Free Republic

Birders excited about woodpecker sightings Tuesday, September 26, 2006 By BILL FINCH Environment Editor Auburn University researchers published evidence today of what some are describing as an ivory-bill woodpecker "Shangri-La" in the Florida Panhandle, a couple of hours east of Mobile. Researchers said they've had 13 sightings of the ivory bill, long thought to be extinct, and have recorded some 300 distinctive calls and sounds associated with the giant woodpecker, the largest in the United States and a virtual Holy Grail for many birders. The last clear photographs of the bird -- and uncontested proof of its existence -- date...

Edinburg man seeks members on first-ever team in state competition The kiskadee sings its own name: “kiskadee-kiskadee.” And the altamira oriole’s sharp, choppy twitter is quite unlike the song of its identical looking cousin — the hooded oriole — which whirs like a miniature motor. For blind people in the Rio Grande Valley, these creative chirps are the only way to enjoy the wonders of birding — and for some it’s serious business. Bird calls are breeding a new pastime for the Valley’s blind, who are cocking their ears each week at Edinburg’s World Birding Center, sharpening their auditory identification...