On Dec. 18, the Menunkatuck Audubon Society, a local chapter and Audubon Connecticut, the state office of the National Audubon Society, will host a free public film screening of Ghost Bird at the Blackstone Memorial Library in Branford from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
The screening is free and open to the public. RSVPs not required.
'Ghost Bird' the movie explores the mystery surrounding the rediscovery and shows how one phantom woodpecker has changed a sleepy Southern town forever. In 2005, scientists announced that the Ivory-billed woodpecker, a species thought to be extinct for 60 years, had been found in the swamps of Eastern Arkansas. Set in a murky swamp overrun with birders, scientists, and reporters, Ghost Bird explores the limits of certainty, the seductive power of hope, and how one phantom woodpecker changed a sleepy Southern town forever. Millions of dollars poured in from the government while ornithologists and birders flooded the swamps to find the rare bird. Down the road, the town of Brinkley, Arkansas - itself on the brink of extinction – was transformed by the hope, commerce, and controversy surrounding their feathered friend. Now six years later, the woodpecker remains as elusive as ever.
Ghost Bird brings the Ivory-bill's blurry rediscovery into focus revealing our uneasy relationship with nature and the increasing uncertainty of our place within it. With over one hundred bird species having already been driven to extinction, what are the chances of one coming back, and if one did, how would we respond? Answers arrived in April of 2005 when scientists from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology held a press conference at the U.S. Department of the Interior announcing that the world's third largest woodpecker, believed extinct for over half a century, had been rediscovered. At a time when extinctions are disturbingly commonplace, the miraculous reappearance of the Ivory-billed woodpecker was welcome news celebrated by nature lovers and conservationists across the planet. This film is a reminder of how local conservation plays a vital role in preserving the planet's precious biodiversity.
To see a trailer and learn more, visit: http://ghostbirdmovie.com/
No RSVP required. Questions about local Audubon activities can be directed to Audubon Connecticut State Board Member, Dennis Riordan at: 203-387-2167. Donations to support future Audubon chapter events and conservation projects are welcome at the door.
The Menunkatuck Audubon Society's January 2012 newsletter is available here
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