Reply-to: "james.d.mcintyre" <james dot d dot mcintyre at worldnet dot att dot net>
Sender: owner-birdtalk@utahbirds.org
Matthew:
There are 2 ways of looking at this I think.
I have read some of Mary Scott's previous posts (http://www.birdingamerica.com/default.htm)
on her dedicated longtime search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (IBWO) and
found her both knowledgable and credible. She reported seeing the
IBWO in Arkansas in Spring, 2003 although apparently none of her group
did. Wisely, she did not publicize her findings - presumably to
protect the bird and also her own credibility. Who would believe her
under the circumstances? Most people would think she was
hallucinating.
However, she did apparently report her sighting to
Arkansas wildlife officials and the Cornell Lab (CLO). Obviously
the CLO officials did not take her report seriously, as they sent no team to
investigate in 2003. Now the Big Woods area is where the IBWO
historically resided. So it would be a logical place to search and
that's why she was there. (For a historical rangemap of the IBWO, see
the CLO site:
To date I have read nothing about Gene Sparling other than
that he is a resident of Hot Springs, AR and a kayaker. Is he also a
birder or was he just exploring the Cache River NWR in his kayak? Did
he have any connection with an Arkansas wildlife agency that would have
enabled him to learn of Scott's previous report?
The important thing is not who found the IBWO
but that it was found. But I hope that the right person will
eventually get the credit. It has to be more than coincidence that
Scott reported her sighting in 2003 in the same general area of
Arkansas prior to Sparling's 2004 dicovery. CLO may have
some egg on its face for not heeding her 2003 report and perhaps that is why
they don't acknowledge her. Hopefully we will soon learn exactly where
and when Scott's alleged sighting was made.
In the meantime, wouldn't it be nice if someone spotted an
IBWO on ANWR?
James, Good question. I
think the news of today says it all. The fact is that the
sighting that brought Cornell and TNC on the scene was the Kayaker,
Gene Sparling. His report was solid enough to convince and get
the attention of the 2 birder/ornithologists who subsequently saw it
later in 2/2004. I don't see any evidence to suggest anything to
the contrary or to suggest that those birders were there because of
several reliable sightings in the area. On the Lab of
Ornithology website, they list seven sightings, starting with the
2/11/2004 report. They make no comment here on any prior
sightings, including the one from 1999 in the Pearl River area of
Louisiana that was deemed to be quite convincing, although that led to a
search of its own, albeit an unsuccessful one. Also omitted was
any mention of Mary Scott's report, which, even on her website, lacks
an exact date (Spring 2003) or even approximate location
(Arkansas). So, there is no way of knowing whether or not her
report was possibly from the same location as the ones that are
dominating the press today. Personally, I hope it is credible
and that it's a different bird. That would be great but I do
have some doubts. The seven sightings (deemed credible,
presumably after a "grilling" by John Fitzpatrick) are outlined at:
http://birds.cornell.edu/ivory/story2.htm
(this site has many other great and informative
links.) Regardless of exactly how
this came about, I'm certainly happy that it was handled, and
continues to be handled in a professional and responsible way. I
am glad to see that habitat protection and the restoration of the
great southern forests are being treated with equal importance with
the flagship species that they are now known to harbor. Truly
amazing. Kudos to Cornell (my alma mater...I'm pretty proud, can
you blame me?) and to The Nature Conservancy and to the strategic
alliance that is helping to preserve these amazing places that hide
incredible beauty and unbelievable mysteries.
In addition to the
Cornell Lab of O website, the following links are very
informative:
> The
credit for rediscovering the bird is attributed to kayaker G. >
Sparling who spotted it in the Cache River NWR in Arkansas on Feb, 11,
> 2004. What's the story? Is Mary Scott's claim being
discredited?