3 ms·

Elusive ivory-billed woodpecker not extinct, researchers say

24 points by wglb 5y ago

kwertyoowiyop 5y ago
I want to believe.
nyanpasu64 5y ago
> Comparison of photographs taken of apparent ivory-billed woodpeckers in Louisiana from this study (A, D), with a colorized ivory-billed woodpecker, also from Louisiana (B), and a pale-billed woodpecker taken in Central America (C). Photograph: The Guardian I've found that boosting the exposure on cameras is a good way to capture detail on birds, branches, and other dark objects, at the expense of clipping skies to pure white. I think it usually doesn't cause birds to become overexposed, though I haven't done much bird photography recently.
bullfightonmars 5y ago
My all time favorite piece from NPR is a story about sightings of “The Lord God Bird” near Brinkley, Arkansas back in 2005. It interleaves interviews from residents about their community with a song by Sufjan Stevens made for the piece. It is quite beautiful. https://www.npr.org/2005/07/06/4721675/brinkley-ark-embraces-the-lord-god-bird https://www.npr.org/2005/07/06/4721675/brinkley-ark-embraces...
pvaldes 5y ago
Sadly, the evidence does not justify the hype. The age of everybody carrying billions of megapixels devices. People can't avoid being videotaped twenty times when buying bread, and all that we have to justify their grant is a blurred saucer hanging from a fish line.
- pluies 5y ago
  Sure, cameras in todays smartphones are great and take beautiful pictures, but bird photography is pretty much their achille's heel - tiny fast-moving objects would require much better zooms, higher iso, and lower shutter lag than what's currently available with smartphones.
  - pvaldes 5y ago
    A professional researcher should have a decent real camera at least. Trap cameras will register everything of that size in the area and can be set to register non stop for six months, so the excuse of "birds are afraid of us and fly" is not really solid. Some cheap trap cameras are just too shitty to be useful. They just need to keep trying. But not a single good photo still, after decades of people trying to find it, carries a strong suspicion of extinction.
Exmoor 5y ago
Birder here, who's somewhat plugged in to this. Essentially nobody of any repute that I've come across believes there's any merit to these claims (sadly).

24 points by wglb 5y ago

I want to believe.

> Comparison of photographs taken of apparent ivory-billed woodpeckers in Louisiana from this study (A, D), with a colorized ivory-billed woodpecker, also from Louisiana (B), and a pale-billed woodpecker taken in Central America (C). Photograph: The Guardian I've found that boosting the exposure on cameras is a good way to capture detail on birds, branches, and other dark objects, at the expense of clipping skies to pure white. I think it usually doesn't cause birds to become overexposed, though I haven't done much bird photography recently.

bullfightonmars 5y ago

My all time favorite piece from NPR is a story about sightings of “The Lord God Bird” near Brinkley, Arkansas back in 2005. It interleaves interviews from residents about their community with a song by Sufjan Stevens made for the piece. It is quite beautiful. https://www.npr.org/2005/07/06/4721675/brinkley-ark-embraces-the-lord-god-bird https://www.npr.org/2005/07/06/4721675/brinkley-ark-embraces...

pvaldes 5y ago

Sadly, the evidence does not justify the hype. The age of everybody carrying billions of megapixels devices. People can't avoid being videotaped twenty times when buying bread, and all that we have to justify their grant is a blurred saucer hanging from a fish line.

pluies 5y ago
Sure, cameras in todays smartphones are great and take beautiful pictures, but bird photography is pretty much their achille's heel - tiny fast-moving objects would require much better zooms, higher iso, and lower shutter lag than what's currently available with smartphones.
- pvaldes 5y ago
  A professional researcher should have a decent real camera at least. Trap cameras will register everything of that size in the area and can be set to register non stop for six months, so the excuse of "birds are afraid of us and fly" is not really solid. Some cheap trap cameras are just too shitty to be useful. They just need to keep trying. But not a single good photo still, after decades of people trying to find it, carries a strong suspicion of extinction.

Exmoor 5y ago

Birder here, who's somewhat plugged in to this. Essentially nobody of any repute that I've come across believes there's any merit to these claims (sadly).