow the link below to see his post.   Bobby

http://cs.birdwatchingdaily.com/BRDCS/blogs/field_of_view/archive/2011/05/27/four-more-thoughts-from-the-biggest-week-in-american-birding.aspx

To see photos I shot at Magee Marsh click on this link:  http://bobbyharrison.blogspot.com

Ivorybilled Woodpecker and Tim Gallagher featured on CBC Raido

   Tim Gallagher, Author of The Grail Bird, is featured in a pod cast today, on CBC raido.  The five minute segment is edited from an hour long interview.  This weeks DNTO ("Definitely Not The Opera") program feature is on bird stories and how they have changed lives.   Tim’s story is the rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. To hear the program follow this link to the pod cast:

http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/dnto_20110326_47229.mp3

To read a synopsis of this and other stories aired on the program go to: http://www.cbc.ca/dnto/promote/2011/03/24/share-your-bird-story . 

To order a copy of The Grail Bird, follow this link to Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Grail-Bird-Rediscovery-Ivory-billed-Woodpecker/dp/061870941X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301166432&sr=1-1

7th Anniversary of Ivory-billed Woodpecker Sighting

Some Ivory-billed Woodpecker sighting location in

Bayou Deview during 2004-2005 search season.

Sighting mention below are indicated on this map

     It was Seven years ago today that Tim Gallagher and I saw an Ivory-billed Woodpecker on Bayou Deview in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas.   It is a day I will never forget.  I had researched and searched for the Ivory-bill for thirty-three years prior to the 2004 sighting.  Reports of Ivory-bills had been made almost every year of every decade since 1944, and research told me that they could still be extant.  On February 27^th, 2004 I knew that they were.  Well, at least one.

   Over the next year I had an additional 5 sightings.  The very next day, February 28^th , I saw an Ivory bill flying southwest, about a half mile south of the first sighting of the previous day.  My third sighting came on May 5^th, the fourth on June 9^th, and a 5^th  sighting came of September 4^th.  All three of these sighting were within 525 feet of each other.  My 6^th sighting occurred 3/4^th of a mile north of Arkansas Hwy 17 on January 22, 2005.  This sighting was special, for I saw two birds flying together.  This was the first time that I knew there were more than one Ivory-bill in the Bayou Deview search area.  Based on the number of sighting that were occurring on Bayou Deview during early 2004, I believed that at least one or more Ivory-bills were making feeding forays into Bayou Deview about once every two weeks.  

     My January 22^nd sighting was the last time I positively identified Ivory-bills on Bayou Deview.   The sighting Tim and I had on February 27^th 2004 was four years after a major ice storm had hit the area.   The ice storm was severe and created good feeding habitat for Ivory-bills.  Perhaps that is why there were Ivory-bills in the area when Tim and I arrived in February 2004.

To read more about the February 27^th 2004 sighting follow this link:

http://www.ibwfound.org/rediscovery.cfm

Ivory-bill Update from Cornell

   An update on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker has been published in the Autumn, 2010 issue of Living Bird Magazine.  The update indicates that a new book is currently being written by leaders of the Cornell Lab’s Ivory-billed Woodpecker Recovery Project, and some of its partner organizations.  This new book about the Ivory-bill is due for release in 2011.  To read the article go to: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=2021

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Specimen

Male Ivory-billed Woodpecker:  Anniston Museum of
Natural History; Anniston, Alabama

   
    On March 9, 1890, William Werner took a male Ivory-billed Woodpecker specimen in Hillsbourgh  County, Florida.  Werner found a nest with eggs and both male and female birds present. While Werner was unsuccessful in procuring the female Ivorybill he did manage to shoot the male.  He also procured the nest cavity and eggs.  The male specimen along with the nest cavity and eggs are on display at the Anniston Museum of Natural History in Anniston, Alabama.  

     Living only a few hours from Anniston I made a trip in 2006 to photograph and take measurement of the ivorybill, the nest cavity and entrance.  The cavity entrance measured 4(h) x 3 5/8(w) inches, which seems small for an ivorybill cavity entrance hole.

     The Anniston Museum of Natural History mount is by far the best specimen among all the skins and mounted ivorybills I have encountered.  It is interesting that the taxidermist used red eyes on the mount.  Ivorybills have yellow eyes and to my knowledge there are no written observation reports of an Ivorybill with red eyes.
     If you are interested in seeing this specimen for yourself follow this link,  http://www.annistonmuseum.org to the museums website for directions and contact information.

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Eggs:  Close-up from above image

Add Your Input To Important Research

Dr. William Hayes, a biology professor at Loma Linda University is conducting research on attitudes toward the environment and conservation.  Taking the survey below will add valuable data needed for the research.  Follow the link below to take a short survey. -- Bobby

IMPORTANT SURVEY ON ATTITUDES TOWARD THE ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION

Your help is needed! The Loma Linda University Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Studies is conducting a groundbreaking survey on attitudes toward the environment and conservation, particularly of those who love plants and animals. The results from this study, to be published in a professional journal, will contribute to our understanding of the role of plants and animals in society. Participants are urgently needed to complete the survey, which should take about 5-10 minutes of your time. Please click on the following link: http://www.facebook.com/l/f806ckPWwgNgSYtv6MlnkgkAeaA;www.surveymonkey.com/s/R9PFYRN

Ivory-billed Woodpecker

(L) Imperial, (C) Ivory-billed, (R) Pileated Woodpecker

photo by Bobby R. Harrison

Courtesy of the AMNH, New York

Imperial, Ivorybill and Pileated Woodpeckers:  I took this photo at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City while doing research on Ivory-billed Woodpeckers.  I took the image to illustrate the size differences among the three species, specifically the differences between an Ivorybill and a Pileated woodpecker.  Though I did not find a Pileated skin from Arkansas, I did find a northern Georgia specimen from approximately the same latitude as Brinkley, Arkansas, where Tim Gallagher and I saw an Ivorybill in 2004.  The Ivorybill specimen pictured here is from northern Florida and should be approximately 1/2 to 1 inch shorter than an Ivorybill from Arkansas.  Though study skins can be stretched during preparation, and can be made to appear larger, it is obvious in this image that Ivorybills are much larger than Pileated Woodpeckers.    

The Imperial Woodpecker here measures 23 inches, the Ivorybill measures 19 1/2 inches, and the Pileated measures 16 inches from tip of bill to tip of tail. 

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Painting by Edwin Deming, 1899

     I recently purchased a print of a painting by Edwin Willard Deming.  Deming was born in 1860 at Ashland, Ohio.  When he was six months old his parents moved to western Illinois, which was on the frontier at the time.  Deming grew to be a talented artist who, in the latter third of the nineteenth century painted and sculpted the Native American lifestyle.

     The above painting is one of many that illustrates the children’s book, Indian Child Life, written by Deming and his wife Therese.  The book was published in 1899.  The painting is of two Winnebago Indian children sitting on a blanket as they point and look at two male ivory-billed woodpeckers in a nearby tree. 

     My limited research on Deming has turned-up nothing on the source of the reference material he may have used for the birds in the painting.  In the story that appears with the painting the birds are referred to as, “Two great, big woodpeckers, with great red heads.” 

     Perhaps Deming had see a woodcut or painting of ivorybills, or perhaps he had seen a specimen.  From what I have read Winnebago Indians in the 1800’s occupied parts of Illinois and Okalahoma.  Since Deming lived in the area throughout his early years, he may have indeed seen ivorybills in the wild himself.  Whatever the source, he did not use the name, Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the painting.  The fact that two males are represented in the painting makes me think that Deming only had knowledge of male ivorybills, and perhaps was unaware that females have a black crest.

No matter the source nor the limit of Deming’s knowledge of Ivory-bills, I am very happy to add this print to my collection of ivorybill memorabilia.  

To see an electronic version of “Indian Child Life,” with color illustrations,  go to: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32301/32301-h/32301-h.htm

To read more about Edwin Willard Deming, go to:

http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=1208

Recent Ivory-billed Woodpecker Sighting in Arkansas

A recent, possible Ivorybill sighting has been announced by Jackson Roe, who says he and his father encountered two Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in Arkansas.  This is the first claim I have heard of anyone seeing two birds since my January 22, 2005 encounter that took place three-quarters of a mile (as the ivorybill flies) north of Arkansas HWY 17. 

You can read Roe’s account in his Thursday, September 30, 2010 post, on the following blog:   http://saveaspeciescorp.blogspot.com

New Tanner Photos of Ivory-billed Woodpecker Discovered

Stephen Lyn Bales worked closely with Nancy Tanner while doing research on his new book “Ghost Birds—Jim Tanner and the Quest for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker 1935-1941.”  Bales book is about the life of James Tanner, the first and only person to do a scientific study on Ivory-billed Woodpeckers.  During the course of research Nancy Tanner discovered a box with old negative.  In that box were six unknown negatives of “Sonny Boy”(pictured above); an immature ivorybill that Tanner had banded in the Singer Tract during his 1939 field season.  When Bales saw the negatives he was astounded, for he new that he was holding negatives  that were unknown.  In Chapter 17 of "Ghost Birds" Bales relates in exquisite detail the toils of Tanners’ adventure with Sonny Boy, from spiking the tree and retrieving  Sonny Boy to the excitement of taking the photos of the nestling as it climbed over J. J. Kuhn.  The newly discovered images and the story of its significance has been published in the September issue of Smithsonian magazine.  Follow this link to read about this historic find.  http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/A-Close-Encounter-With-the-Rarest-Bird.html

"Ghost Birds", New Book on James Tanner

A new book about James T. Tanner has been published by the University of Tennessee Press. It is a fantastic book about the life of the man who did the first scientific study of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers.
The author, Stephens Lyn Bales did a superb job of telling the fascinating story of this remarkable man. If you have an interest in the ivorybill or not, this is a must read book. Once I started reading I could not put it down. Bales words have a flow that keeps you mesmerized about the young James Tanner and his exploits throughout the south as he searches for the “Grail Bird”.
Follow this link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Birds-Ivory-billed-Woodpecker-1935-1941/dp/1572337176/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285445307&sr=8-1

Book Description on Amazon.com
“Everyone who is interested in the ivory-billed woodpecker will want to read this book—from scientists who wish to examine the data from all the places Tanner explored to the average person who just wants to read a compelling story.”_—Tim Gallagher, author of The Grail Bird: The Rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker


In 1935 naturalist James T. Tanner was a twenty-one-year-old graduate student when he saw his first ivory-billed woodpecker, one of America’s rarest birds, in a remote swamp in northern Louisiana. At the time, he was part of an ambitious expedition traveling across the country to record and photograph as many avian species as possible, a trip organized by Dr. Arthur Allen, founder of the famed Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Two years later, Tanner hit the road again, this time by himself and in search of only one species—that ever-elusive ivory-bill. Sponsored by Cornell and the Audubon Society, Jim Tanner’s work would result in some of the most extensive field research ever conducted on the magnificent woodpecker.
_Drawing on Tanner’s personal journals and written with the cooperation of his widow, Nancy, Ghost Birds recounts, in fascinating detail, the scientist’s_dogged quest for the ivory-bill as he chased down leads in eight southern states. With Stephen Lyn Bales as our guide, we experience the same awe and excitement that Tanner felt when he returned to the Louisiana wetland he had visited earlier and was able to observe and document several of the “ghost birds”—including a nestling that he handled, banded, and photographed at close range. Investigating the ivory-bill was particularly urgent because it was a fast-vanishing species, the victim of indiscriminant specimen hunting and widespread logging that was destroying its habitat. As sightings became rarer and rarer in the decades following Tanner’s remarkable research, the bird was feared to have become extinct. Since 2005, reports of sightings in Arkansas and Florida made headlines and have given new hope to ornithologists and bird lovers, although extensive subsequent investigations have yet to produce definitive confirmation.
Before he died in 1991, Jim Tanner himself had come to believe that the majestic woodpeckers were probably gone forever, but he remained hopeful_that someone would prove him wrong. This book fully captures Tanner’s determined spirit as he tracked down what was then, as now, one of ornithology’s true Holy Grails.
STEPHEN LYN BALES is a naturalist at the Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville,_Tennessee. He is the author of Natural Histories, published by UT Press in 2007.

UPDATE:

It has been sometime since I have posted. Over the summer Norma and I traveled more than 12,000 miles to photograph birds in the western and northern states as well as Canada. You can follow my photography blog at www.bobbyharrison.blogspot.com
The following is a brief note to tie-up the loose end I left for the April trip to Bayou De View.

Day three of the April visit to Bayo De View was interesting but gave no sightings of an ivorybill. Tom Sheley report hearing a series of "kent" like calls for about twent minutes at the north end of Stab Lake. I heard a single "kent" like call about a quarter mile north of Stab Lake as well. Tom Searched for the source of the call, but it stayed just ahead of hima and did not see its maker. Day four was uneventful with not sound or sight of a bird. I ran decoys for four days, a total of 32 hours of video. Though I have not seen all the video from that trip, what I have seen as yielded no positive results.

I will be Arkansas in October. Weather should be cooler and I will be working alone. Perhaps I will have better luck. My main goal of the October visit is to search for scaling, though decoys and video cameras will be deployed as well.

Day 2

   
     I am adding these post after the return home. This post is for Arpil 8, Day 2 on the serach. Jim dawned his helmet cam. The helmet cam is high depth and produces a high res image. John, Paul and Roseann headed north to the power line while Jim, Tom and myself head south. I set-up a decoy and cameras about a mile and half south of the AR17 bridge. After hanging the decoy I did a series of double knocks and left the area. I recorded 16 hours of viedo between two cameras trained on the decoy. After the decoy was in place Jim, Tom and I spread out along the bayou and watched and listened, but no luck in seeing or hearing a bird. Viedos will be reviewed over thenext few weeks.

Back In The Swamp

     I was back in the swamp today with a team of volunteers from WildBird Unlimited. We arrived in Brinkley, Arkansas on Tuesday night about 7:00pm. We were up at 5:00 and headed for the bayou. Joining me on the search is (photo L to R) Jim Carpenter, John schaust, me, Tom Sheley, Paul Picket and Roseann Kovalcik. We traveled from the Arkansas hiway 17 to Paw-Paw Lake. I conducted a series of double-knocks three times during the day, but there was no response. I did not use decoys today because of weather. We had light rains all day and a rough thunderstorm at the end of the day. By the time we got off the bayou this evening we were soaked and exhausted. weather should be more condusive tomarrow for using decoys. Also will take some photos tomorrow and put some on the blog. IT IS GREAT TO BE BACK ON THE BAYOU!

Robotic Decoy

In April I will be in the swamp searching of ivorybills. It has been quite some times since I have been searching, but as Norma has improved I am able to make trips to the swamp. I will be working with decoys again, hoping to get a response from a living bird. You can see a video of the robotic decoy on "you tube" at: http://www.youtube.com/resultssearch_query=ibwfound&search_type= then type ibwfound inthe search option. I hope that the animated decoys will me more noticeable if an ivorybill flies by. Look for updates around the second week of April. Bobby

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers - Moving head decoy

Plans are to continue using moving decoys, to attract the attention of any interested ivory-billed woodpecker flying by. Video cameras will be focused on the decoy and on the area around the tree where it is hung.

Cameras will be checked regularly!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Plans are being made for the new search season.
Some new ideas for the search of the ivory-billed woodpecker are being planned.

If you have ideas, feel free to toss them this way!

We may not be able to make the anticipated trips this fall.
I have to go thru radiation treatment every day, for 7 consecutive weeks, starting shortly.
On September 15 I was officially notified that I had breast cancer, I have gone thru a series of procedures.
I had a Lumpectomy, the Md. feels that they got all the cancer and the pathology reports regarding the 2 lymph nodes removed came back clear.

SO, our trips may be more limited than anticipated this fall.

However, after the treatments we may be able to make more trips to the Bayou.

Norma

Planning to make some trips this Fall.
Not sure of dates yet. We'll keep you posted.

Remember to Check this out then read on, start below, on March 30, you must read from bottom up!

It's an Ivory-billed
Art AUCTION!
U can participate!!
A collection of different ivory-billed woodpecker artwork

This auction is sponsored by the
Austin Audubon Society

Share this news with a friend
or ibwo supporter!

Finally home!

Two canoes, still in place on top of the van.

Day 5, Sunday, April 12

We left Brinkley and headed home. I have to return to the classroom. As I have time, I will review the hours of taping I did of the decoys.

Bobby takes pictures of his partners and of the environment.

Then he has to go back down, of course!

Bobby carefully climbs tree to set the decoy in place.

Bobby Harrison prepares decoy for hanging.

Jim Carpenter, CEO of Wildbirds Unlimited, in full camo.

Out into the imense bayou.

Days 2, 3, 4: Thursday-Saturday, April 9-11

We were up before the sun to get an early start each day. It took about an hour to unload the van, load the canoes and reach the decoy deployment site. The purpose of this trip was to use decoys to attract an ivory-bill within camera range.

With cameras and decoys ready to go, we set out for a location south of AR17 to set up the decoy and video cameras. We were hoping an Ivorybill would take interest in the decoy and check it out. For this deployment we used an animated decoy that has a moving head. We were hoping the movement of the decoys head would make it easier to detect by a passing Ivorybill.

It takes about forty-five minutes to an hour to deploy a decoy and set-up cameras. Each decoy is placed about 15 feet up a tree, making it visible at a greater distance.

One of the trolling motors for the canoes failed before we even got started. So, John and Kevin paddled the entire trip. Paddling is not new for them, but paddling creates additional movement that might draw attention to a passing Ivory-bill and lessen the chance of an encounter.

After decoy deployment we each took a section of the swamp. At different times we each pursued an active search - moving through the swamp, and at times laying in wait for a bird by fly-by.

Taking down the decoys and cameras also took time. Decoys and cameras were taken down each day and re-deployed the next. Approximately 48 hours of video was made during the 3 days of deployment.

We typically got out of the swamp and back to town between 7pm and 7:30pm each evening.

We were not the only searchers in the swamp. On the dates we were in the bayou there were at least two other searchers working in other parts of the swamp.

DAY 1, Wednesday, April 8

Plans had been laid to meet with friends in Brinkley, AR to continue searching for the Ivorybill in Bayou de View. (photo left to right), Jim Capenter, Bobby Harrison, John Schaust and Kevin Carlson

We met at Gene's BBQ on Wednesday evening, upon our arrival to Brinkley. Jim, John and Kevin had arrive a day earilier and had already spent a day on the water searching for the elusive ivory-bill.

It's an Ivory-billed
Art AUCTION!
U can participate!!
A collection of different ibwo artwork

This auction is sponsored by the
Austin Audubon Society

Share this news with a friend
or ibwo supporter!

For those of u faithful watchers of this blog:

Norma is improving, doing physical therapy, she has graduated to a walker, hopefully soon she will walk independently. Thanks for asking.

If you check out this blog, please leave your name under comments or send us an e-mail. We want to know who we are reaching. If you have any questions for the Foundation or Bobby, you can do so here.

NEXT Search TRIP
We are planning a trip the bayou at the end of this month. Bobby plans to use his decoys and set up cameras on them. He wants to see if an ivory-bill shows up to check them out. The foundation has acquired all necessary permits.

The Kent, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Foundation Newsletter, is now available.
To be included in our e-mailings, please send your e-mail address to:

ivorybillwp@aol.com

Bobby and Tim are speaking tonight at the Albuquerque Museum of Natural History. They will give a historical overview and updates of the ivory-bill.

They are attending the NANPA yearly convention.

Newsletter coming soon.
Sign up NOW!

I am compiling a list of e-mail addresses of interested persons to whom I will e-mail our newsletter,
'The Kent'.

Sign up by e-mailing me @ ivorybillwp@aol.com

IN THE NEWS, AGAIN!
The Showtime short film about the Ivory-billed woodpecker and Bobby's quest to find this iconic bird is featured in This American Life.

Description found in:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/70568-this-american-life-season-two/

Check it out!

A short play has been written and is being produced in Baltimore, March 4-8

For more information about the play
http://www.umbc.edu/theatre/In10_2009.html


and check out the writer's blog @
http://www.writinglife3.blogspot.com>

We have a children's book about the rediscovery called:

To Find an Ivory-billed Woodpecker

It is available through amazon.com, click under new book

Hello everyone this is Bobby --- As mentioned in a previous post the foundation has received an Endangered Species Permit to use decoys. The foundation has now received its Special Use Permit (SUP) to use decoys in the Cache River NWR. All paper work is now complete and as time permits I will deploy decoys in the Bayou Deview area.

I still believe that Bayou Deview is the best place to obtain further confirmation of the Ivory-bills existence. My April 2008 possible encounter makes me believe that ivorybills are still using the area. Bayou Deview is narrow, providing a higher probability of an encounter. I currently have 7 days schedule in March to use decoys on Bayou Deview.

In November, 2008 four members of the Houston Audubon Society joined the search for the Ivory-bill. Water levels were extremely low and the only way to traverse the swamp was to walk. Fortunately the ground was not mucky and walking was quite easy. We walked about 12 miles over the two day period. We saw lots of birds, but not the one we were looking for.

If you are interested in checking the water levels on Bayou Deview go to, (waterdata.usgs.gov/ar/nwis/uv?07077700) . The water gauge on this site is for Morton, Arkansas. When the water level reads 13.3 feet and falling the water level is too low to put a canoe in and travel north or south of Arkansas Highway 17 near Brinkley. When the water level reads 14.5 - 15 feet and higher you can go just about anywhere in the swamp. If you plan a trip to Bayou Deview check this site first to see if there is enough water to canoe.

This is Norma writing.
We have several updates to insert. I have been slow in doing so because I had to have more surgery on my knee and there were complications with which I had to deal. I still have another procedure to undergo in the next week or so. We'll see.

It seemed to take forever, but it finally arrived: The Endangered Species Permit. This permit will allow the Foundation to use decoys in the field, as it continues its search for the Ivory-bill. The application process started in October of 2007 and the final paperwork finally arrived in August of 2008.

Hopefully the use of decoys will make a significant contribution in the continued search and documentation of this magnificent bird.

April 12th. As Bobby and Jim Carpenter, CEO of Wild Birds Unlimited traveled deep in the Bayou in Arkansas, they spied a large black and white bird flying in the distance. Both Bobby and Jim found the bird interesting in its speed, wing beat frequency and it flight pattern. While the bird flew like other Ivory-bills that Bobby has seen in powered flight it was simply too far away to say it was an Ivory-bill. But just in case, Bobby decided to deploy cameras in the area.

The next day, Jim and Wild Birds chief biologist John Schaust were in the same area. Both Jim and John heard and recorded more than fifty minutes of “kent” like calls.

Bobby’s cameras have now recorded more than 300,000 images in the area, but not all of the images have been reviewed. On September 6th Bobby made a trip to the swamp to retrieve the cameras for general maintenance. When he arrived at the deployment site he heard a distinct Ivory-bill like double-knock about 800 plus feet away. Bobby is anxious to finish review of the images already produced and eager to get the cameras back out in the swamp.

1st News!
September 2nd and 3rd: Bobby Harrison attended the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Recovery Team meeting in Atlanta as a representative of The Ivory-billed Woodpecker Foundation. Search team leaders from each state gave a presentation of its search efforts for the 2008 search season. There were a few sightings as well as “kent” like calls and double raps reported, but as of this date no clear photographs have been taken. While sound evidence hints to the presence of Ivory-bills in numerous location, sound evidence must be carefully analyzed and is often considered questionable.

Search efforts will continue during the 2008-2009 season in Arkansas, Florida, and other states. The Cornell mobile search team will continue to check out areas as a quick response team. Future search plans appear to include less human searchers and more technology in the form of automated camera surveillance.

It is not known how much longer federal funding will be available for the continued search. While the federal government does not fund the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Foundation, its search efforts will continue, even when other agencies' and institutions' funding is cut.

It has been about 5 months since my accident. I am not walking. I tire easily, but I will try to update as I am able.

Hello everyone.  As you know Norma does all the blogging.  However, she is incapacitated and will not be able to update for a while.  I will try to update on occasion until she is able.  On Thursday, March 20 Norma had a bad auto accident.  She fractured her left ankle, and shattered the upper tibia of her right knee.  She had surgery on Friday the 21st to keep the tibia and femur in the correct position until the swelling goes down in the knee.  Once the swelling subsides the doctors will use a metal plate and screws to put the tibia back together.  At this point she has 2 bolts in the side of her right femur and 2 bolts in the tibia that extend through the skin.  Attached to the bolts are rods that hold the tibia in correct position to the femur.  She should have surgery on the tibia in 7 to 10 day.  Once the second surgery is complete she will have about 8 weeks of recovery and rehab after that.  She is in for a long haul.  I will update on occasion to let every-one know how she is doing.  I will add some photos soon.   Bobby

Film Review. Another review for the movie Woodpecker. Click here.

Book Review. Geoffrey E. Hill's Ivorybill Hunters- In the March 2008 issue of the Wilson Journal of Ornithology (120:232-233), William E. Davis Jr. Thank you, Birds, etc. Blog, Click here.

Film Review. Karpovsky’s Ivory-billed Woodpecker film is out there, apparently it is marriage between fiction and documentary
Review sites:

1. Filmaker Magazine blog
2. Green Cine Daily
3. Tom Burton, Austin Chronicle

Back to Brinkley. Last weekend off we went to Brinkley, canoe and all. But it rained! On top of that Bobby had bronchitis, we thought he would get better with his antibiotics, but didn't. So we headed back home disappointed and still sick.

We met some lovely people from the Connecticut Audubon Society there on Saturday evening, that part was fun.

Searching for Ivory-bills? Select your binoculars wisely. Check this out!