Ivorybill evidence -- seriously

[Claire Moore]

Seriously, check out this info.  Not joking... (I have a lot of time on my hands in the evenings since we're on our long summer RV trip & I went down a rabbit hole on this ivorybill topic. And found it very interesting.)  

As kind of an introduction for those who don't know much about Ivory-billed Woodpeckers (IBWO), here is a 7 minute segment from CBS Sunday Morning show from 3 years about the IBWO possibly not being extinct...  Not much good detailed info here at all -- just an intro.  

https://youtu.be/-17TIVjVuTY?si=MpEC7owXxPgHIC1x

I've become aware of this ivorybill info this week because I've been following a Facebook group casually for many months and came across one of their recent posts that really was strong.  [The Facebook group is "The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker - Rediscovered".  Make sure you look at the Facebook group that starts with "The" and NOT the group that ends with "!"]  Then that recent post got me digging and digging...  

Following is an overview of the info that I've gotten so far in about a week of digging in the evenings...  Thanks for your attention.  I really do want some additional opinions on all this!  Assuming you have any interest in this topic and have time to watch all these YouTubes, let me know your opinion.  [Probably no need to reply if you don't have time to watch any.  LOL!!]

One of the people posting things on "The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker - Rediscovered" Facebook page is Matt Courtman  He has seen & heard an IBWO several times in 2019 thru 2021 -- in northeast Louisiana, I believe.  Several others have seen or heard IBWOs, too -- I think all in Louisiana.  Matt has created "Mission Ivorybill" to work on trying to document IBWOs so they can work to save habitat for them.  Also, it has become important for them this year because the USFWS has proposed changing the status of the IBWO to "extinct" and the deadline for input/proof is Nov 2024.  There is also a "Mission Ivorybill" Facebook site that I am now following as well.  Mission Ivorybill even did a "Big Sit" in March 2024 in the Tensas River NWR in Northeast Louisiana putting people out in the NWR looking and listening for the IBWO -- only heard one possible double knock during the Big Sit (see an email from Matt that I've pasted at the bottom of this email -- Warning: It does include a request for donations to the Mission Ivorybill project).  Matt did have a sighting on the next day after the Big Sit...  

Here is a 2 minute local news report which includes Matt Courtman -- just to give you a brief intro to Matt:  

https://youtu.be/vU6sed1P7rM?si=LrHGakWmugwsFG_R

Here is a presentation (over an hour) that Matt from Mission Ivorybill gave a couple years ago about how that there HAVE been sightings of IBWOs in the past years (2010 and 2020s).  [I only just found this YouTube today -- Matt sent in in the email that I pasted below.]  This video is extremely informative!  If you only have time to watch one, pick this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly6chrq0B_Y&t=39s

Matt has been working with a doctorial student (Rachel Webster) about some ivorybill info that she's been working on.  [She's a 40 year old woman who grew up in rural Louisiana and briefly saw and heard IBWOs when she was a teenager.  She has an undergrad degree in Environmental Sciences with a minor in Forestry from Louisiana Tech.  She has a MS from Northeastern State university in Oklahoma in Environmental Management and she works in Environment Management.  As a hobby, she works on this IBWO stuff -- and now she is trying to get approved for a dissertation that will include some of the IBWO research so she can spend even more time on it.]  

I watched a presentation this month by Rachel Webster (over an hour) and found out that there was a previous presentation that she had given in Feb 2024 also about this ivorybill work she is doing.  I describe both YouTube videos of her presentation and give links to them below...  

• Rachel's first presentation to the Ivorybill group (they call themselves Mission Ivorybill) was on 2/5/2024, but I didn't know about it until I watched the second presentation & they referred back to it...  Her presentation is over an hour and introduces her experiences with IBWO when she was a teenager & additional sightings & hearings in 2023.  The whole video goes almost two hours with the Q&A at the end.  [I recommend skipping from the 60 minute point to 1:25 where they are going through spectrographs.]  

https://youtu.be/IOvx_X636IA?si=7_tCuCoLqr3iNNRu

• Rachel's second presentation to Mission Ivorybill was presented just a few days ago on 6/18/2024.  She talks more about her experiences with IBWO.  Both of these are worth watching (if you have lots of spare time).  [Note: One thing that bothered me some was that she has her art in the presentation -- but she doesn't mention that it is for sale.]

https://youtu.be/z_qC7APO6Pw?si=7dgIkJxdQoWQkki0

As I stated above, assuming you have any interest in this topic and have time to watch all (or several) these YouTubes, let me know your opinion.  [Probably no need to reply if you don't have time to watch any.  LOL!!]  Thanks for your attention.  I really do want some additional opinions on all this!  So, I sent this out (BCC'd) to many of my birdy and smart friends.  

             -- Claire 

Note:  The attachments are Matt's from his email pasted below.  I had to delete the "possible Kents" WAV because it was over 8 mb limit for the LHANC Google Group.  

On Mon, Jun 24, 2024 at 7:07 PM Matt Courtman <ma...@missionivorybill.org> wrote:

Hi Claire:

Thanks for the question. To be clear, we are Mission Ivorybill. I just post on Ivorybill Rediscovered. On Mission Ivorybill, I did a Zoom presentation on the Big Sit.  [Note from Claire:  I've asked if he has a recording of this Zoom presentation as I would like to listen to it.]

In scouting the area beforehand, we had a good recording (attached), followed up by a "partial" sighting the next morning in the same area. I'm calling it a partial sighting, because I didn't see enough of the bird to be 100% sure that it was an Ivorybill. (Attached are my field notes from my sighting as I recorded them in my navigation app.) I didn't see the bird's head, but everything else was consistent with an Ivorybill. There was a large amount of white on the back of the bird's, but I could not be sure that it was on the trailing edge.

The only other large bird that would have come close to that description would have been a Black-bellied Whistling Duck. Had it been that species, I would have seen brown. "My" bird was only black and white.

In addition, teammate, Peter Janow had an excellent sighting (attached). This was less than two miles from the site of the recording and "partial" sighting.

On the actual Big Sit, the only bite we had was a good double knock coming from a location where I had sightings in 2020 and 2021.

No good deed goes unpunished. We're asking for help with our effort to save the magnificent Ivory-billed Woodpecker from extinction.

Just when needed, successful recovery of the Ivorybill would be an inspiring story of hope. We have found Ivorybills in three spots in Louisiana. Attached is a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article describing some of our work.

We have presented over 60 free Zoom presentations. One of our most popular Zoom programs involved recent Ivorybill sightings:

https://youtu.be/ly6chrq0B_Y?si=dGbiqUNISIkBMnVO

After doing this Ivorybill work (searching and public outreach) as our only occupation since 2019, my wife, Lauren, and I have exhausted our savings. In general, we need to put Mission Ivorybill on much better footing: equipment and field expenses; effective digital presence; and, in-person programs throughout the Ivorybill's range.

IF you could help us with anything from $30 to $300, that would be timely and greatly appreciated!

Here are our payment platforms:

PayPal:

paypal.me/ivorybill

                or

Venmo:

@MattCourtman

                or

CashApp:

$MattCourtman

With Gratitude and Warm Regards,

Matt Courtman 

318.243.9245 

On Jun 22, 2024 10:40 PM, Claire Moore <cdmo...@gmail.com> wrote:

Matt:  I'm a little late to the party.  I just heard about the Ivorybill Big Sit on March 23, 2024 [added later -- it was really the "Mission Ivorybill Big Sit"].  What were the results?  I looked for a post about that on your IBWO Rediscovered Facebook site, but didn't see anything.

Thanks, 

Claire Moore