I'm sure you heard it on the news; back in 2004 ornithologists in eastern Arkansas released a grainy video and sound recordings of a bird whose last confirmed sighting was in 1944... the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker.  Well, did you hear the news yesterday about the new sightings in remote northwest Florida?  Once again there are sound recordings, but this time no video or even picture.  The skeptics, surprise surprise, are skeptical.  Can't say I blame them.  60 years is a long time to go wihtout seeing a bird.

The news drummed up in me excitement (Yay!  The Ivory-Billed is really still extant!) and disbelief (Oye, still no pictures?).  It also reminded me of a very neat lifer that occurred about a year ago.  I was mountain biking with my honey at Skyline Park, trudging up a steep slope, when this large black and white bird with a bright red crest flew right in front of me up the path about 30 feet!  A Pileated Woodpecker!  I haven't seen one since...

But I was determined to find one again today.  The Pileated is a close relative to the Ivory-Billed, and skeptics of the video in Arkansas believe it was actually a Pileated that was captured.  This is part of the reason this game was so much fun for me.  Only once have I ever gone out with the intention of seeing a particular species, and it took me a long time that day before I succeeded.  So it was with apprehension that I set out on my task. 

Right away, I knew I was going to see some Acorn Woodpeckers, and true to form, I heard them "laugh" as soon as I got out of my car.  I got some good pics, but this one takes the cake!  Caught mid-cache in a well-used tree, this man was a great start to the day.

I took the Buckeye Trail up into a hillside of woodpecker-friendly trees, and after just a short while I found another woodpecker, though not my intended quarry.  This time it was the Nuttall's Woodpecker, another pretty conspicuous species.  More often than not today, I heard them drumming rather than vocalizing or flying around.  As I moved up the hillside, I saw more and more of these guys.  It was at this point I thought it would be incredible if I was able to photograph all 5 species of woodpecker (not including close relatives the Flicker and Sapsucker) sighted in Napa.   Each time I saw a speckled bird, I hoped it was a Downy or a Hairy Woodpecker, but alas they were not.

As I was hiking between little thickets of oaks, I heard a drum.  It started slow, then accelerated... It was nearby.  I stopped mid-step and spun around.  My eyes swept back and forth over the tree tops just down the hill.  A large outline appeared... dark, with a crest... Steller's Jay?  No, too big...  My heart skipped a beat as the bird took off and I snapped as many picture as I could before my prey lost me in the oaks above.  I doubted that this was my woodpecker since I didn't see any of that characteristic red.  However, as I zoomed in on the bird in my LCD, I knew I had succeeded! 

 
Ok, ok, I know it would have been a whole lot more glamorous to get an awesome perching picture of an adult male.  I did my best, this juvie is all you get! 

As hard as I tried, I didn't get another glimpse of any Pileateds.  But at least I got my proof! That's more than the researchers in Florida can say! :-) 

Until my next post, keep your eyes open... you might like what you see!