April 29, 2007

In the wee hours I got up to check the front feeder. My deterrent did not work as the Raccoon was on it. I see it is a small animal, and it clings to the pole, using its’ forearms to keep the tilt mechanism open while it sticks its tongue into the opening to get the seed. So much for the red pepper.

The Raccoon does not notice me. I have not turned on any lights. It has a sense something is not right because it turns around and looks occasionally. Either it cannot see me or does not care. I am less than 2 feet away and this animal is practically oblivious. Quietly I open the window. I get a few more glances. I think it smells me, but is still basically ignoring me as I make small stealthy moves. From less than a foot away I yell a sharp GET! in the Raccoons ear. OK, so now I’ve scared the bejesus out of it, and it drops, runs in a couple of circles and takes off about as fast as a Raccoon can go.

In the morning I take the habanero and bacon grease concoction from the bottom of the pole, where it was untouched, and slather it onto the upper pole where the Raccoon clings. We will see if that works.

It is another beauty spring day. Clear and in the high 60s Several new arrivals during my walk at the Arboretum. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Blue-headed Vireo,Yellow Warbler. No Phoebe in any of the usual places. We had 2 shorebirds other than Killdeer, Solitary Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs. The Arboretum does not offer particularly good shorebird habitat, so both were a surprise although not all that unusual at the Arboretum. 3 Sharp-shinned Hawks went over almost in formation. Behaving like migrants not locals. While Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are now obvious in my yard, just 2.8 miles away we did not see and only heard one during the entire walk.

Everyone got very nice looks at a Piliated Woodpecker. For some people a Piliated is not a bird they get to study very often. Inevitably the question of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, came up. I know a bit about science. It is a wonderful tool. In science it is difficult to conclusively prove anything based upon observation alone. Unless one can create a repeatable experiment, conclusions about negatives are difficult indeed.

From my perspective, the question and problem of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is less one of evidence than ego and reputation. Plus the debasement of scientific principals in the service of those vices. A number of ornithologists have their names on books and papers that declare the Ivory-billed Woodpecker to be extinct. From their shallow perspective the worst thing that could happen would to be wrong rather than for anyone to gather conclusive evidence to the contrary.

On the other hand there is a evidence the Ivory-billed Woodpecker has survived. numerous sight records by competent observers, even a photograph, and now the audio and video recordings.

Those with the vested interest in the Ivory-bill not having survived say the sight records are mistaken identity, the photo is a fake, the audio is really gunshots, and the video is a Piliated Woodpecker.

If one of the basic tenants of non experimental science is you cannot prove an negative, why are these people so intent on refuting every bit of evidence?

I would speculate that if you handed one of the skeptics a fresh specimen, still warm and bloody, they would declare you had just handed them the last Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

To me it seems like they are stretching way too far. In the case of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker there is no conclusive test that can be devised to prove the negative. So instead these people resort to attacking every bit if evidence for the positive. Again: Why?

I do not know if there still are Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. To me there is evidence to suggest there are, but it is not absolutely conclusive. I do know this: Birds that do not want to be found are tough if not impossible to find. The Piliated Woodpecker, though fairly common and very large is somewhat shy and reclusive in the northern woods. Casual and unobservant bird watchers do not see them often, and for a skilled observer the chance to study this species in detail without a hide is rare. They are very good at staying on the opposite side of the tree from the watcher. I have had far better luck photographing small fast moving warblers than the Piliated. A rare and wary bird would be difficult or almost impossible to find indeed, especially if it has adapted to changes in the environment and no longer obeys the previous rules.

Science is not infallible. Technique and observation sometimes change theory. Clovis first, our lack of a theory of smell, the change in attitudes toward animal behavior and intelligence, are all examples of our human fallibility in spite of using our best tool.