I got an email from Norma, Bobby Harrison's wife. It looks like next year Arkansas is doing a Gala in Huntsville, (and not in Brinkley) for the infamous woodpecker instead of a bird festival on February 24, 2007. Norma has put together a site for Bobby here.
If you can't make it to the gala and you would like to help, you can still donate. I hope the town of Brinkley still gets some birders coming through. If the Ivory-bill Festival doesn't pan out, they could so turn their spectacularly ginormous blackbird flocks into a tourist attraction. I seriously could watch those for hours. Here's the rest of the info about the new Ivory-billed Woodpecker Foundation the Harrison's are starting:
Introducing the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Foundation
Because
“Second Chances are extremely rare.”
“Deep in the bayou,
through the
thickness
of the mist,
The long, lost
ivory-bill,
thought to be extinct,
has been
re-discovered;
And a Foundation
has been born
to care for it.”
© nh
Our Mission
For the locating, recovery, protection, management, preservation and conservation of Ivory-billed woodpeckers; through scientific research and documentation; and the education of the general public.
Dedicated to
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker
The most endangered bird species in this country
February 27, 2004 has been hailed by ornithologists, birders, conservation organizations and the media as a Victory for Nature. It was the date that Bobby Harrison, from Huntsville, Alabama and Tim Gallagher, from Ithica, New York rediscovered the magnificent ivory-billed woodpecker, long believed to be extinct in the big Woods of eastern Arkansas after, more than 60 years since the last confirmed sighting of the species in the United States. It highlights the need to preserve the world's critical habitats. Rediscovering the Ivory-billed woodpecker provides a rare SECOND CHANCE to save a species.
You are cordially invited to attend the
Inaugural Celebration Gala
on Saturday, February 24, 2007
in Huntsville, AL at 6:00 PM.
For additional
Gala and contribution information
please contact:
Pam White@256-883-1199
Cassandra Decoux@256-830-0738 (pm only)
Norma Harrison @ 256-776-2003 or 256-651-8466
www.ivory-billedwoodpeckerfoundation.org
or email: ivorybillwp@aol.com.