Capitol & Scott: Searching for the ivory-billed woodpecker

Earlier in July, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would wait another six months before declaring the ivory-billed woodpecker extinct.

While the last confirmed sighting of the bird was about 80 years ago, a kayaker floating through bottomland hardwood forests in the Arkansas Delta collected evidence of the woodpecker’s existence in 2004. The footage was credible enough that researchers from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology traveled to the Delta to continue the search.

Many believe the species still exists.

Since then, ornithologists, scientists and bird watchers have continued to search for the ivory-billed, which has assumed a somewhat mythical status in the South. Despite recordings, photos and videos of supposed sightings, evidence produced has not been enough to convince U.S. Fish and Wildlife that the ivory-billed is alive.

As the window closes to find more evidence to prove the bird is endangered rather than extinct, those who’ve been searching for the woodpecker are doubling down efforts to stop it from being relinquished to the pages of history books.

As part of a 30-day public comment period, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife is accepting “evidence of the presence of the ivory-billed woodpecker” that is received or postmarked on or before 11:59 p.m., Aug. 8, 2022.

Long-time ivory-billed searcher David Luneau joins Capitol & Scott host Lara Farrar to discuss the legacy of the search for the ivory-billed, current efforts to prove it’s still alive and what it would mean should it officially classified as gone.

Special thanks to the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for granting permission to Capitol & Scott to include the 1935 recording of the ivory-billed woodpecker’s “kent” — a distinct nasal tooting sound made by the species — collected in Louisiana by ornithologists Arthur A. Allen and Peter Paul Kellogg. Allen founded the Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University. Kellogg was a professor there.

The use of material from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is protected by copyright. Use is permitted only within stories about the content of this release. Redistribution or any other use is prohibited without express written permission of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology or the copyright owner.