The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

We and millions around the world were captivated by the apparent re-discovery of this spectacular bird in the Cache River area of Arkansas last year*. This month's issue of "National Geographic" has a follow-up article. Alas, it says here that the Lord God bird is gone forever, that the intensive efforts to provide conclusive proof of the bird's existence in the last year having come to naught, the most reasonable conclusion is that the 2004-5 sightings were in error, a product of hope and emotion, rather than fact. God damn it and God bless the Ivory-bill, now gone forever. This is Public Occurrences.

*Public Occurrences, August 5, 2005.

PUBLIC OCCURRENCES