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. Other creatures have wrongly been presumed extinct, but the reappearance of the Ivory-bill was celebrated around the world as the rediscovery of a lifetime, prompting the largest recovery effort ever undertaken for a lost species. 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. But continued sightings by expert birders only highlighted the mysterious absence of credible evidence. 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.

Presented in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, Nebraska Chapter, with a post-show panel discussion on conservation in Nebraska and our state’s threatened and endangered species. Panel: Rick Schneider, Coordinator/Ecologist, Nebraska Natural Heritage Program, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission; Mace Hack, State Director of The Nature Conservancy, Nebraska Chapter; and John P. McCarty, Prof. of Biology & Director of the Environmental Studies Program at UNO. Moderator: Jay Leighter, Asst. Prof. in the Dept. of Communication Studies at Creighton University.