Are you as happy as I am about the discovery of a living Ivory-billed woodpecker in an Arkansan swamp? On Thursday I was walking into Pilates class, talking on my cell phone, when my mom told me the news. It was a “where were you when” moment. They found it! Hurray! A spectacular bird, last officially seen in the 1930s, long thought to be extinct. Called the “Lord God Bird” because that’s what you say when you see it. People have been out in swamps sleuthing for it for several years, following unconfirmed yeti-like reports, and now there’s real evidence that it lives. It’s wonderful! The Nature Conservancy needs our kudos and our donations for buying up its habitat and helping to fund the search. Visit their site and read about it at:
http://www.nature.org/
also some good coverage at NPR, including a report a couple years ago with one of those guys out in the swamp looking for it:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4624325
also the scientific report itself, in downloadable PDF, published online yesterday, at:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/rapidpdf/1114103v1
In the NY Times today (Sat.) there’s an editorial about it.
Check it out– it’s really exciting news, and not just for birders.