Mountain Home, AR Author Recounts His Search for the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

A distinctive call or a flash of wings can give a birdwatcher only seconds to identify a bird. In "Legendary Ivory Bill Encounters: One Man's Journey Into The Swamp: A True Story," author Keith Heide recalls those fleeting moments and the years he spent documenting what he believes were encounters with the ivory-billed woodpecker.

Spanning more than a decade, this book follows Heide into swamps in the American South as he listens for calls, watches the treetops, and records what he sees and hears. Drawing on his field journals and video recordings, he brings readers along for the long stretches of waiting as well as the brief encounters that prompted him to look again.

At the center of Heide's account is a question that has long drawn people into these wetlands. Could the ivory-billed woodpecker still survive? Heide tells the story from his perspective as a field observer, giving readers a close look at what he noticed, how he interpreted it, and why the search deepened his interest in protecting the places these birds once inhabited.

About the Author
Keith Heide writes about birds, wildlife observation, and conservation. His interest in American history and the natural world informs his work, and he hopes his accounts will encourage readers to spend more time observing wildlife and learning about the habitats it depends on.

"Legendary Ivory Bill Encounters: One Man's Journey Into The Swamp: A True Story" is a 221-page paperback at the suggested retail price of $15.99 (also available in hardback). The ISBN is 979-8-30076-531-6. You can find the book on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DP3BDCH3