Details of search for Ivory-billed Woodpecker revealed in Rochester talk

Details of search for Ivory-billed
Woodpecker revealed in Rochester talk

An insider's story of the rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker will be presented Thursday, October 13 by Ron Rohrbaugh, director of Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology's Ivory-billed Woodpecker Research Project. His speech - "A Feathered Needle in a Haystack" - is sponsored by the Rochester Birding Association and will be open to the public.

Rohrbaugh, who spent a good portion of last winter in the swamps of the Arkansas Big Woods as co-manager of the search team, will tell behind-the-scenes details of the historic search and a first-hand report of the progress to date. Scientists throughout the 20th century had tried to prove the bird extinct, and a well-publicized search in Louisiana in 2002 failed to find the woodpecker.

Just when everyone through this most regal of woodpeckers was gone for good, a persistent search in Arkansas's Cache River and White River National Wildlife Refuges revealed its continued existence in what many consider to be the conservation story of the century. The electrifying discovery made headlines around the world last spring.

"The Ivory-billed Woodpecker epitomizes the resiliency of our natural world. If recoveries of the bald eagle and peregrine falcon weren't enough, anyone who still doubts the efficacy of three decades of conservation need only look to the Ivory-billed Woodpecker for inspiration. I hope that the discovery and continued survival of this magnificent bird will finally galvanize Americans to become unified stewards of our world's natural resources," Rohrbaugh says.

Rohrbaugh's speech is part one of this unfolding story. The search team returns to Arkansas this winter, and on February 15, 2006, Cornell's Tim Gallagher, a co-discoverer of the bird and author of The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, will provide an update on the Ivory-bill research program's activities as part of the Rochester Museum & Science Center's Distinguished Scholar Lecture Series. Call 585-271-4320 or go to www.rmsc.org for more information on this event.

Rohrbaugh will speak at 7:30 p.m., October 13 in the Rochester Museum & Science Center's Eisenhart Auditorium, 657 East Avenue, Rochester. Tickets are $5 and can be reserved by calling (585) 385-0834. Advanced reservations are recommended as seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

For information on the Rochester Birding Association, please visit www.rochesterbirding.com.