The Ivory-billed Woodpecker remains extremely rare and elusive. During the 2008-2009 search season, no definitive photo or video was obtained in this, the 5th consecutive year of organized searches. As sightings continue to come in, future searches will take place in Arkansas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and other states. Considering the limited resources available and the cost of searching, it may be quite some time before a clear video or photo is taken primarily due to the nature of the habitat.
Latest updates at the Ivorybill Researcher's Forum:
» Dave Nolin's Pileated vs Ivorybill comaprison
"Fleeing Pileated Woodpecker Videos Useful for IBWO Searchers"
If you're looking for the Ivorybill you are going to be seeing many Pileateds. Most likely big woodpeckers will be flying away from you. Knowing the flight and color patterns of this relatively common species can help with field identifications. These videos are also useful for comparisons with the Luneau Video from Arkansas. Download the 1st video
The first video shows a series of flights taken with an old analog camcorder and converted to digital. The second and third are individual flights taken with a Canon digital camcorder and contain much more information. None of these videos have been deinterlaced. If you look at the two most recent videos frame by frame or at a slow speed you can see that:
- Viewed from behind, flying Pileated woodpeckers almost always show the black trailing edge of the underwing, but more white overall than you might expect.
- After the initial launch from a tree Pileated Woodpeckers pull their wings into the body after the downstroke. This gives them an undulating flight pattern and slower wingbeats than if they flapped continuously. In level flight this makes for a pause in flapping where the bird with folded wings is like a dark projectile between the upstroke and downstroke.
-Pileated woodpeckers often flare their wings upward when frightened from their perch, thereby showing the white underwing linings. Download the 2nd video
We here at Birdviewing.com realize that the much studied Luneau Video will never be fully accepted as an Ivorybill by some, at least until it can be compared with similar videos of known Ivorybills. However, we also believe that the bird in the Luneau video displays a different flight pattern, has faster wingbeats, and displays much more white than Pileated Woodpeckers. So, if you want to prove or disprove these or other opinions, feel free to download the videos and compare!
A big thanks to Dave for the work he put in preparing these videos! Download the 3rd video
Here is a rare photo of an Ivorybill in Cuba. Not many people are aware of its existence and it is one of the few photos of the bird in Cuba. John Dennis, April 16, 1948.
» Books on the IBW
Also from LSU:
» Timeline
Here is a timeline of Ivory-billed Woodpecker events, all-time.
Ancient Times: Ivorybills are living under natural unaltered conditions in North America and Cuba. Vast healthy forests blanket the southeastern US and while the Ivorybill is not as common as the Pileated, the word extinction is not associated with the bird.
1700s: The Ivorybill is described in literature for the first time but natives were already familiar with the bird.
Early 1800s: Hunting had begun and the birds had felt the effects of humans. John James Audubon paints his famous portrait of 3 Ivorybills interacting on a tree. Alexander Wilson traps an Ivorybill and locks it in his hotel room. The bird proceeds to destroy all the wood furniture in the room.
Late 1800s: America’s forests are under attack. Logging in full force had seriously reduced Ivorybill numbers.
Late 1800s: Hunting of the Ivorybill continued with ignorance. The bird’s numbers plummeted
Early 1900s: Ivorybill numbers had been reduced by perhaps 80-90%
Early 1900s: The president of the United States T. Roosevelt finds an Ivory-billed woodpecker while hunting. He is likely the only US president to see the bird
1924: After a long period without a sighting, Arthur Allen finds a pair of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in Florida
1937: James Tanner begins the most famous and documented search for the Ivorybill. With help from J.J. Kuhn (who located the birds) he studies 7 pairs in Northeastern Louisiana in the now infamous “Singer Tract” and writes a thesis about the Ivorybill. It remains the only extensive scientific report on the species
1944: As the Singer Tract is logged, the last confirmed sighting in the US of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker is made in a cutover area
1948: John Dennis takes one of the only photographs of the Ivorybill in Cuba, on April 16th. Several pairs were reported by locals however Dennis reported that logging continued in the Ivorybill range
1950s: Reports come in from Cuba that the Ivorybill is still alive. Several pairs are found in rugged and inaccessible terrain in central and eastern Cuba
1986: Giraldo Alayon briefly sees a female Ivory-billed Woodpecker being mobbed by Cuban Crows at Ojito de Agua in the mountains south of Moa, eastern Cuba. It is the first confirmed sighting in decades and ignites worldwide optimism. American researchers then confirm that at least 3 Ivorybills were still present in the area.
1987: Alayon again sees an Ivorybill in Ojito de Agua. This was thought to be the last sighting ever of an Ivorybill, until 1999
1999: Almost unbelievably, 2 Ivory-billed Woodpeckers are seen by David Kullivan sitting motionless while turkey-hunting. This was in the Pearl River Wildlife Management area in southeastern Louisiana. The discovery launches several expeditions to the area from 1999-2002. Mary Scott is the only birder to report seeing the bird
2003: David Luneau, based solely on personal drive and intuition, searches the White River NWR but finds no birds
2003: Mary Scott briefly sees an Ivorybill in the south end of the White River NWR but keeps it a secret
2004: Gene Sparling, while kayaking along Bayou de View in eastern Arkansas, sees an Ivory-billed Woodpecker fly up to a tree in front of him. He watches the bird make its way up to the top and notes the distinct features. Sparling reports the sighting on a forum over the internet
2004: Cornell University’s Tim Gallagher and friend Bobby Harrison return to the area where Sparling saw the Ivorybill. They see a male Ivorybill flying across the bayou directly in front of their canoe. The US government pledges $10 million in support
2004: David Luneau records a few seconds of Ivorybill footage on April 25th. The video is heavily scrutinized
2005: Cornell assembles a second annual field research team for the 2005-2006 search season
October 2006: Ivory-billed Woodpecker seen multiple times by experienced observers along the Choctawhatchee River in Florida. Hundreds of Kent calls and double-raps are recorded by Auburn University.
December 2006: Cornell university assembles its third consecutive search team for the 2007 winter season. Also, a mobile search unit is deployed to cover areas of interest across the southeast.
2006: Ivorybill seen several times in Louisiana's Pearl River Wildlife Management area.
December 27, 2006: The Ivory-billed Woodpecker remains a complete mystery and also America’s rarest bird. There is no information on its population size or distribution. There has been no word from Cuba on the fate of the Ivorybill. The Ivorybill is in critical danger of extinction.
January 2008: Although no clear photograph has been taken of the Ivorybill in the last 4 years of searching, hopes remain high the Ivorybill could survive in the most remote parts of the southeast. The search goes on.
