Hi. I know of a very similar woodpecker story to that of our Ivory-Billed. On the Island of Kefalonia, Greece (my parents' birthplace), Black Woodpeckers (Dryocopus martius), similar and closely related to our Pileated, was rediscovered in Mt. Aenos National Park after nearly 100 years disappearance! (See the Birds of Greece, G. Handrinos). Intrigued, I went there in April, 2000 and camped on the mountain for three days, seeing a bird only once and hearing it twice. I was amazed that a population of a bird this size could go undetected for such a long time, in a fairly small park (the only island N.P. in Greece). I was looking for signs that a Pileated would create, ie. deep excavations and other unmistakable woodwork. I looked over thousands of trees, but there was no signs. In fact I was getting ready to call my cousin for my ride back to the village early one morning when a Black Woodpecker called (man, talked about a rush!!). Later on, still confused as to an absence of physical evidence, I began to study the trees (Mt. Aenos was made a National Park to preserve one of the last remaining stands of unhybridized Chefalonian Fir). I saw carpenter-like ants just under the bark of many trees. If the trees had been infested for a long time, the bark was easily removed, and very often contained small scorpions, presumably there to eat the ants. My point is the woodpeckers wouldn't have to wood peck and hence, leave little evidence of their existance. At least this was my observation.

Coincidently Kefalinia (Chefallonia) is the only Mediterranean Island that has Black Woodpeckers.

I hope y'all enjoyed my story, and I remain keeping my fingers crossed for our beloved Ivory-Bills.

Take Care,

Andy Papadatos


----- Original Message -----
From: Ian Paulsen<mailto:birdbooker at zipcon.net>
To: Larry Schwitters<mailto:lpatters at ix.netcom.com>
Cc: tweeters at u.washington.edu<mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 8:08 PM
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Ivory Billed Woodpecker located?


HI:
I got a cryptic e-mail from an ivory-billed woodpecker expert that says:

Ian -- watch national news tomorrow evening

--
Ian Paulsen
Bainbridge Island, WA, USA
A.K.A.: "Birdbooker"
"Rallidae all the way!"
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