Three years ago the Florida grasshopper sparrow was on the brink of extinction.
Now the sparrow is rebounding, thanks to an emergency effort to breed the birds in captivity and release them on the central Florida prairie, the only place on Earth where they are found in the wild.
The Florida grasshopper sparrow is a drab-colored bird, no larger than the palm of your hand.
When the wildlife agencies in 2019 began releasing the sparrows on the prairie, after agonizing debate, no one knew whether the effort would be successful. The Florida grasshopper sparrow was North America鈥檚 most endangered bird, with around 80 left in the wild. Some feared releasing the birds would condemn them to extinction 鈥� the same fate as Florida鈥檚 dusky seaside sparrow, which died out in 1987.
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But since that first release in 2019 the sparrows have wowed supporters with their resilience. The captive-raised sparrows have paired and bred with their wild counterparts, producing offspring that are breeding. Juan Oteyza of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the total wild population has jumped to more than 120.
鈥淲e often just see them and don鈥檛 really think of them as released birds. And that鈥檚 a great thing, right?,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey just incorporated into the wild population really well.鈥�
Some of the captive-raised sparrows began their lives far from the prairie, at the Brevard Zoo.
Kelly Currier (left) and Kerry Sweeney, both of the Brevard Zoo, are never sad to see the sparrows go to the prairie. Photo by Amy Green
Kelly Currier, conservation coordinator at the zoo, keeps her voice low to avoid spooking the skittish sparrows, as her colleague steps inside a wooden and wire-mesh enclosure with a morning meal of crickets and worms.
鈥淚t is how you act when you鈥檙e in here,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f you are calm they can feel it, and if you are slow it affects how they are going to act as well.鈥�
The Brevard Zoo is among four partners raising sparrows in captivity, after a few of the birds were rescued from flooded and failing nests. The rescues ended years of deliberation over how taking sparrows from the wild for captive breeding might affect their critically endangered population.
At the zoo, inside each enclosure is like a little patch of the prairie, with tall wild grasses and branches where the sparrows can perch and look out. The staff spends hours preparing their meals and observing them.
Currier has nicknamed her favorite Wild One, for the sparrow鈥檚 fierce devotion to her hatchlings. She is never sad to see them go to the prairie.
鈥淚 want for every one of these birds to be out there living their life that they want to live,鈥� Currier says. 鈥淪o I鈥檓 so happy when they go. It鈥檚 like, Bye! Good luck!鈥�
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The Florida grasshopper sparrow still faces many threats. The sparrow remains one of the most endangered birds on the continent, with a population so small that one thing could wipe it out, like a disease or weather event. Oteyza says the sparrow鈥檚 plight could be a sign of trouble for other species.
鈥淭his may be telling us that there鈥檚 something else that is wrong for other species, and it鈥檚 a bigger problem,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd this problem may be associated with climate change.鈥�
Still, Oteyza says the biggest threat to the Florida grasshopper sparrow is habitat loss. Here in fast-growing central Florida the prairie itself is vanishing.
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