COTTON PLANT, Ark. (AP) — If the ivory-billed woodpecker was magic to early-day American Indians, perhaps it can work some magic for the modern-day residents trying to scratch out a living in this poor Delta region. The striking bird – not extinct after all – has already attracted eager birdwatchers to the dying communities that dot the area. Rooms at a nearby Days Inn are filling up for fall – prime season for birders, the Associated Press reports.

”I wish I had a place to get T-shirts made up with the woodpecker on them that say Cotton Plant,” said Ester Hicks, who runs Nannie’s Kitchen cafe.

© 2005, Glynn Wilson. All rights reserved.