It’s the great god bird with its altar call
September 28, 2021 11:53 PM Subscribe
Matthew Brown at the Associated Press reports that the US Fish & Wildlife Service will declare on Wednesday that the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker (and 22 other species on the endangered species list) have gone extinct.
Nice Sufjan Stevens reference! But a sad story. I had a lot of hope from that report by the Nature Conservancy that they'd seen an Ivory-Billed Woodpecker deep in an Arkansas forest.
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 2:53 AM on September 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 2:53 AM on September 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
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posted by Faint of Butt at 4:08 AM on September 29, 2021
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:08 AM on September 29, 2021
Aiiee!
Als sie der Specht holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Specht . . .
posted by BobTheScientist at 4:57 AM on September 29, 2021
Als sie der Specht holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Specht . . .
posted by BobTheScientist at 4:57 AM on September 29, 2021
.
I so wanted it to be still alive, but humans are shitbirds
posted by scruss at 5:09 AM on September 29, 2021
I so wanted it to be still alive, but humans are shitbirds
posted by scruss at 5:09 AM on September 29, 2021
.
posted by wicked_sassy at 5:18 AM on September 29, 2021
posted by wicked_sassy at 5:18 AM on September 29, 2021
.
posted by May Kasahara at 6:27 AM on September 29, 2021
posted by May Kasahara at 6:27 AM on September 29, 2021
.
Maybe someday in the future, their DNA will be restored from backup and we'll see them again.
posted by suetanvil at 7:04 AM on September 29, 2021
Maybe someday in the future, their DNA will be restored from backup and we'll see them again.
posted by suetanvil at 7:04 AM on September 29, 2021
Damn, that's sad. That's very sad. But hardly shocking, these days.
posted by Splunge at 7:31 AM on September 29, 2021
posted by Splunge at 7:31 AM on September 29, 2021
.
posted by JoeXIII007 at 10:53 AM on September 29, 2021
posted by JoeXIII007 at 10:53 AM on September 29, 2021
It might be worth considering buying a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service duck stamp, to support conservation efforts.
Duck stamps helped to pay for my closest national wildlife refuge, which is an excellent place to take a post-work walk around the marshes at the southern edge of San Francisco Bay.
And John Oliver approves!
posted by JDC8 at 11:38 AM on September 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
Duck stamps helped to pay for my closest national wildlife refuge, which is an excellent place to take a post-work walk around the marshes at the southern edge of San Francisco Bay.
And John Oliver approves!
posted by JDC8 at 11:38 AM on September 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
There was a big to-do over an ivory-billed woodpecker sighting in Arkansas in 2004. To this day there’s a fair bit of controversy over whether it was an accurate sighting, but the state Game and Fish Commission really leaned into it, even producing an ivory-billed woodpecker license plate. And I bought that license plate. Five cars and 17 years later, I still have it. They started numbering them at 01, and mine starts with ZW, so I can’t imagine there are too many unissued, but I can’t remember the last time I saw another car with one. And that’s how I came to have a license plate about extinction. I feel like I need some tamper-resistant screws.
posted by box at 5:51 PM on September 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by box at 5:51 PM on September 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
They probably have been extinct through most of my life but somehow the change in status to acknowledge that we are giving up hope adds just that extra bit of sadness to an already tragic situation.
I often spend my winter holidays visiting family in western Michigan, where it is part of our daily routine to take a walk in a wooded area frequented by pileated woodpeckers, the smaller (but still quite large for a woodpecker) relative of the ivory-billed. They are remarkable, interesting, beautiful birds and observing them over the years has given me pleasure on many occasions.
I've never seen, and apparently never will see, an ivory-billed, but it is clear to me that the world will be a poorer place in their absence.
posted by Nerd of the North at 6:29 PM on September 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
I often spend my winter holidays visiting family in western Michigan, where it is part of our daily routine to take a walk in a wooded area frequented by pileated woodpeckers, the smaller (but still quite large for a woodpecker) relative of the ivory-billed. They are remarkable, interesting, beautiful birds and observing them over the years has given me pleasure on many occasions.
I've never seen, and apparently never will see, an ivory-billed, but it is clear to me that the world will be a poorer place in their absence.
posted by Nerd of the North at 6:29 PM on September 29, 2021 [3 favorites]
In my region of the SF Bay Area, there is a key threatened species, the Western burrowing owl (8 minute YT Video). Fortunately, there are several local agencies working to help guide local developers as well as assist the local wildlife.
I was lucky enough to work near some of the main burrowing owl habitat, and I did see one perched on a basketball hoop while I was conducting an overnight security vehicle patrol.
A particular building on the tech campus was also home to hundreds of migrating cliff swallows. This made for a dramatic scene when these small, fast birds flew in groups to forage and hunt.
Of course, some locals are less than enthusiastic.
I'm just trying to balance the scales with some tales of hope for other imperiled species.
posted by JDC8 at 8:23 PM on September 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
I was lucky enough to work near some of the main burrowing owl habitat, and I did see one perched on a basketball hoop while I was conducting an overnight security vehicle patrol.
A particular building on the tech campus was also home to hundreds of migrating cliff swallows. This made for a dramatic scene when these small, fast birds flew in groups to forage and hunt.
Of course, some locals are less than enthusiastic.
I'm just trying to balance the scales with some tales of hope for other imperiled species.
posted by JDC8 at 8:23 PM on September 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
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Eight of the bird species being declared extinct are Hawaiian, with one sighted as recently as 2004, and another not seen since the 19th century. A real shame...
posted by kaibutsu at 12:40 AM on September 29, 2021