Immortalizing Extinct Birds

On the subject of woodpeckers, I was reminded today that a sub-species of Lewis’s Woodpecker (the Georgia Depression population) used to call parts of western Washington state (where I’ll be in a few short days) home, until the entire sub-species was extirpated in the mid-1970s.  What a beautiful bird, and what a shame that it is gone. Todd McCrain and the folks at The Lost Bird Project have made it their mission to work to immortalize extinct North American birds through art. The Memorials to Extinct Birds effort is stunning, moving, and hopeful. If you haven’t seen the documentary film that chronicles this effort, it is well worth the time (I'm working to arrange a screening in Columbia, SC in the fall).