Birdwatch America 4

Sunday, 4 p.m., marked the end of the 2006 trade show. The event included the introduction of interesting products that appeal to backyard birders and to listers as well as a Saturday night presentation by Bobby Ray Harrison about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

I enjoyed hearing about Bobby's "obsession" with the bird that he and Tim Gallagher rediscovered in Arkansas in February 2004. I've heard his tale before but haven't tired of hearing about the huge woodpecker that was thought to be extinct in the United States. (Apparently other birders haven't tired either, given the response to Bobby's updates that appear in each issue of the magazine.)

We didn't see any woodpeckers this weekend, but I spied American Robins outside the convention center Friday and Saturday and a hawk sitting on a lamppost over Highway 85 today. Otherwise, we saw those colorful birds above every time we walked into the exhibit hall.