Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers

There's a phenomena occurring, apparently, that I've been missing. I've always enjoyed feeding birds and learning what I can to identify the American Goldfinch, Bluejays, Cardinals, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers and Hummingbirds that populate the area. But I wasn't aware of all the fuss, and debate, occurring over the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker down in Louisiana.

Once thought extinct by ornithologists, bayou natives and others have been claiming sightings all along. How did the research community respond? By labeling those who claimed Ivory-Billed sightings as crackpots. It appears, at least to me, sour grapes and petty jealousy.

It's easy to understand how an ornithologist, who's given his/her life to studying birds and other wildlife, could feel incredulous or even slighted when hearing of a layman's spotting the revered woodpecker. And surely, many of the so-called Ivory-Billed Woodpecker sightings were merely mistaken glimpses of the Pileated Woodpecker. But I suspect many of the claims are legitimate.

For the curious, I recommend checking out Tim Gallagher's The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. I picked it up about a week ago, and I've found it entertaining and educational, a seemingly rare combination these days.

Here's to a Lazarus species.