And we are still looking for the woodpecker!

I have tons of photos and a few good stories, and hope I can get them up before too long.

I haven't had anything that might constitute a personal "detection" since my last posts, though some of my teammates have reported some interesting sounds.

I've become rather curious about the whole drama surrounding the search for this bird. There are multiple searches underway in several states. I'm aware of at least two documentaries (one by a Hollywood filmmaker) about the Ivory-billed that are works-in-progress that should be out before too long. Books come out from time to time, including one by Dr. Geoff Hill of Auburn, the top dawg on my project. No matter where you stand on whether or not this elusive critter still exists, you will find "The Ivorybill Hunters" to be a very readable and informative book.

The controversy over whether or not the Ivory-billed Woodpecker exists draws out some interesting behavior from the fringes. I feel insulated from the controversy because the company that keeps me is a team of pragmatic biologists. But I'm fascinated by the Internet reports and blogs I read when I come out of the swamp. On one hand, you have people who claim to have seen the bird in three states (!!!) now. On the other, you have people who advocate using McCarthyist tactics to discredit any biologist who dares associate himself or herself with an Ivory-billed Woodpecker search!

My opinions on whether the bird still exists vary from hour to hour. Some moments I truly expect to round the bend of the river in my kayak and see one gliding over. Generally, though, I feel that, while the bird still *could* be out there, perhaps even in the area where I'm searching, it is also very possible that we haven't shared our planet with this creature for 50 plus years. My enthusiasm for searching for the bird hasn't waned, and I look forward to hitting some under-explored areas of the river system in my last month here. Yet in some ways, I've become much more interested in what is perceptibly and tangibly in the river system NOW. The Ivory-billed Woodpecker may or may not be gone, yet the dazzling array of flora and fauna that currently make the Choctawhatchee Valley home perhaps ought to be the real issue.