Wattensaw

Today we decided to go to Wattensaw WMA, instead of Bayou DeView. The WMA is directly west of Bayou DeView and there have been some sightings there. We drove into the middle of the WMA and stopped in a parking area next to a bayou. We ate lunch and then headed into the swamp.

As we floated down the bayou we looked for scaled trees. We didn't see any for a while, but then we spotted one. It was about 30 feet from the bayou on dry land, we got out of the kayak and checked it out. The scaling was very fresh. There were chips of bark on the ground below the tree, some of which were the size of your hand. We wanted to place a camera trap facing it, but first we decided to look for other scaling.

After that we didn't see any scaling, so we were turning around to go back to the scaled tree when we heard a loud double-knock. BAM-bam! It was the clearest, loudest double-knock we have ever heard. My dad handed me our new Edirol R-o9HR recorder and I started recording. We pulled the boat near the bank of the bayou and waited. The double-knock did not repeat.

After sitting there for a minute we decided to go toward the sound and get out of the boat. So, we got onto dry land and we hiked into the forest to look for what made the double-knock. We walked far in one direction, and didn't see or hear anything, so we headed back in the kayak's direction. We then hiked in a different direction from the kayak, but again didn't see anything. So we headed back for the scaled tree.

We got to the scaled tree and then placed a camera trap on a tripod facing it. After that we headed out of the swamp.

We heard a double-knock today, i'm 99% sure it was from an IBWO. If we had the recorder on we would have had a great recording! So, from now on, we will have it recording at all times. We're ordering a special tripod for it so we can have it up in the front of the kayak. And, maybe we will get a picture from our camera trap of an IBWO next week!

Summary Of Our Trip

We had a very good trip to Louisiana. We got a good look at the habitat and even heard an IBWO! As i've said, the habitat is wonderful for IBWOs. Trees there include Oaks, Honey Locust, Sycamore, Willow, Pecan, Green Ash, and Cypress. Spanish moss hangs from Cypress trees and the understory is made of Cane, Palmetto, etc. That means the habitat would also be good for the Bachman's Warbler, if they still exist.

We heard two Kent calls on Grassy Lake that sound just like the "Project Coyote" recordings, which can be heard here: http://www.south-run.com/coyote/sounds.htm

We also had dinner with The Project leader, Frank Wiley. He told us about some of his sightings and some interesting information on the bird. I'm not going to write about his sightings because I have a feeling he may do that himself one day. A book about his encounters would be a best-seller!

It seems from Frank's sightings and what we heard that there is a good population of Ivory-bills there. And from now on, when someone asks us what we are doing in the woods, instead of hiding what we are doing we'll say "We're looking for the elusive Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. Have you seen one?"

Louisiana: Day Three

Today was our last full day in Louisiana for this trip. We spent it on the lake in Grassy Lake WMA, looking for more signs of the IBWO. I'm afraid we didn't see or hear the bird today. But we did see a lot of Alligators! One of them was 6-8 feet long, we couldn't tell for sure because it was far away. It just moved slowly across the lake and then slowly sank under the water. We also saw a few smaller ones.

And tonight we had dinner with the Project Coyote leader, Frank Wiley. We had some very interesting conversation that took up almost 2 hours. We picked him up at his house and we went to a BBQ place. It was really fun.

We couldn't find the IBWO again today, but we heard it yesterday. This was a really great trip! Tomorrow we're heading home, but first we are going to pick up our camera trap in the WMA. I doubt an IBWO will be on it, but maybe.

Louisiana: Day Two

We were in Grassy Lake WMA again today. We searched the area with huge trees and a lake. We were not able to locate bark scaling, but did find some holes in the big trees. We placed a camera on the holes, but I don't think they could really be IBWO holes. We searched the forest until about noon and then decided to head to the lake.

We inflated our kayak and then headed into the water. The lake is almost totally covered in Lilly Pads, but there was a trail through them made by other boats. We were burning up, and almost headed back, but we didn't. Then as I was in the middle of a paddle stroke I heard something that sounded like what the Project Coyote team has recorded. I was not sure if it was a call, but we headed in it's direction and stopped at the bank of the lake. Then we both heard the sound again. It sounded exactly like what Project Coyote has recorded. It was an IBWO. We tried to move nearer to where the sound was coming from, but we never saw a bird. I was starting to think we wouldn't see or hear anything on this trip!

We also saw a few Alligators today.

We are going back to the lake tomorrow, maybe we'll see the IBWO.

Louisiana: Day One

I'm writing this blog entry from the hotel where we are staying. Today we left for LA at around 8 a.m. and arrived around 3. When we got here we went to the Grassy Lake WMA, but it took us a fair amount of time to locate the WMA because the directions were vague and it was not marked with a sign! When we did get in to the park we turned left on the road, which was a mistake. That area was patchy scrub forest no good for the IBWO. But we turned around and went the other way a found a great forest. The trees seemed to get bigger the farther in we went, one area had massive trees, which we will explore more tomorrow. We also found a good lake (no suprise.)

The forest is great habitat. Trees include various Oaks, Honey Locust, Sycamore, etc. The WMA is connected to the forest of the "Project Coyote" search, the overall forest is huge. Plenty of room for at least a few pairs of Ivory-Bills.

We saw a few interesting birds too. Like Painted Buntings and Ibis.

A Dead Giant

We were out in the swamp again last Wednesday. We managed to patch up our popped inflatable kayak, and it held up well. As we entered the Bayou we passed what we thought was a log in the water. My dad said that something was on top of the "log." Then I realized it wasn't a log at all, it was a dead animal. Two massive bloated legs were sticking out of the water, it looked like a dead baby Hippo! As we got nearer to it we saw that it was a huge turtle, a big Spiny Softshell Turtle. It was so huge it might have been older than 80. Some careless fisherman had put out a trot line, and the turtle took the bait, got stuck, and drowned.

Then we headed on to pick up our three camer traps. Two cameras had 1800 pictures, and the other one had 1400. We had aimed one at a large roost hole. Once I got home I looked at all the pictures. The camera facing the roost tree didn't have a Pileated or IBWO picture on it, so we'll place a camera facing the tree again soon. The other two cameras had some great pictures of wildlife, like a big hawk sitting on a scaled tree we faced the camera on. I posted the pictures below.

In a few days my dad and I are heading to Louisiana to search for the bird there. Where we're going is very near the "Project Coyote" search area-which has some very promising evidence that IBWOs are there. Maybe we'll find some evidence ourselves.

Also, be thinking of Frank Wiley, the Project Coyote leader, who has had his foot badly injured. Hope he gets well soon!