"...the ornithologists still had serious doubts. Sutton finally put it directly: 'Mr. Spencer, you're sure the bird you're telling us about isn't the big pileated woodpecker?'

"Spencer exploded. 'Man alive! These birds I'm tellin' you all about is kints!' he shouted in their faces. 'Why, the pileated woodpecker's just a little bird about as big as that.' He held his fingers a few inches apart. 'A kint's as big as that!' he said, holding his arms wide... 'Why, man, I've known kints all my life. My pappy showed 'em to me when I was just a kid. I see 'em every fall when I go deer huntin' down aroun' my place on the Tinsaw. They're big birds, I tell you, big and black and white; and they fly through the woods like pintail ducks!'

"After Spencer's outburst, the members of the team were all believers -- not just because of his vehemence, but because his description was so accurate. Ivory-bills do not have the typical bounding flight of the pileated woodpecker. They generally fly away high and straight, with stiff flight feathers, looking very much like a pintail, and their call is a distinctive nasal kent, kent, kent -- very similar to the local name Spencer used, kint. Sutton and the others couldn't wait to get to the bayou and start searching.

"As it turned out, that was not an easy proposition..." --Gallagher, Tim. The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, pp. 10-11: "Of People and Peckerwoods."

Friday, June 13, 2014

Excursion: Kingdom of DeSoto, 11 June 2014

I am lucky enough to live within 15-20 minutes of one of the largest tracts of pine forest in the entire Southeast; and, more specifically, to a nice 3-mile trail that affords me views of upland pine forest, mixed bottomland hardwoods, thickets, and a couple of nice ponds, one of which is home to a couple of pairs of wood ducks.  Some mornings, when I do not have to be at my "regular" job until later, I can be in these woods at dawn, and be back home in time for a good breakfast and to knock out a few chores.  This past Wednesday was such a day, and was moreover bright and fresh after a cool front moved through the night before.

Only a couple of hundred yards from the trailhead, I spotted this pine, which I had never really paid attention to before (even though I've probably hiked this trail a dozen times):




This pine was either fire-killed or killed by beetle infestation, I think; it did not bear the telltale sign of lightning strike, a narrow line bare of bark running up the length of the tree.  I do not see any drilling in this tree, which is a sure sign of nearly every woodpecker species that haunts these woods, including the Red-cockaded.  There is a line of very large mixed bottomland forest about three hundred yards on down the trail, which contains a significant number of dead pines of impressive size, and where I have observed pileateds feeding on several occasions.

Besides this, the only other item of interest that day was this fellow, who graciously allowed me to not only photograph him, but to dig out my Peterson's guide to identify his species.  Any sparrows beyond the White-throated, White-crowned, and Fox, are problematic.

Field Sparrow.

Expedition: Herman Murrah Preserve, 9 June 2014

IBWOH's:  Richard Ezell, Brian Carlisle, Christopher Carlisle

Summary:  We began the hunt by meeting at the Dollar General store in McLain, MS, where we left two of our vehicles.  Taking Brian's Tundra, we headed south on Mississippi Highway 57, past the Leaf Wilderness which Brian and I had explored in May.  We passed the Nature Conservancy's Fisher and Murrah Preserves, and after some exploring around the Merrill Bridge near the Pascagoula headwaters (where I saw my first ever Northern Parula), we backtracked and parked at the locked gate at the Murrah, which is nearest the Pascagoula.  Our hope was to find some good timber nearer the river that might show signs of IBWO feeding activity, or perhaps even hear something encouraging.

Morning on the Merrill Bridge. 

View from the bridge.  The Pascagoula is about 20-30 yards to the left; some private property to the immediate right.

The Way is shut.  (To vehicle traffic.)

Beyond the gate, the single-lane vehicle track extends southward several miles, through some cutover land and a large swathe of mostly young hardwoods, which I imagined would be buzzing with warbler and vireo activity during Spring migration.  As it was, Brian spotted an American Redstart, which was doing some flycatching up in a small tree.  It was another species first for me to add to the Life List.  Eventually, thankfully, the road forked; and just off to the left, we found an old oxbow lake, surrounded by old cypress, gum, and tupelo.  There was an aluminum boat moored near a crude landing; and while Brian and Richard cut poles to get across the lake, I continued on through the mud around the southern end.  The trees, while not as big as Treebeard back in the Leaf Wilderness, were of impressive size and very, very beautiful.  No tree symbolizes the Southern wild to me more than the mighty cypress.























We met on the east side of the lake, and continued onward over a mile through some difficult terrain.  The woods between the lake and the River were older, and more favorable in my opinion to Ivory Bill and woodpeckers in general.  There were many dead and dying snags, in addition to downed timber that showed signs of woodpecker feeding activity.  There were many large sycamores in addition to the oaks, gums, cypress, and tupelo.  Nearer the River, the going got easier, and even pleasant, as swampy thickets gave way to open understory, thanks to enormous quantities of sand the River had dumped there during flood stages of years past.   We found a rat snake and at least one water moccasin; and it was in this area that we encountered a wild hog with at least three piglets, headed away from us with a grunt, towards the Pascagoula.

Dead snag showing signs of woodpecker feeding activity.

 Pascagoula River, looking south.

 Looking directly across from the "cut," or bend, towards a sand bar on the eastern bank.

 Looking north.  Merrill Bridge is somewhere beyond the bend.

Turning back west towards the lake, Richard discovered a dead cypress showing signs of woodpecker activity, and possible bark peeling.  Cypress is a very hard wood, even when dead for a while, and so only a very powerful beak could inflict this kind of damage, in my opinion; certainly, at least that of Dryocopus pileatus.




Marks near top left seem indicative of peeling.


The slog back was very hot and tiring.  We saw another redstart at one point.  Coming back upon the northern end of the lake, we found another boat, but returned to the original, and this time I crossed the lake with my companions.



Downed tree trunk showing woodpecker work, possibly after it fell. 

Dead sycamore showing woodpecker drilling, with a poison ivy vine as a bonus. 

We rudely awakened this fellow from his nap near the lake's north end.




 Ensign Carlisle navigates us towards the landing, coming in at .35.






Conclusions:  The most promising habitat for Ivory Bill was around the lake, and between the lake and the River.  The bulk of the Murrah Preserve looked too young to support IBWO feeding habits, and though I did note some woodpecker feeding activity on small dead snags in the younger woods, I suspect it was Dryocopus pileatus, which I have observed on more than one occasion working on small dead trees no bigger around than my arm, or smaller.  The Fisher Preserve, to the west of the Murrah, suggests it may be composed mainly of the same younger stands of hardwoods; I will reserve judgment until such time as I can investigate, but my gut feeling is that the larger timber lies to the east, closer to and along the Pascagoula.

The difficulty in any search for Campephilus principalis during the warmer months really hit home.  The heat and humidity were impossible to ignore, though under the deeper forest canopy and near the River, this was mitigated somewhat.  The worst of the insects were the biting flies, but I had no trouble at all from mosquitoes or ticks, or chiggers.  The presence of venomous snakes weighed on our minds constantly, and though we only spotted a couple of moccasins, I suspect there were three or four times as many that went undetected.  The leafy canopy prevented us from gaining many decent aerial views.  However, all that being said, I believe excursions such as this to be invaluable later in planning IBWO searches during the cooler months, when valuable time need not be wasted in scouting for suitable locales.  The IBWOH's and I will continue to do so, as we are able, during the summer months.