Formerly Extinct Woodpecker Still Alive

I hope this is some real evidence. It's great news if true. I read the short article but there is a link to a PDF file I haven't looked at yet.

Formerly “extinct” woodpecker still alive and pecking in Louisiana forests

April 15, 2022

Last year, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FSW) declared the ivory-billed woodpecker extinct. That, however, proved to be a premature move. That’s according to a team of researchers, bringing a new glimmer of hope for the bird’s existential status after reporting the woodpecker alive and pecking in the forests of Louisiana.
Still hanging on

The elusive bird had its last widely accepted sighting in 1944. The new series of pictures and observations from the research team shows that the evasive species is still hanging in there, according to the research.

The quest to find the woodpecker took almost three years and involved researchers spending days upon days walking through the woodlands of Louisiana observing birds and taking audio recordings. To take pictures of the bird, the scientists used a drone, as well as trail cameras to capture images on a time-lapse.

www.optimistdaily.com...

A post said it was bogus . . .

Carnoferox . . .
No, not "found". There are some terrible, lo-res photos that could be another species of woodpecker or a different bird entirely. They were recently published in a non-peer-reviewed preprint. The majority of ornithologists agree that the ivory-billed woodpecker is extinct and that these photos are not convincing evidence for their survival.

www.unexplained-mysteries.com...

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Hey MSB? Right now...my garden...brown, grey speckled pecker in my 70 y old Sycamore.

None stop....quiet last few years.

I have one in my backyard every year (not sure what kind.. he has a red top to his head).
The SOB wakes me up every morning with his pecking. Enough to piss you off but it's still a beautiful bird.

where is the photos? didnt see any on the link. i know they have been talking about sightings of the ivory bill for years but no real evidence yet. Same as the tismanian tiger. People keep saying they see it but no real proof or good pictures yet. But hope it is true. Always exciting to find a previously thought to be extict animal.a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

The thought of these little guys still holding on brought a genuine smile to my face; I hope so much there comes real evidence that they're still kicking! The most beautiful forms of innocence and purity in nature lie within wild animal populations, in that there is no pettiness, no malice, no glammer, no deceptions- only instinct, survival, and God-given beauty; I am forever rooting for them!

Here's the notice of extinction . . .

Ivory-billed Woodpecker to Be Officially Declared Extinct in U.S.

After decades of debate and searching, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed removing the bird along with 22 other species from the endangered species list.

By Andrew Del-Colle
Site Director and Editor, Audubon Magazine
September 29, 2021

. . . As of today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has made its position known: The agency has proposed officially removing the Ivory-billed Woodpecker from the endangered species list and declaring the iconic woodpecker extinct. The "Lord God Bird" is among 23 species being proposed for removal.

www.audubon.org...

Below is from a list of sightings since 1944 plotted on a map.

Historic ranges and 22 reported sightings of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers since 1944 By Matt Mendenhall Updated October 2, 2018

. . . Ivory-billed Woodpeckers were last confirmed in 1944 in Louisiana and in 1986 in Cuba. Possible sightings by ornithologists, birders, and others in the years since are plotted on the map above and described in more detail below.

www.birdwatchingdaily.com...

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

It was reportedly seen in eastern Arkansas forests along the Mississippi River some 10 years ago but the sighting could not be authenticated.

www.arkansas.com...

On Feb. 11, 2004, Gene Sparling, an amateur naturalist from Hot Springs, Arkansas, single-handedly began raising the lid on a coffin of speculated extinction. While kayaking on Bayou DeView in the swampy Big Woods of eastern Arkansas, he had encountered an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, a species last confirmed to have been seen alive in 1944 in Louisiana and last believed heard in Cuba in the 1980's.

originally posted by: HODOSKE
where is the photos? didnt see any on the link. i know they have been talking about sightings of the ivory bill for years but no real evidence yet. Same as the tismanian tiger. People keep saying they see it but no real proof or good pictures yet. But hope it is true. Always exciting to find a previously thought to be extict animal.a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

This link has the report with grainy photos.
www.biorxiv.org...

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Seems like anything the media or scientists don't want us to see is claimed to be a hoax or nonexistent. From giants to Bigfoot to aliens to woodpeckers.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I didn't know woodpeckers had access to global PR. This is from the established UK daily paper "The Guardian".

"...Steve Latta, the director of conservation at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh who led the effort, said each member of the team had encounters with the ivory-billed woodpecker and often heard its call, which has been described like hearing a child puff into a tin trumpet."

www.google.com...

I guess the woodpeckers demise is overstated!

Nature finds a way.

Still holding out for a live Dinosaur roaming a rainforest somewhere.

Awesome, thanks for posting this. The article's use of the word "existential" caught my eye.

That’s according to a team of researchers, bringing a new glimmer of hope for the bird’s existential status after reporting the woodpecker alive and pecking in the forests of Louisiana.

It's not incorrect definition-wise based on the first general use, i.e. Of, relating to, or dealing with existence. But I usually see it used in regard to the complexities of the human condition, i.e. existential angst or crisis. Never heard of a woodpecker described in this context before. Mebbies it's the conundrum of whether or not the poor devil actually IS alive or not...then again, that's not a conundrum for the pecker, alive or dead.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I watched a hen,no red on it's head,all black and white and bigger than a pileated for at least twenty minutes back in 1992.Have seen a couple more, maybe 3-4 times since then.And not where they're supposed to be.East Tennessee,Grainger,Hawkins county line on South side of Clinch Mountain near the creek.I would swear in court,take a lie detector,truth serum,or stand before Almighty God who already knows it's the truth.Reportr
Ed it to TWRA several years ago,they said bring pics,not able or have permission to go there anymore so can't do that But I live fairly close and saw what Im99%sure was one a couple months ago,maybe I'll get a pic and prove it.Theyre still there

The pileated woodpecker is a close enough match, it may grow into a larger sub-species over time. Just look at the extinct Dodo, it's related to pigeons.

The dodo’s closest relative was the Rodrigues solitaire, a large bird that lived on the island of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean. But that’s also extinct. Those two formed their own group, which was equally related to all pigeons. So there isn’t a single living species the dodo was closest to.

Their group branched off from the pigeon family before the pigeon family radiated. Some records list the Nicobar pigeon (pictured) as the closest living relative of the dodo. This is based on genetic comparison, which is more reliable than inferring relationships from physical characteristics. You can find the Nicobar pigeon, an island specialist, in Southeast Asia and the western Pacific.

www.sciencefocus.com...

That's a pretty bird.

With some genetic tinkering, we could have a number of extinct species back or some cool hideous monsters.