"The Thing with Feathers"

This article was drastically different from the other article, from the time in which is was written to what it was covering.  This article used less poetic language than the other and seemed more blunt while maintaining a sense of hope for the ivory billed woodpecker.  This article covers mostly the alleged sighting of the ivory billed woodpecker in 2005.  What was most interesting to me about this article was when the bird was allegedly sighted was how much attention the story immediately attracted.  Yet what mostly seemed to motivate the news story and the hope that there was still ivory billed woodpeckers left was the same motivation that destroyed the birds in the first place, money.  When the woods were sold to the logging company and they refused to give up the land because they wanted the money and in this article the hope to revive the community that the ivory billed woodpecker was spotted in was also motivated by money.  Maybe we as humans haven't evolved or educated ourselves as much as we think.

The Thing With Feathers

I enjoyed how in this article the author was able to vividly describe what would normally be considered a dreary and boring place. Having been through this part of Arkansas I can relate with how there is little to see, yet the author was able to describe it in a way that made it seem interesting. In addition, I find it fascinating how one bird was able to create an entire tourism market for a small town. I found it interesting how the author chose to describe the farm fields and explain how cyprus swamps used to be there. This in a way shows how human intervention led to the destruction of the birds habitat.  Personally, if I were to have spotted the bird, I would report it with only a description. By describing the animal as a large woodpecker with a red crest, large white beak and white stripped wings, I would be able to imply what I saw without opening myself up for accusations. In addition, I would personally be afraid of causing a frenzy that would result in large numbers of people invading the swamp and warding off more birds. Despite this, I feel that sparling did the right thing and as a result was able to spark further conservation efforts.

"The Thing with Feathers"

In “The Thing with Feathers”, Wells Tower explains the journey that his research took him through in finding the ivory billed woodpecker. To start off by answering Rachael’s question I think I would have kept the news to myself because I liked what Sparling mentions in the last part of the article. He says, “Seeing it’s not nearly as important as restoring the habitat. If we give him a place to live, he can take care of himself. It doesn’t matter whether we know where he is or not.” I agree with that, and I know that it is some people’s life mission to find this bird but then once they find it and take a picture and gather their money will they care about it anymore? And if the ivory bill were to come back the few left would be bothered and followed and tracked and so it makes me feel bad for the bird. The hype about this bird is contagious as Rachael said because after reading this I felt the same way as she did. I have never particularly been interested in birds but after reading about the towns that are hoping the new discovery makes them famous it makes me want to search these birds too. It’s ironic how humans are the ones who have killed these birds off and now they are also the ones to search high and low for them. Here these birds were being used for decoration and good luck charms and now the rediscovery of their existence becomes a whole town’s mission. It becomes so big that hobo’s are driving all over the country to become “nomadic” bird hunters. It’s crazy how one species can make such an impact.  

"The Thing With Feathers"

First off, to answer Rachael’s question, if I were to see a bird that I thought was extinct or even endangered, I probably wouldn't report it. But I wouldn't refrain from reporting to avoid doubt, I wouldn't report because I would doubt myself. I would probably take pictures and look into it on my own, but unless I knew for sure that that’s what it was then I wouldn't say anything. But also, I think about what we talked about in class on Monday, that Eckleberry may have seen a mating pair and didn't tell anyone (may not be true, but it’s a thought). I think that if I saw a pair like that and knew that they might be the last pair in existence, I would want to keep it to myself. I wouldn't want to be the reason that they were exposed to humans. In response specifically to the article that we read for today, I loved the way that it began. It was intriguing because when you think of a species going extinct, you never think of their “thoughts” so to speak, when they are struggling to find somewhere to live; which is of course, all of the human destruction. I also liked the way that there were direct quotes throughout the article. It brought the researchers to life, the people that really searched for these birds. One of the quotes that really struck me was: "To be honest," he added, "I have somewhat let go of the need to see the bird again myself. Seeing it's not nearly as important as restoring the habitat. If we give him a place to live, he can take care of himself. It doesn't matter whether we know where he is or not."even when it was believed that they were gone”. I think that is so true. We focus so much on seeing these rare animals, when we should be working to fix the problem that makes them so rare in the first place.  

"The Thing with Feathers"

Although I have never been interested in reading about extinct birds, especially a 12 page article on one, I found this article rather enjoyable to read. The tone, in the beginning especially, was more casual than the last article we read on the ivory-billed woodpecker. Having a casual tone in the beginning didn't make the article drag on for the whole 12 pages and actually made me want to keep reading. How Wells Tower described the people he talked to, Bayou de View, and the bird, made reading this article more entertaining. When I got towards the middle of the article though it got a little more boring when he starting writing about the history of the bird and the destruction of its habitat. The last sentence he wrote really caught my eye. He wrote about how a flash of black white and red caught his eye and thinking it was the woodpecker he turned his head only to see a semi carrying new cars. This last sentence, I think, shows how we as humans are invasive and cause species to go extinct. If we wouldn't of started logging in the ivory-billed woodpecker's habitat, it may still be alive today.

“The Thing with Feathers”

At the beginning of this class, way at the beginning of the semester, I had no idea what the heck the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was, nor did I want to learn about an extinct bird. After almost a whole semester and two articles about this supposedly extinct bird, I can’t help but want to know more! The article “The Thing with Feathers” by Wells Tower really opened up my eyes as to how dedicated one could be trying to find a bird that nobody had seen in decades. Rachael stated in her blog post that she doesn't know what she would did had she spotted an Ivory-billed and then asks “What would you do in the situation? Would you be reporting our findings and risk harsh doubt?” and the answer to those questions really depends on the situation and the person. Personally, if I were to spot an Ivory-billed somewhere, I would probably do a little happy dance and then spread the word to as many people as I know. Even though this magnificent bird has been ‘extinct’ for so many years, there’s no way I would pass up the opportunity to tell people that I saw probably the only living Ivory-billed Woodpecker, you can’t just keep that information to yourself! What also blew me away were the statistics given about this bird; the fact that is stood almost 2-feet tall frightens me, how can a bird get so big? I know we have emus and ostriches, but this is HUGE for a bird I think, especially a woodpecker.  Overall I really enjoyed this article; I thought it was helpful to be reading something that relates to me, in the sense that I would be just as excited as Gene Sparling was when he thought he had seen an extinct bird.

"The Thing With Feathers"

Even though as a person I am not very interested in birds or ornithology, I actually thought this article that I read by Wells tower was quite interesting and attention grabbing. The author really gets into his topic of the article which is the ivory billed Woodpecker by adding comedic qualities like humor and sarcasm. One example would be when he said " I thought, oh, shit. Here I am, a guy with no education, no formal training, saying he'd seen an ivory bill. I expected everybody to say, 'Sparling, you idiot, you moron, you're delusional'". I also thought this article was interesting because the author added a lot of detail to the writing whether it be to describe the birds appearance or how the trip went.

From reading tis article, I see the group had a lot of dedication in finding this woodpecker until  they actually found the bird. if I was put in their shoes and wanted to look for a species that was said to be extinct but rumors were that it has came back to life, I would do a pleather of research of what its habitat like, main food source, and areas it was originally found so I can answer the question if it existing once again or is just a hoax to fool the lover of the species or people ho are incredibly interested.

If I did find the species I would for sure report my findings whether people doubted me or not because finding a species that once was extinct and suddenly is not anymore is a big deal in my eyes. I would gather as much info and evidence as I possibly could though so people could do the same or to make some believe me either way I would know what I saw so it doesn't mtter if people believed if I found the creature or not.

 

"The Thing with Feathers"

As a child my family was very big into ornithology and herpetology (the study of reptiles) so we toured the country in our little camper and went hiking, backpacking and canoeing so from a very young age I knew how to identify and track many animals, especially birds. So the answer to Rachel's question is very complicated. I know I could identify the bird if I saw it, because I have worked with palliated woodpeckers for many years and all that separates the two birds is a stripe and the color of their eyes. The bigger question would be what to do with that information. After some thought and reflection I think I would end up going to the Nature Conservatory very quietly and giving them the GPS location of the sighting so they could lead a more in depth search. Its hard to know what the balance is between enough press and too much because as the article stated sometimes our helpful blundering ends up causing more harm then good, like the case of the condor chick. These sorts of events need to have some media coverage otherwise the event would not be looked at as a credible source; but if you have too much media then everyone and their brother is going to be out there trying to catch a glimpse of something that might or might not be there. This is why I would quietly go to the Nature Conservatory and let them choose what to do with press and search parties. I don't think that the amount of fame that would come with announcing that you had found the bird out be worth the possible harm that would come to the environment and the bird itself.

This is a very tricky topic filled with "ifs" and "buts" which makes it a particularly hard topic to cover. It almost reminds me of the search or Bigfoot, though I do not believe in it some people do. There have been countless sightings of it but still nothing really tangible. When do you decide to stop the hunt? When is it safe to say its gone? These are interesting questions and thats what makes this subject so hard to cover.            

"The Thing with Feathers"

After reading this article, my impression was different than the blog leader. There were no pictures of the majestic creature, or any video that was not fuzzy showing the existence of the sought after prize.  I felt like the accounts by Sparling provided little evidence in the existence of the ivory bill, and beyond that there is much to be gained by the community in which the supposed sightings occurred. The sightings happened in a poor part of the delta that has much to hope for. I don't blame the community, i'm just saying that they need change and this is an opportunity that they may be embracing. The way that Sparling describes himself made me feel like he may be someone that is trying to live out a fantasy that he has had in finding the rare specimen. 

 There was also money donated and land bought for the use of conservation, so whether or not the bird was actually sighted is not a huge issue to me. If there was much to be gained by future generations of animals in my community I may even be swayed to say that I spotted an animal that I didn't. I would be tempted to do this in hopes that my decision was for the greater good. With that being said, I respect the fact that there is now land being set aside for future generations of animals. I sincerely hope that I am misinterpreting the article and the ivory bill is elusiveness has kept the breed alive.

“The Thing with Feathers”

Tower’s article “The Thing with Feathers” has some contrast to Eckleberry’s “Search for the Rare Ivorybill” even being on the same general topic, the ivory-billed woodpecker.  Eckleberry started with the history of the fight for the ivory-billed woodpecker before transitioning into his own personal story as he tells of the last living of the species.  Tower’s on the other hand, begins with the announcement of the reemergence of the ivory-billed woodpecker.  Overall, Eckleberry’s story had a sadder and depressing mood while this article was more light-hearted, such as having jokes here and there.  One thing that was similar, however, was the conclusion.  Even though they started out completely different, Towers depicts in the last few lines a fleeting hope to see the ivory-billed woodpecker, only to be tricked by a group of automobiles on a nearby highway.  If you think about it, they both end mildly depressingly.  While there was hope at the beginning of the article, like in Eckleberry’s story, it diminishes towards the end. 

Like most of the rest of my classmates, as it seems, if I did supposedly spot and ivory-billed woodpecker, I doubt I would report anything on it.  My reasoning is that I do not trust myself to know enough about the ivory-billed woodpecker to be able to identify it.  Additionally, I doubt I would even realize it at the time even if I could as I am not an avid bird watcher or any of the sort so I don’t think I would even think about it at the time.  However, under the right conditions, were I able to identify it and be conscious of the event, I believe that Sparling’s course of action is among the best.  I have little doubt that his fears about the media would have come true if he would have just came out and said that he found the bird.  For this reason, if I could identify the ivory-billed woodpecker and happened to see one, I think I would attempt to follow what Sparling did.  

"The Thing with Feathers"

This 2006 article, entitled “The Thing with Feathers” Wells Tower writes of Gene Sparling’s unlikely discovery of the extinct ivory-billed woodpecker and how it led to a massive secretive search for this bird. Tower’s use of colloquial language in the title and throughout the entire article helped him engage with a broader audience, not just the usual ornithologist. His vivid details and description of the search and the surrounding town kept the readers engaged and feel as if they are somehow personally connected to it. The story is uplifting in that it tells of an extinct bird prevailing even though mankind had destroyed its home and hunted them down.

In response to Rachael’s question, if I were ever in this situation I don’t think I’d be able to tell what kind of bird it was even if it was sitting right in front of me. But if I could, I’d like to think that I’d go about it just as Sparling did, but like him, I’d be afraid of people calling me crazy or accusing me of nailing taxidermy ivory-billed woodpeckers to a tree. If the universities had jumped on board like they did with Sparling, I don’t think I would have dedicated two years of my life to sitting in a swamp looking for this mysterious bird. 

"The Thing with Feathers"

First off, I would like to say that these last two blog posts have got me spinning over the Ivory-billed woodpecker. Last post all hope was lost of ever seeing another ivorybill again. This post has the opposite emotions and a sense of fulfillment. This article was exciting to read because it would be thrilling if somehow the ivorybill could come back and through all odds survive. But I had my doubts starting with the source. Mr. Sparling is not a professional bird watcher and I had a hard time trusting a man who is not a professional. My opinion changed when the two Cornell professors were convinced that Sparling did indeed see an ivorybill. That made my heart jump a little and keep me wanting to read more. The hope that the ivorybill is still out there was at an all time high. But as the article went on there were only small instances where someone might have seen the bird. Sparling never saw the bird again and neither did the Cornell professors. It was cool to almost go along with the narrator as he hunts for the ivorybill. To see and even feel his excitement as he searched for the bird. At the end of the article it became clear to me that hope for the bird's survival was thinning. There could be an ivorybill out there but the likelihood is very slim. There are reasons for misinterpreting a bird for the ivorybill. But there is something soothing to think that the ivorybill is beating the odds and getting another chance at survival.

I also imagined finding the ivorybill for the first time and I have to say I would be a very happy camper. I would not be able to keep this a secret so I feel for Sparling. I am not much of a bird person but I know if I would see this bird in the flesh I would become bird crazy.

"The Thing With Feathers"

As Rachael said, I am not much of a bird person either. I have always been interested in animals but never birds. I found this article to be interesting because of Sparling's passion for the bird. Sparling and his fellow colleagues would go to any extreme to find the ivorybilled. Sparling would spend numerous hours looking for the ivory billed and pretty much dedicated his life to finding it. It helped his credibility when other colleagues of his spotted it to make it seem realistic and not crazy. As far as Rachael's question, I think if spotted an ivory billed woodpecker I would be able to go around and tell people about it. I would tell people and describe the situation in great detail to make it credible and real and if people don't believe my story that is ok because I would know the truth to it. Even if some people don't believe your story some people will, and this could possibly open the door to more sightings of the bird. As far as the passion and time that Sparling invests in spotting the ivorybilled, I have my passions and things I obsess over, but these things do not take over my life. I do not think I could dedicate my whole life to something like Sparling did finding the woodpecker. Overall, I found this article to be interesting because of Sparling's quest to find the bird and the extremes he took to spot the bird and make people believe that it was still out there.

"The Thing With Feathers"

As I began to read this article I was brought back to the article we read for Monday. However, unlike Monday's article I didn't feel sadness while reading, I felt hope. The tone of the article is the reason the author kept pulling me back in. Tower's sheer enthusiasm and passion for finding this bird really made me as a reader appreciate what all of the people were trying to do. I enjoyed the camaraderie between Tower's and some of his fellow bird enthusiasts. The easy banter was clear in the quotes and comments made by others. It was a nice change of pace to read an aritlce that included so many thoughts and ideas from other's about the bird and how it is effecting their life.

Even though the article was fairly entertaining to read some parts to me seemed insincere. For instance, the small towns that are trying to benefit from the "rediscovery" of this bird don't actually care for the bird they only care about the profit the bird can bring. Also a lot of the people that the author talked to seemed passionate about finding the bird but it seemed as if they were trying harder to convince themselves that the bird was back instead of convincing Tower's or the readers. I believe that hope does this sort of thing to people. When a person is deeply passionate about something it is all they think about and these people honestly wanted to believe that the bird was still alive without much factual evidence. Even Tower's said he was "suffering for the ivory bill mania" looking everywhere he went for just a glimpse of this elusive bird. Even though most of the article was based off of other people's observations and sometimes semi-sarcastic comments I don't think it effected the credibility of the article. There was still a lot of great information in the article that does point to the fact that the Ivorybill woodpecker may be back.

To answer Rachel's question, I too may have kept the sighting to myself. However, my reasoning isn't because I would be afraid of doubt my reasoning would be that I would want to protect this bird from anyone disturbing its habitat. Of course I would most likely actually doubt myself because I don't have much experience with bird watching or what they bird actually looked like. If I did suspect that my sighting was however an Ivorybill I may keep it to myself because I wouldn't want the bird to live a life were it feels threatened.

"The Thing with Feathers"

What I liked most about Tower’s writing was his sarcastic mood. I think it complemented his mission to explain the possible rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker. If nothing else, the humor he uses in his essay shows us that he’s a normal and sane guy who likes to tell a few jokes. It lets us identify with him and not want to assume he’s just another ivorybill stalker looking for the spotlight by claiming to have sighted a questionably extinct species. We want to believe the funny guys.

However, despite the dry humor and frank dialogue he uses in his essay he still manages to show his respect towards the bird and the land they inhabit. Tower speaks of the possible existence of the ivorybill as though it’s a gift mankind doesn’t deserve. He writes, “Nature had pardoned our trespasses against it and returned to us a marvel we had tried our damnedest to destroy.” His effective balance of the two contrasting moods impressed me.

To answer Rachel’s question – if I was in the position where I thought I spotted what was believed to be an extinct species I wouldn’t want to say anything for fear of being wrong, but I would feel compelled to. In the most anonymous way possible I think I would report it, especially after reading Tower’s essay and hearing what Sparling had to say about the importance of restoring their habitat. The least we can do now is make sure we give them their habitat back.

“The Thing with Feathers”

When I first looked at this article and it began printing, I was worried because it was so long. However, I ended up really enjoying it. I identified with and pictured in my mind what Wells Towers was describing throughout the article because of some of the humor he used.

I thought it was interesting how Sparling played such a big role in the rediscovery of the bird. Even Sparling “a wayfaring, neo-beatnik entrepreneur whose resume; includes a failed Baja whale-watching concern and an abandoned shiitake mushroom operation” has made a difference in the search for the bird. I thought that this was a sign that anyone has the potential to play a part in the conservation or environmentalist movement.

Something else about this article that I enjoyed was the vivid language that was used throughout the whole piece. By the end of the article I found myself hoeing that the “far off flare of red, white and black” was the ivory-billed woodpecker. Wells Towers effective use of descriptive language gives the readers the opportunity to wallow in his journey and decide for themselves if they have hope for the return of the Lord God bird.

To answer Rachael’s question I would have no idea how to go about spotting the bird, because bird watching is something I have tried to avoid. To me the idea of sitting outside with some binoculars and a bird book is quite comical. On the off chance that I spotted an ivory-billed woodpecker I would probably try to capture an image or video of it on my iPhone.  If I failed to do so, I would probably keep the sighting to myself. If the bird wanted to be found, I think it would have been found by now.

"The Thing with Feathers"

The article “ The Thing with Feathers” is different than any article that we have read so far.  The main difference being the informal style of writing the writer took.  However, I liked the different style, I felt like it connected more towards myself, which inevitably is the audience.  I am not educated on the ivorybill or other birds for that example, making the title very appealing.  I liked how the author used the word “thing” showing the lack of knowledge of what the creature actually was.  Throughout the piece I think the writer portrayed an accurate description on how the average individual reacts to the information of the discovery of an almost distinct animal.  Prior to hearing the information, it is likely that the common folk has never even heard of the animal and doesn’t know what they look like.  But once they hear of the discovery it is the natural reaction to be amazed and to almost feel special that the animal resides in your environment.  It creates a bandwagon effect, and the surrounding community almost feels like experts on the bird I feel.  In the article he shows this through the community having different businesses and fairs named after the bird.  The community also try’s to gain revenue from the fact that the bird was spotted there.  Also adding to the informal style of the article was the face that the author was an ordinary man; he did not have a deep education on bird but rather a passion.

            In answer to Rachel’s question: what would you do if you were in his situation?  I would probably not share with people that I saw an ivorybill, because I too would fear I just saw an ordinary woodpecker.  I do not have much knowledge on birds, I think they are interesting animals, but when it comes to my interests and expertise birds aren’t high on my list.  So for now, I will leave the bird discovery to the experts.

Blog Leader "The Thing With Feathers"

Being an individual who has never had a significant interested in birds or bird watching, this article definitely caught my attention. I think that the enthusiasm from the author and his fellow conservationist was contagious and his semi-sarcastic reporting gave the article an interesting spin. I was surprised to hear of their sureness regarding the returning of the wood pecker, because I had assumed this article would be quite unbelievable. One of the most important

moments during this article for me was when Bobby Harrison and Tim Gallagher visited the swamp and spotted the ivory billed. If I was in Sparling's position I would have been incredibly happy, because without the additional spotting he would have been regarded as crazy and no one would have put any effort into renewed search for the bird.

During class on Monday I found myself pondering what I would do if I spotted an ivory billed wood pecker, so I found this article very related to my thoughts during class. Considering I have no experience spotting birds, I would probably doubt myself and assume I had wrongly mistaken the wood pecker. In short, I think I would keep the sighting to myself and hope that if it was an ivory billed wood pecker it would find a mate and successfully reproduce without human intervention. What would you do in this situation? Would you be report your findings and risk harsh doubt?

Search for the Rare Ivorybill

I gathered two general bits of information while reading this article. First of all, I found that even though the extinction of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker may have not been common knowledge at the time, there were still people who cared deeply about their existence. I liked the way that Eckleberry included many sources that did just that, it gave him more ethos to work with, just by association. He mentions The Conservation Department in Louisiana and the National Audubon Society as large stake holders in the lives of these rare (at the time) birds.However, I also gathered from reading this article that it is a common problem for people to misconceive their effect on nature. For example, the young man who found out that the Ivory Bill was rare, so he brought in a dead one. He may have felt that he was doing something noble because he brought in that specimen (or maybe not, who knows), but he did the species a huge disservice by killing of one of the few living birds. I also realized the way that people tend to choose income or forwarding themselves over a species, with total disregard to the way that these creatures live. When I speak of that, I am talking about the lumber company that refused to make room for a conservation area. They simply did not want to lose area that could bring in revenue for them. I don’t think that people comprehend the seriousness of the problem in cases such as this one. Many people tend to have a “how much could it really change things” sort of mentality, which is only going to cause more and more problems as time goes on.

"Search for the Rare Ivorybill"

Don Eckleberry writes about the extinction of the ivory-billed woodpecker. This story had a different approach about extinction compared to the previous reading about the passenger pigeons. In this, Eckleberry shares his experience of finding the last ivorybill and drawing it out on paper. Eckleberry describes the intriguing aspects of the ivorybill. He focuses on the lengths people went to save these birds from extinction. And what they did to preserve everything of it that they could.

I enjoyed that he used his personal experience with the ivory-billed woodpecker to share this story with his readers. The imagery that Eckleberry included in this piece was definitely a work of art. I loved the great details of the puddles and sodden leaves that lead to the roost tree of the ivory-billed woodpecker. And the “beng” and “bang” used to describe the sound of this bird. It gave me such a clear image of how this bird looks and how is sounds like without even the need to look at a picture.

Although, he did a great job with his descriptions of his personal experience and the bird itself.I don’t quite understand how his concluding paragraph ties into all of his earlier ones. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I wish I could understand what fate has to do with the value of a bird.

"Search for the Rare Ivorybill"

In "Search for the Rare Ivorybill", Don Eckleberry discusses the importance of the ivory-billed woodpecker. Eckleberry first gives the reader some background information about the woodpecker and its importance in existence. Eckleberry writes with a lot of passion and excitement. While I was reading I could easily tell the passion that Eckleberry has for the ivory billed woodpecker. Throughout the reading, I found myself very interested in his story of his search for the woodpecker, and I almost felt like i was there. Eckleberry forms connections with his reader and finds a way to get them interested and involved. I thought that Eckleberry put a lot of the blame on the logging companies for the low numbers of the woodpeckers. I also thought that he put a lot of blame on the government for not doing anything about the situation and blowing it off. The decline of the woodpecker could not have came in a worse time in my opinion. The numbers started falling and were low in the 1930s and early 1940s and this was the time of the great depression and world war two. During these times I don't think many people could've cared for the environment and animals as much as people were just looking for work and to get through the war. Little attention is given to something like a bird during the something as big as the depression or the war. I felt like Eckleberry wrote this article to try and capture people's attention, and I also think that Eckleberry was trying to get some help raising awareness for the ivory-billed woodpecker. I found this article to be very intersitng because Eckleberry had a huge passion for finding these birds and helping try to save them.

"Search for the Rare Ivorybill"

Don Richard started his article well by establishing good ethos. He states the different places he worked at and also a short bio about himself that connects the author to his audience. The way he talked about his experience was good. He used a kind of fore shadowing effect on his writing. The author also used his logos well by knowing stats, names of people in office. It was also easier to read because his writing had a sense of first view. It was like the author was telling a story first hand more than an essay or anything else. Over all I don't like reading about animals that much but this was not too bad.

"Search for the Rare Ivorybill"

Don Eckleberry's account of trying to find the ivory bill woodpecker was informative and well written. The author's ethos was established right at the beginning of the article when information about other published pieces the author has done. This made the author's account more reliable and the story he told all the more incredible. It is obvious that his understanding of why the ivory bill was becoming extinct bothered him and even stated how we have neglected America. The author spoke of the ivory bill;s features as being unique and different from other birds. This is the reason I found it hard to read about the logging operations impact on the ivory bill becoming extinct. The result of the logging companies unwillingness to work with the state to keep some of the land for conservation,ended up being the demise of the bird. 

This conflict of conservation and corporate interests are still being played out to this day here in Wisconsin. Our new state budget calls for an abrupt halt in purchasing land, with the intent to save it for future generations to enjoy. Instead, there are regulations being pulled back for big corporations, like frac-sand mining, and the animals that have evolved to live in these unique places will be the ultimate victims. It is a shame that we could not learn from the atrocity of the ivory bill and realize that there are many animals harmed when humans neglect to think of what there actions may do to the other living beings around them. I will take this story with me and hope to be a voice in the fight for other innocent creatures. 

"Search for the Rare Ivorybill"

Compared to Aldo Leopold’s essay “On a Monument to a Passenger Pigeon” Don Eckleberry’s essay reads like a narration of the search for the ivorybill woodpecker. Eckleberry’s intentions to write a story show through on pages 201 and 202. He takes a break from discussing the ivorybill and narrates his time spent with his host Mr. Henry and Liza. He includes their dialogue and a description of their meal. I appreciate his attempt at making his essay accessible and fluid, but the narration seems unnecessary and distracts the reader, since the essay is intended to raise awareness on the state of the ivorybill.

Stephanie asked what we would be willing to sacrifice to save an endangered species. It’s hard to say, since different species require different actions. And often times we’re not aware of the harm our actions put on a species until the damage has been done for us to see and it's almost too late. Which lead me to wonder if we should still blame ourselves for hurting the numbers of a species if we didn’t know we were. Is it not our blame to take as long as we try our hardest to fix the mistake?  

"Search for the Rare Ivorybill"

I found this article very intriguing, because I enjoy hearing stories of people going to great lengths to preserve animals and nature in general. I liked hearing the story of the efforts to save the woodpecker through the eyes of someone that wanted it to be saved. Hearing Eckleberry’s description of the bird made me wish I had been able to see it. He talks about how she was a magnificent bird and unlike other birds he’s seen before. Reading how one person can see so much in a bird, or any animal, makes me wish that people would try helping endangered species more. It amazed me that these loggers could go about doing their job without even thinking twice about the animals and nature they were endangering. I think that Eckleberry made sure to describe the woodpecker in a beautiful and majestic way to make the reader feel empathy towards the bird and make them want to help other endangered species.