Day-to-day log of the 2006 search season (including a brief prelude):

November 7, 2005 to November 26, 2005
January 30, 2006 to April 18, 2006

I first saw the Pearl River in 1985. Looking across from Stennis Space Center, I saw habitat that looked familiar and flashed back to all the days that I spent along the Hillsborough River, while growing up in Florida. My first birding experience in the Pearl was on May 13, 1997. It was either that day or during a subsequent visit that I had my first possible ivorybill sighting. Although this sighting is ingrained in my memory, the date is uncertain since I didn't make a note of it in any of my trip reports. It had to be before the Kulivan report was publicized because I didn't consider the possibility that it was an ivorybill. At the time, I was only vaguely familiar with the field marks of this species, which doesn't appear in any of the field guides that I owned. Along the road going into Honey Island Swamp (not far from the Kulivan sighting), I saw a large woodpecker with white trailing edges on its wings fly up into the canopy. It seemed way too large for a red-headed and it seemed unusual that there was no sign of the bird after it disappeared into the canopy. I remember being puzzled by this sighting and assuming that I must have misjudged the size and distance. I now realize that it was probably an ivorybill, which I have actually seen more often than red-headed in the interior of the Pearl.

2-3-00. When the Kulivan report was made public, I had an upcoming trip to Texas and decided to add a stop at our Stennis Space Center office. Stennis is on the Pearl just across from the Kulivan sighting in Mississippi. I arrived early that morning to do some birding in the pine forests before attending a meeting. As I approached an overgrown canal, I heard unusual calls coming from just on the other side. These calls sounded like kents based on the description that I had read, but at that point I was not aware of the 1935 recordings. It was definitely not a nuthatch. The calls were too metallic and loud. The calls lasted for a few minutes. I tried to find a point where I could look across the canal, but the vegetation was too thick. I walked along the canal to a crossing point, but the calls had stopped by then. I searched the area for a few hours but didn't see anything. I was a skeptic at the time and couldn't believe it really was an ivorybill. I considered the possibility that it was some type of small mammal that I wasn't familiar with in that area.

2-4-00. I spent the morning in the Honey Island Swamp, where Kulivan reported a pair of ivorybills. I came upon a lake and saw movement on the far side. It turned out to be a Barred Owl dangling by a fishing line. I made my way around the lake and realized it was on an island about 100 feet out. I went back around the lake hoping it was just a peninsula, but there was no way to get out there without getting wet. Since it was a chilly morning and I had a flight to catch, I didn't want to get my clothes wet. So I stripped down to my underwear and stepped into the water. I immediately sank to my knees. I thought about giving up but couldn't bear to leave the owl to suffer. I walked along the bank and found a place where I only sank to my calves and made it across in waist-deep water. When I got to the island, I noticed an alligator. Here I am naked on an island with an alligator in the middle of winter and having to cross the murky water again. I made my way over to the owl, which began snapping its bill and flashing its talons. I looked around for something to put over the owl's head to calm it down. All I could think of was my underwear. That calmed it down, but left me a bit more vulnerable. I had no experience handling owls but managed to avoid its talons and grab hold of its legs. It bit me once, but that wasn't too bad. I was hoping to release the owl, but the hook was really set in the wing. So I took it to a rehabber, who found no broken bones and thinks it should recover.

After a wonderful birding trip to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, I arrived home and listened to the 1935 recordings. There was no doubt that the calls that I heard at Stennis were kents. Other than mentioning that I had heard interesting calls in a post on Virginia Birds, I didn't make any public comments about the encounter. In 2002, I followed the Zeiss search with great interest. Since they failed to find anything, I figured that the ivorybills that were in the Pearl in 1999 and 2000 were just wanderers of a vanishing population, and I never returned to the area. In March 2005, I read Jerome Jackson's book, which rekindled my interest in the ivorybill. I contacted Jackson and told him about my encounter in 2000. When the news came from Arkansas, including accounts of the extreme elusiveness of the species, I immediately decided to return to the Pearl and find those birds no matter what it took.

11-7-05. I will be searching for ivorybills in the Pearl River Basin this fall and winter. I originally intended to start in late September, but there was a delay due to the aftermath of Katrina. I took this photo of the location where I heard kents on February 3, 2000. The habitat seemed totally wrong for ivorybill, but I later learned that Arthur Allen photographed an ivorybill in a pine forest in 1924. The Pearl is approximately three miles behind where I was standing when I took this photo. David Kulivan's sighting in 1999 was just across the Pearl. There are many broken trees in the area, including a few that appear in the photo. I will post more habitat photos in the coming weeks. Stennis has a variety of habitats. For example, there is a small slough that is loaded with Sedge Wrens and other species.

11-14-05. I have completed an initial survey of the area and am ready for some serious searching, which I will be doing mainly by kayak. I will be doing some searching in and around Stennis Space Center. Besides the sighting just across the Pearl in 1999 and my encounter in 2000, there were sightings here in 2001 and 2002. It may seem strange that the birds were seen here and not by the official search team, but it could be that the birds spent most of their time on this side of the Pearl. There is some good habitat over here, including this area that I hiked into a few days ago. Based on recent reports, there seem to be additional ivorybills (or perhaps the same birds have moved) further up the Pearl basin. One of the areas I will be searching is Bogue Chitto, which has lots of good habitat. For example, this area somewhat resembles the site where David Luneau obtained his video. Just before I took this photo, a Pileated flew deep within the cypresses and caused my heart to skip a few beats.

11-17-05. I have been tied up with work the past few days, but I had a chance to talk to some people who have seen and heard ivorybills at and near Stennis. One of the sightings was by a field biologist, who has only told a few people. His sighting was only about a mile from where I heard calls. Another observer heard calls from the exact spot where I heard them. This is very interesting because he told me the location before I told him that I had also heard them. At least three other people saw ivorybills at and near Stennis in 2001 and 2002. One of the sightings was very close to where I heard the calls. It is unfortunate that the organized searches were restricted to the Louisiana side of the Pearl. Stennis was obviously a hot zone between 1999 and 2002. A lot of time has passed. Are those birds still here? Did they survive Katrina? Were their roost trees blown down? I visited the Mississippi coast this afternoon. The devastation is unbelievable. The TV reports just don't capture the scope of it. The worst of it was on the coast side of the railroad tracks, which were bent by the surge of debris. This house just over the tracks was destroyed. Further down the street, it looks like a war zone. Looking back toward the tracks, you can see how the path of debris was forced north by the 32-foot storm surge. All that remains of most of the houses on this street, where two people died, are slabs.

11-18-05. I spent more than six hours on the Pearl today and had my first interesting sighting of the trip. A few hundred yards up the river, a large woodpecker flew across the water and swooped very gracefully upward before landing on a tree. I tried to get my binoculars on it, but it must have landed on the backside of the trunk. I kept my binoculars on the tree, but my kayak drifted behind an overhanging tree. I saw a lot of white on this bird. Based on the angle of flight, it seems that the white was on the upper side of the wings. I will have to spend some time in that area. It was chilly this morning, but the water is still warm. So it's not too unpleasant going out on the water before dawn. I saw several feral pigs sunning themselves on the shore. They aren't the most alert animals. A couple of times, I drifted almost right up on them before they noticed me.

11-19-05. I spent another morning on the Pearl. I didn't see much, but there was much gunfire coming from both sides of the river. Since a few people expressed an interest in my report from yesterday, I will describe the trajectory of the bird in greater detail. I noticed it flying from right to left across the river. It swooped in a long glide and then veered sharply up to land on the tree. It was a naked eye view, but I could tell it was gliding since the trajectory was so smooth. I have never seen such a dramatic maneuver by a pileated.

11-20-05. I returned to the area where I had the interesting sighting. The only interesting observation of the day was a loud single rap in that area. It could have been any number of things, but it was unusually loud. I continue to be amused at how stealthy the kayak is to animals on the shore. I lodged the kayak against a fallen tree to watch some pileateds foraging on the opposite side of the river. After a while, I noticed a raccoon foraging at the edge of the water. A few times, he looked in my direction, but I wasn't sure if he noticed me. Then he started dog paddling across the river. As I watched in my binoculars, he got bigger and bigger. He was coming right at me! I tried to move out of the way when he got to within about 10 feet. Then he did an abrupt U-turn. It's supposed to rain tomorrow. Good! I need a day off.

11-21-05. I took a day off from searching but went for a late walk in the area where ivorybill calls have been heard twice (in different years). Either it's a coincidence--the birds just happened to be in that area on two occasions and someone just happened to be there to hear them both times--or there is something that attracts them. This has been on my mind ever since I learned about the other encounter a few days ago. How many times have ivorybills been seen or heard in the same location more than once? Very rarely. If ever. There must be astronomical odds against that happening in an area that doesn't seem to have cavities, classic ivorybill habitat, dead trees, or bark scaling. When I failed to notice anything that would attract ivorybills, I was totally puzzled. Then I noticed something. The understory in that area is filled with a shrubby tree that looks somewhat oak-like. Not being from this area, I don't know the species. Those trees have bright red berries. Do ivorybills feed on berries? The area is absolutely loaded with them.

11-22-05. The shrub with the berries is Yaupon Holly. Holly berries are generally not believed to be as attractive to birds as poison ivy berries and wild grapes, but according to an expert on birdscaping from Texas, birds devour Yaupon Holly berries when they ripen between late January and early February. Interestingly, I heard ivorybill calls coming from an extensive patch of this species on February 3. There is some interesting habitat in this area, including a ditch that is rich with vegetation. This ditch blocked me from approaching the ivorybill calls five years ago. It now harbors lots of birds, including Carolina, House, Sedge, Marsh, and Winter Wren. A few days ago, I obtained this photo of the area where I saw a large black and white woodpecker swoop in for a landing in classic ivorybill style. The bird flew in from right to left and landed in one of the big trees. Last week, I saw this Barred Owl hunting in the middle of the afternoon in the northeast part of Stennis, where I saw several Eastern Bluebirds and Vesper Sparrows one morning.

11-23-05. I'm stuck in the office today while my car is in the shop. On days that I can't make it out on the Pearl, I take a walk over to the ditch. It's always a pleasant place to start the day. This morning, there was the usual activity of birds in that area. I also saw a pair of White-winged Doves fly over. That seems like a good species for this area. On the other hand, I thought the same thing about a Eurasian Collared Dove that I saw in Slidell until I was informed that they have become firmly established in the area.

11-24-05. When I arrived at the river this morning, I was greeted by a pair of otters. They were on land, and I nearly got a photo. A short ways up the Pearl, I did get a photo of some deer as they crossed the river. I spent some time this morning on Mike's River, which joins the Pearl a short distance from where I launch. The habitat in that area looks promising, and it seems to be visited much less than the Louisiana side of the Pearl.

11-25-05. For a change of pace, I decided to visit a site that Bob Russell recommended. About thirty miles north of Pascagoula, Rte. 57 crosses Black Creek, which enters the Pascagoula River WMA at that point. There have been ivorybill reports from that area. Due to fallen trees, the current, and a mid-day arrival, I was only able to kayak in for a few miles before turning back. This area deserves more exploration. The habitat looks at least as good as the habitat along the Pearl, and there seems to be a better mix of tree species. I will soon be heading back to Virginia. I will stop at a few places in Florida and post photos when I get home. I am neither surprised nor disappointed that I didn't find an ivorybill on this visit. The odds should be much better during my next visit in January.

11-27-05. On my way back to Virginia, I spent the day at the Apalachicola National Forest. There has been a steady stream of ivorybill reports from this area. After seeing the habitat, I'm sure there will be more. One of the sites that I visited is the East River, where ivorybill calls and double raps were heard three years ago. The only birds that I saw the entire day were two Anhingas and single flocks of Robins and Pine Warblers. Amazingly, I didn't see or hear a single woodpecker. I wasn't overly disappointed that it was a slow day. The main purpose of the visit was to scout areas to check by kayak when I return in a few months. I've only been home for a few hours, but I'm already looking forward to getting back out there. I will continue to focus on the Pearl, but I will also do some searching along the Apalachicola River and other areas.

1-30-06. After an 1100 mile drive from Virginia, I arrived back at the Pearl early this morning. I first visited the Yaupon Holly patch, where I heard ivorybill calls six years ago and another observer heard them last year. I was surprised to see that most of the berries have already been eaten. Maybe they ripened early due to the warm weather. Oh well, it was an extreme long-shot that an ivorybill would return to that site. On the other hand, everything is a long-shot with this species. I spent the rest of the morning on the Pearl. There was lots of woodpecker activity, and sounds are carrying through the woods very well now that the leaves are gone. In the afternoon, I visited a channel that connects the Pearl with Devil's Swamp. Based on the locations of all known encounters over the past seven years, I suspect that ivorybills have been using this channel as a corridor. This photo was taken looking west along the channel toward the Pearl. Devil's Swamp is behind me and to the left. The site where ivorybill calls were heard in 2000 and 2005 is in the pines to the right. Devil's Swamp is rarely visited and would be a natural place for the birds to seek refuge when human activities on the other side of the Pearl peak during the hunting season.

1-31-06. I spent the morning on the Pearl. The water is higher than it was in November, which makes it possible to visit new areas by kayak. I checked out an interesting little bayou that branches off the Pearl on the Louisiana side. There are others that I will visit in the coming weeks. I went about three miles up the Pearl to the spot where I had a possible sighting in November. There was lots of woodpecker activity but nothing out of the ordinary. I saw a Red-headed Woodpecker, which I didn't see in November. Just after I got back and had lunch, there was a test of one of the space shuttle engines. The rumbling sound is very impressive. This photo shows the column of smoke coming from the test.

2-1-06. I spent the morning exploring bayous that branch off the Pearl on the Louisiana side. Here is a shot of one of them. It's great that the water level has risen enough to open up these areas. It gives me access to lots of good habitat. While in this bayou, I spent some time practicing taking photos from the kayak and had the perfect subject (short of an ivorybill). After lunch, I went for a walk along the ditch where I heard ivorybill calls six years ago. This photo was taken looking down the ditch toward the canal that I photographed on Monday. This gator was taking a nap in the ditch.

2-2-06. I'm pretty sure that I saw an ivorybill this morning. I was drifting along in my kayak and saw a large woodpecker flush from ground level near the edge of the water less than a hundred meters ahead. It was flying nearly perpendicular to my line of sight like a bat out of hell. I immediately got my binoculars on it and saw it for a few seconds. It clearly had white patches on the trailing edge of the wings. This was easy to see since the view was from the side. Details were partially obscured by glare, but it wasn't too bad since the bird was below and to the right of the sun. For months, I have been training myself to lock onto the wings of large woodpeckers in flight. It paid off today. Although I focused on the wings, the head was visible in the right part of my field of view. What I saw of the head was a blur, but it appeared to be all black. I initially didn't think that I had noticed anything significant about the head--it just appeared to be a featureless black blob. After thinking about it, I realized that this is consistent with an ivorybill.

2-3-06. It was six years ago today that I heard ivorybill calls here at Stennis. I started the day near that location but, as expected, didn't see or hear anything. I then proceeded to the Pearl and headed back to stake out the location of yesterday's sighting. About a half mile downstream from that site, I noticed a woodpecker flying over from the left. As I reached for my binoculars, it was passing almost directly overhead. I twisted my body to try to stay on it and nearly capsized the kayak. I saw white on the trailing edges of the wings, but it was another less than satisfying sighting. The sightings of the past two days have been very exciting, but I would have to answer "No" if I were an ornithologist and had to put my job on the line by answering the question, "Are you absolutely certain?" I hope to be able to say "Yes" to this question before long.

2-4-06. In two days, the water has dropped about two feet in the Pearl. I started out this morning staking out the location of yesterday's overflight. No such luck. It was a bit windy, and there was little bird activity.

2-5-06. I heard two double raps this morning. They came from a location not too far from the flyover two days ago. They were dead ringers for the recordings of double raps that I have heard. They had the acoustic quality of something powerful hitting a hollow snag. I was fighting the current and tried to get into an observation position near the opposite bank. I got situated just in time to see a large dark bird disappearing over the treetops. I spent the rest of the morning trying out my new GPS. This is the first time I have ever used one, and I love it. I got the Magellan Meridian Gold, which basically has an odometer, speedometer, and compass. Of course, it also displays your coordinates continuously. It was nice to get some precise information on distances, which I had only been estimating crudely. I kayaked a total of 12.6 miles this morning. I used the GPS to measure the current at approximately 2 mph. I was only able to go at about 2 mph against the current without having to struggle to the point that it would be difficult to watch and listen for birds. Having this capability will allow me to make trips downstream, which I have done in the past only with trepidation, not wanting to get so far downstream that I wouldn't be able to make it back before dark. I drove to Slidell this afternoon to watch the Super Bowl with a friend. I took this photo while driving over the Pearl on I-10. Look at the sea of trees. There are ivorybills out there.

2-6-06. Early this morning, I settled into a stakeout position in the area of the recent encounters. I had my camera ready for a flyover but didn't get lucky today. I have had my Olympus C-740 digital camera for nearly three years but had never used it to record a movie. On my first attempt, I got this movie of a pileated. I didn't realize that the audio wasn't turned on and later missed capturing some strange imitations by a Blue Jay.

2-7-06. On Sunday, it was near freezing at sunrise and I was wet all day. I'm starting to get sick and will have to take it easy for a few days. Like yesterday, I spent some time at a stakeout. It was a bit windy and one of those quiet mornings for birds. I quit early and went to meet with a field biologist who works for NASA. He took me to the site where he saw an ivorybill on 4-17-02. The site is south of the entry to Stennis, to the west of the access road from I-10. It was just after dawn and the bird flushed in the direction of Devil's Swamp. He described brilliant white patches on the trailing edges of the wings. I spoke with another biologist at the field office who does forestry work. I asked him which sites in the area might be good for ivorybills. One of the locations that he pointed to on the map is Devil's Swamp. This afternoon, I paid a visit to the Yaupon Holly patch. Many of the berries were gone by last week, but this tree was still loaded with them a few days ago. They're all gone now. Those berries must be prized to have been devoured so quickly. The photo was taken in November, but the berries didn't seem to have been touched until the past few days.

2-8-06. This morning, I took a stroll up Mike's River. I'm getting nervous after not seeing or hearing anything for three days. I'm hoping that there's a roost near the recent encounters and that I'll have more chances to get a good look in this area. If not, then I'm basically back to square one. This afternoon, I launched my kayak at the boat ramp that is south of Stennis off the access road from I-10. I went north on the Pearl and took this photo of the mouth of the channel that goes to Devil's Swamp. The channel is to the right. The Pearl continues north to the left. Notice that the habitat looks pretty good going into the mouth of the channel.

2-9-06. The last several days have been cold and windy, and I've spent a lot of time sitting at stakeouts while wet. I've been sick and getting worse. I decided not to go out today. I stood by the river for an hour hoping for a flyover. No such luck. I don't know how many ivorybills there are in the Pearl Basin. At one time, there was a pair in this part of it. There is still at least one bird, but I don't know the sex. If there's a male, I've decided to name him Capt. Holly since I first heard him in the holly patch.

2-10-06. Feeling a little better, I went out for a few hours this morning and was careful to stay dry. This afternoon, I changed my mind and decided that the best way to get over being sick would be to go out for a few hours in a winter rain. I'm not sure this cure will work, but I did find some interesting foraging sign. There is a great deal more in the same area. I have never seen anything like it other than in photos from the Big Woods. The photo doesn't do it justice because the camera lens was fogging up. Chisel marks are visible in this blowup.

2-11-06. Since it was sunny this morning, I returned to get some better photos of the foraging sign. I waded out to get close-ups and ended up going in over my wellies. Here are the photos: foraging-1, foraging-2, foraging-3, foraging-4, foraging-5, foraging-6. Based on what I have been hearing, these are probably the work of a pileated, but it was still very interesting to see them. This area is out in Devil's Swamp. The water level varies and there is a good mix of living, dying, and dead trees. This area is also fairly close to where I heard ivorybill calls six years ago.

2-12-06. It has now been a week since I have seen or heard an ivorybill. I'm getting a little nervous, but two of those days were spent at other locations, and I only went out briefly on the day I was the sickest. I spent this morning and early afternoon trying to reach Perch Lake. I put my kayak in at the Curtis Johnson boat launch, which is just south of Stennis. I headed south until just before the I-10 bridge and then turned north on Wastehouse Bayou. At certain points, the current was so strong that I was barely moving forward. I thought it would be necessary to turn back. There are some impressive cypresses along this bayou, including one that you can see through. The current was no longer a problem once I reached Perch Lake Bayou. I came upon a huge cypress fallen across the water and lifted the kayak over it. Later on, the bayou became much narrower and more fallen trees became a problem. It also became unclear which fork to take, and I was concerned about getting lost. I took a GPS reading at the point where I finally gave up. If you go here, you can imagine how frustrated I was after getting back and checking my location. By clicking on "large" map size to the left and then clicking on "update map," you will see the entire length of the trip. The boat launch is in the upper right. My location corresponds to the little red mark. I had no idea that I was so close. I will make another attempt later this week. I was told that there is some interesting habitat to the north of Perch Lake. The trip there and back was 11.8 miles. Due to the current, it felt like at least twice that distance. I barely have the strength to sit up and type this.

2-13-06. This morning, I kayaked up English Bayou and quietly drifted back. I was a nice morning, but I didn't see or hear anything interesting other than a few otters, including this one that cooperated for a photo.

2-14-06. I made another attempt to reach the area north of Perch Lake. This time, I kayaked down to a point on the Pearl to the east of my destination and tried to reach it on foot. Things got off to a bad start right after I came ashore. I moved the kayak across a small stream and was ready to start walking when I realized that my GPS had fallen out of my jacket pocket. My first thought was that it had fallen in the stream and floated out into the river. I hurried over to the river and saw something floating just downstream that could have been it. I ran back and grabbed the kayak and headed after it. Right where I expected to see the GPS was a huge gator but no GPS. I continued a ways down the river and searched for a while but eventually assumed that the gator had eaten it. Just in case, I returned to shore and found it bobbing in a mud puddle. Yep, it's definitely waterproof. So off I went in the direction of Perch Lake. After slogging for about a half mile in water that ranged between knee and waist deep, I took photos of what was behind me and what was ahead of me. The going is very difficult through this kind of habitat. There were several bayous to cross, and it was hard to find places that you could get across without swimming, which I didn't want to do with a camera. No wonder the ivorybill remained hidden for so many years! I finally came to a deep bayou at this point and decided that I was too exhausted to go on. Even though I didn't make it to Perch Lake, it was interesting to use the GPS to hike into a place where I would get lost forever without it.

2-15-06. I woke up feeling the effects of yesterday's adventure and decided to go a little easier today. I had the pleasure of a visit by a veteran of previous Pearl and Big Woods searches, who has expertise in habitat and foraging sign. We took a walk in Devil's Swamp, where he was impressed by the amount of foraging sign, such as this tree, which is surrounded by a pile of wood chips. On one of the trails, we were greeted by this cute little critter. My visitor also took a kayak ride in one of the areas where I've seen ivorybills. He gave the habitat a positive assessment and encouraged me to keep searching there, even though there have been no encounters for more than a week. As it started to get dark, I suggested that we either make a night assault on the area near Perch Lake that I've been trying to reach or go for Chinese food. It was a tough choice, but we were both hungry.

2-16-06. Early this morning, I was drifting along the left bank and flushed an ivorybill from near the left bank in good light. It flew nearly directly away from me on rapidly beating wings. It was a lot like the Luneau video but in perfect focus and without the pixelation. I clearly saw the brilliant white trailing edges of the wings that nearly met in the middle. Late in the afternoon, I returned to the area and pulled into the opposite bank for 90 minutes. During that time, I only heard a pileated call once, and that was immediately after I heard three kents from an ivorybill. It seemed clear that the pileated was reacting to the ivorybill. That pileated is smarter than some of our kind--it knows that ivorybills still fly.

2-17-06. I returned to the area where I had the encounters yesterday and flushed an ivorybill from the right bank as I was still working my way upstream. This sighting was similar to the sighting of 2-2-06, but I only saw the white trailing edge of the right wing. I spent the rest of the morning in the area. About an hour later, I had an excellent view of an ivorybill flying low over the water as it crossed the river from left to right. I clearly saw the white trailing edges of both wings. Later on, I flushed a large pied bird from behind a fallen tree and heard wingbeats. I didn't notice the location of the white since it happened so fast and the bird was partially obscured by the fallen tree.

2-18-06. I returned to the hot zone very early and stopped upstream to listen for a while. While drifting with the current, I heard kents coming from just behind a fallen tree on the left bank. I quietly nosed my kayak right up to the bank. The kents kept coming from behind the tree. A Robin was scolding from just above. It apparently didn't know what to make of the unfamiliar beast on the ground below. I sat there yards from the bird with my camera in hand, hoping it would move into view. While the ivorybill directly ahead continued calling, kents started coming from directly behind me from the treetops on the opposite side of the river. This was an inopportune time to discover that there are two birds. The one in back of me started making scolding calls and then high-pitched calls, and the one in front of me became quiet. So much for what seemed to be a golden opportunity to get a photo. Seconds later, a gunshot went off not too far away, an animal came crashing through the brush and water, and then it started pouring rain. I realized that it was time to go get a video camera. If only I had gotten it a day earlier. I might have gotten a photo of the bird behind me by simply pointing the camera over my shoulder and shooting away. I kept my attention focused ahead in case the bird behind the fallen tree flushed, but the bird behind me seemed to be up in the trees and might have been in view. In a kayak, it is difficult to turn around and look behind, but a blind shot would have been worth a try. Hindsight--both literally and figuratively in this case.

2-19-06. After having several encounters in three days, I had high hopes of getting some data, but I didn't have any luck this day.

2-20-06. It took just two days with a video camera to get some data. As I was paddling through the hot zone, I noticed a large woodpecker perched about 15 feet above the ground just as it started to fly back into the woods. I clearly saw the white trailing edges of the wings. Since my goal was to get data, I immediately decided to stick with my routine--continue paddling upstream of the hot zone, stop there to listen for a while, and then drift quietly back downstream. I changed my mind when the same high-pitched calls that I heard two days ago started coming from the direction where the ivorybill had flown. I pulled out my video camera and started drifting. When the calls stopped, I pulled into the bank opposite of where the calls had originated. I kept the camera running in case there were more calls. Then I noticed movement in a tree deep in the forest. I tried getting the binoculars on it with my left hand while keeping the camera running with my right hand. I never got the binoculars on it, but I zoomed in the camera when it seemed to be pointed in the right direction. I managed to get video of the bird perched, flying a short distance to the right, and flying a longer distance to the left.

2-21-6. I took three birders into the hot zone, hoping they would see or hear one of the ivorybills. In order to minimize disturbance, I would have preferred to take one birder at a time. Due to constraints on cars and boats, four of us went in with my kayak, a small canoe, and a large canoe. We flushed a large bird from near the bank on the way in, but nobody got a good look at it.

2-22-06. A birder who did some searching with John Dennis took me and a friend from Hattiesburg for a motorboat ride way up Wastehouse Bayou today. It sure was easier and faster than my kayak trip up there. He showed me a book that John Dennis published on cypress swamps. Our discussion of John Dennis gave me an idea for a name for the female ivorybill. I will call her Jadie, which is based on the initials of John Dennis. I had already decided on Capt. Holly for the male. There have been some questions about why previous searches in the Pearl were unsuccessful and why sightings in Arkansas have been sporadic. I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I took the advice of a naturalist in Louisiana, who regularly goes deeper into ivorybill habitat than almost any bird watcher has ever been. He has seen ivorybills several times, and everything he has told me about searching and ivorybills has turned out to be spot on. The behavior I have observed in these birds is nothing like what is described in textbooks. You don't see them flying around in the open gracing the treetops. This bird is extremely wary of humans. I have the feeling that studying these birds is going to be much like studying a newly discovered species.

2-23-06. During the last three weeks, I've gained some insight into why the ivorybill was rarely seen and never confirmed for sixty years. I've spent a lot of time searching for Connecticut Warblers during fall migration in Virginia. It's not an easy bird to find, but it's child's play compared to trying to find an ivorybill, which flushes in an instant and doesn't stop fleeing. With a Connecticut Warbler, you often get several seconds to observe a perched bird. With ivorybills, you get a few seconds to observe a blur that is fleeing at top speed. Now factor in the extreme rarity of the ivorybill and the inaccessibility of its habitat, and you can see why it is so difficult to find. When one is found, follow ups have almost always failed since the birds range over large territories. I suspect that the skeptics have in mind the textbook account of the ivorybill being a bird that is easy to observe in the treetops when present. That is just not the case. Besides being inconspicuous, this species is extremely wary. In the video that I obtained a few days ago, the bird can be seen repeatedly peeking around a branch at me from a great distance. It's not only behind the branch but also fairly deep in the forest. It took several encounters before I started to understand the Connecticut Warbler. I'm starting to get the same feel for ivorybills.

2-24-06. Searching for ivorybills has it ups and downs. This was one of the down days. I was starting to feel really at home in my kayak. Maybe I had gotten too confident. I rolled it over this morning. I couldn't believe how fast it happened. The current dragged me into some overhanging branches, and the kayak was upside down in an instant. I was in over my head, and my binocular strap was caught in a tree branch. My first reaction was to worry about losing my binos, but I quickly realized that I better worry about saving my hide. As I struggled to reach the bank, a Turkey Vulture flew over and I said to it, "Not today." I managed to get everything over to the shore, but my binos, camera, and video camera are toast. Fortunately, I didn't invest in top-of-the-line stuff for use on the water. I stripped out of my clothes and hung them up to dry after wringing them out. It was the second time I found myself nude in the Pearl. The first time was a Barred Owl rescue six years ago. It was hanging from a fish hook out on a small island. The weather was warmer this time, and my clothes were fairly dry in less than an hour. I haven't seen or heard the birds in four days. It appears that they have moved. In a way, I hope they have moved to a more remote area where they will be safer. I will have to decide over the next few days whether to continue searching. If the birds have moved, it could take months to relocate them.

2-25-06. Since I ended up in the water yesterday and it's raining today, I decided to rest up and run errands, including replacing lost equipment.

2-26-06. The water is dropping rapidly in the Pearl. I went for a kayak ride up a bayou this morning and then had a little trouble getting back. It has been six days since I last encountered the ivorybills.

2-27-06. In order to get a better video, I'm going to need every edge that I can get. Today I tried going out in full camo. It definitely works. This Barred Owl allowed me to approach to within twenty feet. I sat there and watched it for more than twenty minutes. There are definite signs of spring in the Pearl. The amount of bird song picked up noticeably this morning.

2-28-06. I visited the hot zone this morning. Since it has cooled off and there were some hunters out there, I decided that it wouldn't hurt if I got out of the kayak and took a look around. On two previous visits, I heard kents that seemed to be coming from a particular point. I got the coordinates of this location and used my GPS to get there. I went ashore a ways to the east and slowly hiked in with the sun at my back. I made a few lengthy stops to watch and listen with the video camera running. This panorama gives an idea of what the habitat is like. I didn't notice any trees that seemed to be good candidates for a cavity. It was a very quiet morning for woodpeckers.

3-1-06. I only had time for a quick kayak ride this morning before running to give a talk at the University of New Orleans. The first migrant passerines of the season were there to greet me--a Northern Parula and a Yellow-throated Warbler.

3-2-06. This evening, I gave a talk about my search at the Pine Woods Audubon Society meeting in Hattiesburg. The audience showed lots of interest and enthusiasm and asked good questions. I plan to do some intensive searching during the next few weeks. It seems promising since there is no hunting and the leaves still have not come out.

3-3-06. It was a nice but relatively quiet morning. It's going to be tough to relocate these birds.

3-5-06. The ivorybills have been heard a few times this week but have not been seen since 2-20-06. I returned to the area where the video was obtained and took wide-angle and zoomed photos. In the wide-angle shot, it's easy to see that the bird was far off (about a hundred meters) and deep within the cover of trees. This bird kept hiding behind branches and peeking around at me. There is no way that a pileated would behave that way. The pileateds in the Pearl are very tame. I'm usually able to kayak right up to them. It would have really been something if the light conditions had been like they were today and I had gotten a zoomed shot like this of the bird. I still haven't gone on land to measure the branches. I will do that soon if there are no signs of the birds in the area.

3-6-06. I have recently had two visitors in the swamps. These guys are very serious birders and have been a great help. They thought they heard double raps the other day but weren't sure since they were far off. One of them had to head back home to Ontario on Sunday afternoon. The other one is planning to stay for a while. This morning, we did some measurements of the tree in which the ivorybill was captured on video.

3-7-06. This morning, I heard something that is rarer to my ears than ivorybill kents-- the song of a Blue Jay. It's only the second time I have heard this song. I don't have the best audio equipment, but parts of the song can be heard fairly well. Before paddling back to Stennis, I took this photo while standing next to the tree in the video and looking in the direction where I was sitting that day. There is no way that a pileated would be so wary (constantly peeking from behind branches) in a tree so far back in the woods. Pileateds in the Pearl are very tame.

3-8-06. I went for a walk through the swamp today. In the flooded hardwoods, the water is less than knee deep in most places, but I still get an eerie feeling walking around out there. It's a bit unnerving walking into a place that your instincts tell you to avoid. We have had beautiful spring weather lately, with migrants starting to come through, but it's supposed to storm tomorrow.

3-9-06. I decided to stay in today because severe weather is expected. Using time-averaged GPS readings, I calculated the distance between the tree in the video and the observation position to be about 118.5 meters.

3-10-06. I had a possible sighting this morning. A large dark bird flushed from the bank and shot away on rapidly beating wings. Due to glare from the sun, I wasn't able to detect any field marks, but what I did see will at least keep me motivated. I also saw my first Swallow-tailed Kite of the season.

3-11-06. I was visited by two ornithologists today. It was interesting to go over the video with them last night. They had driven a long way, and we planned to meet at dawn this morning, but they stayed up late watching the DVD and stepping through the video sequences on the computer. Since one of the visitors was not a U.S. citizen, I was not able to get them into Stennis. We launched our kayaks at a remote site and didn't get to the better areas until fairly late the morning. I was hoping for some action after the possible sighting yesterday, but we had no such luck.

3-12-06. For the second day in a row, it was windy and hard to listen for birds. The only interesting sighting was a Swallow-tailed Kite cruising through the swamp. A birder who previously spent three months searching in Arkansas has been here for nearly two weeks. I had high hopes that he would see an ivorybill because he knows his way around in the field. He came close a few days ago. He was right behind me when I had a possible sighting. He has decided to head back home, which means that tomorrow will probably be the day that the ivorybills decide to come out and play again. We were discussing sounds that can be mistaken for kents and both agreed that a distant Tufted Titmouse can get your attention. Even though their calls are very different from close range, they sound about right after filtering through the forest.

3-13-06. Ivorybill searching has its ups and downs. This morning, I noticed water in my kayak. After returning to the boat launch, I found a small crack in the hull. I must have hit one too many submerged logs. I'll try to patch it up. Hopefully, it will hold for a few weeks. The Prothonotary Warblers have arrived in good numbers. I'm looking forward to the arrival of the Swainson's Warblers. This is the first time I have experienced spring migration in the south. I will get to enjoy it twice this year.

3-14-06. On the way out this morning, I saw seven Swallow-tailed Kites circling above.

3-15-06. For a change of pace, I entered on the Louisiana side. I took the road that goes south just before the Old Hwy. 11 bridge. There have been at least five reports from that general area over the years. It's tough getting around back there, and you can't do it quietly and cover a lot of ground at the same time.

3-16-06. I'm starting to collect data for pileateds in flight for comparison with the video. Pileateds have become somewhat secretive recently, but I obtained some good footage of two birds, including short flights between branches and long level flights. For the short flights, the wing dynamics are totally different from that of the bird in the video. For the long flights, the pileated rates were 3.6 and 4.0 flaps per second, which is very different from the 7.5 flaps per second of the bird in the video. I was amazed by the flap rate of the ivorybill that I flushed from close range on 2-16-06.

3-17-06. It was a beautiful St. Patrick's day in the Pearl. I had been dreading the onset of spring since it meant that it would become harder to find ivorybills. That may be true, but it's great to experience my first spring in the south since I started birding. I visited a few areas a ways to the north that I hadn't visited in a while. I also got out of the kayak and took a walk. I'm still hoping to relocate the ivorybills.

3-18-06. A few days ago, I saw seven Swallow-tailed Kites circling above. This morning, I found seven of them perched in the same general area and took this photo.

3-19-06. It was another beautiful morning. I kayaked up English Bayou to get video of pileateds in flight. It was a very pleasant ride as there wasn't the slightest current and the water level is still high. The leaves are really coming out, and the otters have become very active. I still haven't gotten bored with watching the Swallow-tailed Kites, and I still haven't given up on relocating the ivorybills. I'm getting impatient waiting for the Swainson's Warblers to show up. I went back out this afternoon and saw the Magnificent Seven gliding up above once again.

3-20-06. Late yesterday afternoon, I found some interesting foraging sign in the general area of the sightings. The chisel marks appeared to be wider than pileated chisel marks.

3-21-06. I went back to measure the chisel marks that I found the other day. They were wider than any I had seen before but still too narrow to rule out pileated. The first Red-eyed Vireos and Great-crested Flycatchers showed up this morning along with a bunch of Little Blue Herons. This afternoon, I saw my first Chimney Swift of the year.

3-22-06. I heard a double rap just as it started to get dark. It was less than a quarter mile from the location of the double raps that I heard on 2-5-06. I'll return to that area before dawn tomorrow. Earlier this afternoon, I saw a Swallow-tailed Kite carrying nest material.

3-23-06. I set the alarm for 4:00 a.m. in order to arrive early in the area where the double rap originated. At the first sign of dawn, I started walking in the direction of the double rap. Straight ahead at what seemed to be the right distance was an impressive cavity about fifty feet up. I sat there in camo with the video camera aimed at the cavity for about an hour. No luck this time. When I got back, I spoke to a turkey hunter who has seen ivorybills in that general area. Later on, he's going to show me some good areas. His years of experience will save me countless hours of scouting the area from scratch.

3-24-06. I did a proper repair job of the crack in my kayak yesterday afternoon and tried it out this morning. The water level has been fluctuating between extremes this week, and it was the lowest I have ever seen this morning. The low water exposed new obstacles, including a submerged log that nearly caused me to capsize. There was an influx of Snowy Egrets and White Ibises this morning, and I also saw my first Louisiana Waterthrush of the year. I went back out late in the afternoon, and the swamp monster nearly got me. I was moving along slowly, watching and listening. Suddenly it seemed like a depth charge went off inches to the right of the kayak, which nearly capsized. I was completely soaked by the water from the splash. As I turned in that direction, I fully expected to see the gaping jaws of a ten foot gator. There was nothing there. Maybe it was one of those dirty, rotten, no good for nothing choupiques. It sure got my attention. Whatever it was, it had to be huge. Later on, I came across a much more pleasant creature.

3-25-06. This morning, I obtained more pileated data. I still have not seen a pileated flap rate greater than 4.4 per second. This afternoon, I went on a hike toward the river from the northern end of Stennis and accomplished nothing more than ripping my pants to shreds on thorns and wearing myself out.

3-26-06. This morning, I hiked in from the Louisiana side to a place where there have been two sightings in previous years. This area is only about a mile from the hot zone, where I had several sightings last month. The habitat looks promising, and there's no hint that anyone has ever been there. No footprints, shotgun shells, etc. Here's a panorama of the area. I plan to spend more time over there. This morning was just a scouting mission. I've been monitoring the area where I heard a double rap at dusk four days ago. Late this afternoon, I heard several kents from back there. I'm going to approach that area very carefully. The last time I had a hot zone, seven encounters in five days were followed by only a few sporadic encounters after I took three birders back there. A friend tells me that the critter that soaked me the other day was probably a gator since they thrash violently when surprised by a canoe or kayak. It makes sense because it was clearly a huge animal and it was more like a thrash than a fish jumping out of the water. I'll have to be a little less stealthy.

3-27-06. This morning, I drifted for a few miles with the video camera strapped to the front of the kayak in order to record some of the sights and sounds of the Pearl. I might stay here for another week or another month. It depends on how the next several days go. Whatever the case may be, I don't ever want to forget this place. I saw my first Green Heron of the year and another Swallow-tailed Kite carrying nest material. Late this afternoon, I returned to the area where I recently heard a double rap and kents. I didn't see or hear anything and maybe it's just as well since I forgot the battery for the video camera, which was being recharged.

3-28-06. Ivorybills aren't the only interesting thing about the Pearl. This morning, I heard a branch snap nearly directly above. It turned out to be a Swallow-tailed Kite gathering nest material. I watched it fly over and make the addition to its nest. Late this afternoon, I returned to the area where I have recently heard ivorybills. This time, I was armed with a pair of headphones that amplify sound. This device makes it easier to detect bird calls, but I didn't hear what I was hoping to hear.

3-29-06. I was tied up with work related stuff today. I also have a nasty blister on my right foot and felt extra worn out today. So I stayed in other than a brief trip out late in the afternoon to check on the area where I recently heard ivorybills. No sign of the ivorybills, but five Swallow-tailed Kites put on a spectacular show.

3-30-06. It has now been two months since I arrived for my second stint in the Pearl. I was confident that I would eventually find the ivorybills, but the search has been a greater success than I ever imagined. This morning, I visited with representatives of the fish and wildlife agencies of Louisiana and Mississippi. We were joined by the biologist who saw an ivorybill here four years ago. After discussing the video and other items, we took a boat ride in the Pearl. This afternoon, I returned to the base of the tree that has the large nest cavity that I found last week. Based on its size and shape, a couple of people were excited about the possibility that it was a fresh ivorybill nest cavity, but unfortunately there aren't any wood chips near the base of the tree.

3-31-06. It was a beautiful spring day, but there is nothing to report on the ivorybill front. Over the next few days, I'll be hitching a ride with a friend who has a motorboat. That will make it much easier to reach some of the more remote sites, including the hardwoods near Perch Lake that I tried to reach last month.

4-1-06. A friend took me on a scouting trip on the West Pearl in a motorboat. We went all the way from below I-10 up to I-59. There's promising habitat along much of that stretch. There's a nice bayou that goes to the east in the direction of many of the sightings, but the current is wicked. In fact, the boat got pinned sideways against a fallen tree, and it was difficult to get it free.

4-2-06. I finally made it to Perch Lake this morning. I made two attempts to get there in February. Some of the most remote and southerly hardwoods in the Pearl exist just above the lake. I suspect that the ivorybills use that area, but I didn't have much time for exploring this morning. Two friends took me as far as possible in a motorboat. They used a pirogue and I used my kayak to go the rest of the way. I had to get out and drag my kayak around fallen trees, but the pirogue made it all the way. It's easy to get lost back there, and we did a few times.

4-3-06. I ran some errands today and didn't make it into the Pearl. One of the errands was a trip to LSU to get some photos of the female ivorybill that's on display at the Museum of Natural Science. This photo shows the entire bird. This photo provides a dorsal view. This photo shows the incredible claws that I would love to see someday.

4-4-06. I had a possible flyover this morning. It flew across the water a few hundred meters downstream at a fast pace. It was flying just above the level of the treetops. Even though it wasn't a definite sighting, it may prove to be useful since a flyover provides a point and a direction. The location is midway between the sightings of Feb. 2 and 3. Several weeks ago, a spider like this one fell into the kayak, ran up my leg, jumped overboard, and ran away over the water. On the way in this morning, these turkeys allowed me to drift right up to them.

4-5-06. Even though stakeouts don't seem to work, I decided to give it a try this morning. I first spent some time at the site of yesterday's possible flyover. Then I got out of the kayak at a few other locations to watch and listen. I didn't have any luck, but at least it's a beautiful time to be in the Pearl. I saw my first cuckoo of the season.

4-6-06. This morning, I kayaked to the area where I had most of the sightings and then got out and walked about a half mile into the woods. It's tough going through the muck and fallen trees. I found some interesting foraging sign, but it was probably pileated work. I will cover other areas using this approach in the next week or so. I took a short walk late this afternoon and noticed that the Yaupon Holly is starting to bloom.

4-8-06. I went to the hospital today, and they believe I have a severe infection. If the antibiotics don't start clearing it up in a few days, I will have to call an end to this ivorybill season. It is now late in the evening, and I'm starting to feel a little bit better. So hopefully I will be able to resume searching. I took advantage of being cooped up today and reorganized the evidence at the top of this page.

4-9-06. I went for a short walk this afternoon and saw my first Indigo Buntings of the year. Last night, I heard double raps in my room! I have a CD with sounds (mostly insects) from the Brazilian rainforest. I often put it on when I go to bed and fall asleep before it gets very far. Last night, I stayed awake long enough to hear several double raps.

4-10-06. I'm feeling a little better today. I went for a short walk this morning and saw my first Blue Grosbeaks of the season. I might be ready for a short kayak ride tomorrow. The type of infection that hit me is the kind of thing that happens when you don't look out for your health. So I will have to avoid anything too ambitious for a while.

4-11-06. I was still feeling crummy today and only took a few short walks. I heard my first Yellow-breasted Chat and Marsh Wren of the season.

4-12-06. I am definitely feeling a lot better. I have an appointment to see a doctor tomorrow. If I get a clean bill of health, I'll be back to going all out to relocate the ivorybills. During the past several days, I've been accumulating some very interesting leads and information about one particular area. Its remoteness makes it hard to reach, but that's good for the birds. The area contains a huge expanse of hardwoods, and I had a possible sighting there a few months ago.

4-13-06. The doctor (who likes woodpeckers) has cleared me to get back out there. Now if only I can find the energy. It was tiring just to take short walks for lunch and as dusk approached.

4-14-06. I took one more day to recover. I have a plan to cover lots of territory on foot. I'll need all of my strength, especially now that it's getting hot. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow. I'll just have to fight through it and start getting my strength back.

4-15-06. A friend arrived early and took my kayak out. He didn't have any luck, but he did see a Mississippi Kite, which I haven't seen yet this year. I heard my first Wood Thrush of the year on the way back from sending him out. Later on, my friends from Slidell took us in a motorboat down to Wastehouse Bayou and Perch Lake Bayou. They let us off to hike to a ridge that has hardwoods. It was easy to spot in the distance because most of the trees are blown over (the cypress and tupelo are mostly still standing). We explored several smaller bayous where you expect to see an ivorybill around each corner.

4-16-06. I took it easy today, which is my ninth on antibiotics that have suppressed my appetite and sapped my energy. After I complete the antibiotics tomorrow, I hope to get my energy back for one final push. This afternoon, I took a walk along the ditch where I heard kents six years ago. I've never seen so many Indigo Buntings. I came across several groups of 10 to 20 of them feeding on the seeds of the grass growing in the ditch. Each group was presided over by a few Blue Grosbeaks.

4-17-06. I took a long walk in Devil's Swamp this morning. It was a good way to start getting my stamina back. As usual, there's a lot of fresh foraging sign over there. Summer Tanagers have arrived in good numbers. Late this afternoon, I took a walk along the ditch, where a Painted Bunting has joined the Indigo Buntings. I was amused to see a Marsh Wren fly through this culvert and come out the other side singing.

4-18-06. This morning, I started off along the ditch and got a photo of the Painted Bunting. There was a Sora working the same area. I came across this work by bees near where the ditch enters the pines. I spent the rest of the morning taking my final ride of the season on the Pearl and saw my first Mississippi Kites of the year. I went for a walk on the Louisiana side, where it's starting to look like a jungle. Trying to search on foot is nearly hopeless at any time. It's totally out of the question right now with all of the fallen trees and thick undergrowth. The time has come to pack it in for the season. It has been an incredible experience. I will be back.

4-20-06. After an 1100 mile drive, I made it back home to Virginia. I'm pleased to report that my wife still recognized me, even though I never took the time to get a haircut during nearly three months in the field.

6-5-06. I spent the morning checking an area in southern Mississippi where a male ivorybill was seen a few weeks ago. I don't have the resources to check out every report, but several factors motivated me to drive more than 2000 miles to look into this one. The observer is an experienced outdoorsman, and I've known his father for many years. There were aspects of the description that are not widely known (such as the way the bird flew). The observer was sitting quietly when the bird landed on a nearby tree. It didn't notice him at first and seemed to be hiding on the backside of the trunk from a hawk that was circling above. The thing that got me excited about this report is that the location is about midway between the Pearl (where I know there are ivorybills) and the Pascagoula (where there have been several reports). Confirming the presence of ivorybills in such an area would provide hope that the species isn't doomed by the isolation of small populations. I didn't find an ivorybill, but I did find an unusual amount of bark scaling, especially in an area that was recently burned. I also found Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, which was a pleasant surprise. That's not an easy species to just stumble upon.