Miracle of a woodpecker that read its own obit

[emad]

April 29, 2005

Times
By Simon Barnes



CONSERVATIONISTS are seen as the most frightful gloom’n’doomers. This is going extinct, that’s going extinct, the world’s going to end on Tuesday, and global warming is really uncool, man.

The exact opposite is the case. We are life-affirmers, joy-seekers, cheerleaders for the cheerful. It just isn’t always easy to find something to cheer.

So here comes the ivory-billed woodpecker and it is time for us to stop bellyaching and celebrate a miracle — a double miracle, for the ivory-billed woodpecker is the bird that read its own obituary: officially extinct since 1996 but still pecking wood.

Human beings are good at destroying things on purpose, but even better at destroying things by accident.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,174-1590262,00.html

[HereSince1628]

1. For bird-lovers this _is_ exciting

A story in the Mil Journal indicated that Birders World magazine (published from a Milwaukee suburb)is apparently tearing up the issue they were currently readying to print (August 05) in order to include stories on it.

[Mary in KC]

2. Finding that bird was just too cool

They have a 3 foot wingspan. What a sight.