Ivory-billed Woodpecker | Southeast Region

Photos

The photos below were taken by Dr. James Tanner, and were given to the Service upon the establishment of Tensas National Wildlife Refuge in 1980 on lands of the former Singer Tract. Prior to the 2004 sightings, the Singer Tract is the location of the last confirmed Ivory-billed Woodpecker in 1944. (Click on thumbnail for a larger image)

Adult ivory-billed woodpecker in flight, April 1939	Ash tree with ivory-billed woodpecker roosting holes, June 1937	Cut-over wood near Singer Tract, June 1937	Cypress at end of Rainey Lake, March 1940	Cypress in Methiglum Bayou, March 1940
Cypress on Rainey Lake, May 1937	Cypress on Rainey Lake, May 1939	Cypress, John's Bayou, April 1935	Dead hackberry fed upon by ivory-billed woodpeckers, June 1937	Dead limb scaled of bark by ivory-billed woodpeckers, June 1937
Dead-top gum with ivory-billed woodpecker feeding sign, May 1937	Dead-top gum with ivory-billed woodpecker feeding sign, May 1937	Female ivory-billed woodpecker at nest in red maple, April 1935.	Female ivory-billed woodpecker at nest in red maple, April 1935. Enlargement.	Greenleaf Bend, gum ridge near Rainey Lake, December 1937
Ivory-billed woodpecker nest tree, Nuttall's Oak, April 1939	Ivory-billed woodpecker pair changing at nest, April 1935.	Ivory-billed woodpecker pair changing at nest, April 1935. Enlargement	James T. Tanner standing next to a big honey locust near Methiglum Bayou, May 1	James T. Tanner standing next to a large sweet gum, May 1937
John's Bayou, winter 1937 or 1938	Male ivory-billed woodpecker at nest in red maple, April 1935 (1)	Male ivory-billed woodpecker at nest in red maple, April 1935 (1). Enlargement	Male ivory-billed woodpecker at nest in red maple, April 1935 (2)	Male ivory-billed woodpecker at nest in red maple, April 1935 (2). Enlargement
Nestling ivory-billed woodpecker and J.J. Kuhn, March 6, 1938	Nestling ivory-billed woodpecker on J.J. Kuhn, March 6, 1938	Paul Kellogg and J. J. Kuhn when sound recording of ivory-billed woodpecker was being made, April 1935	Rainey Lake, Greenlea Bend, May 1939	Rainey Lake, Greenlea[f] Bend, May 1937
Temporary camp on Indian Lake	Tensas River near Dishroom Bend, June 1937	Tensas River, July 1937	Young ivory-billed woodpecker in flight, April 1939

Fast Facts --

In the early 1900s, conservationists warned of the impending extinction of the Ivory-billed woodpecker.

From 1937 to 1939, James Tanner, a young doctoral student at Cornell University, researched the Ivory-billed woodpeckers of the Singer Tract.

Prior to the 2004 discovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker at Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas, this was the last authenticated sighting of the bird in the United States.

Much of the information comes from “Hope Is The Thing With Feathers: A Personal Chronicle of Vanished Birds” by Christopher Cokinos.

Last updated: March 11, 2010