New York Woodpeckers
Posted by Brody on July 10, 2009When I was growing up in western New York State, the bird that delighted me the most was the pileated woodpecker, it’s as big as a crow and has a flaming red crest with a spectacular patterned wing that is revealed when it flies. Little did I know that I would get to see its even larger relative, the ivory-billed woodpecker, now extinct, but it was one of North America’s largest woodpecker species. In May, I joined up with my friend, Woodfrow, staying at a Five Star Hotel New York City offers the thousands of tourist visiting everyday.
I was in his hotel room when he pulls out an album book and starts showing me photos of a trip we took way back in 1942 to Tallulah, Louisiana. I remembered that we went there with our folks who planned a guided tour. Our guide was a local woodsman by the name of Richard, a man that I remember well, he was funny and very knowledgeable. We set pace with his long stride and he led us toward a section of swamp where my parents were most interested in. He pointed to a pair of birds who were roosting. He urged my parents to take photos and step quickly, because the birds were preparing to leave their roosting holes. The section of swamp we were at had a good amount of those birds. I remember my parents being so thrilled.
Woodfrow pointed to the photos that my parents has shot that day, and low and behold, my parents captured the ivory-billed woodpecker. It never occurred to me, when on that trip that my parents had some kind of instinct about the fate of these beautiful birds. Richard, told me he really didn’t know either at that time. When my parents sent him copies of our trip, he felt for some reason that he needed to hold on to those photos. I’m so glad he did. All my parents photos where lost in a fire. It was truly amazing to be here, in a New York hotel room, seeing actual photos of an extinct bird. But, what was most amazing is the news with which Woodfrow had for me. Recently, the ivory-billed woodpecker has been sighted and now put on the endangered list. What an amazing day.
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