Wildlife Nation Exclusive Clip: Birds of a Feather Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure across America to help save California condors and Massachusetts saltmarsh sparrows. First, Jeff travels to the spectacular coastline of Big Sur, California, to
Join host Jeff Corwin on an adventure across America to help save California condors and Massachusetts saltmarsh sparrows. First, Jeff travels to the spectacular coastline of Big Sur, California, to the renowned condor sanctuary of the Ventana Wildlife Society. Jeff helps prepare young condors for their new life in the wild and learns about how condors shape their environment - and how the environment shapes them. Later, Jeff travels to his home state to work alongside the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Wildlife on a mission to save a unique species of bird that only lives in salt marsh habitats of the East Coast.
Video Transcript:
Jeff Corwin:
Our adventure begins along the central coast of the great state of California. Here, the Santa Lucia mountains rise from the Pacific ocean in a region named Big Sur. This pristine and undeveloped coastline has been described as one of the most stunning meeting points of land and sea on the planet.
Circling high above is the mighty California condor. Today, the presence of wild California condors above the cliffs of this coastal state is a miracle of modern conservation.
Jeff Corwin:
Look at that. Is that adult or sub-adult?
Pamela Flick:
Well, because we can see the white wing patch under the wing, that would be an adult condor that we see right now.
Jeff Corwin:
Now. So that's at least five or six years old.
Pamela Flick:
At least. Yeah.
Jeff Corwin:
Incredible. My friends, this is Pam Flick. She is of course, with Defenders of Wildlife. And what makes the story of the California condor is so remarkable?
Pamela Flick:
Well, Jeff, I think it's a special story because it's one of hope and one that demonstrates that it truly takes a village to save a species from extinction.
Jeff Corwin:
This is North America's largest flying bird. It's got nearly a 10 foot wing span, it's weighing 20 pounds plus in size. It takes a lot to keep these birds alive, doesn't it?
Pamela Flick:
It does. They can range over 200 miles in a single day on foraging missions. They need a lot of habitat.
Jeff Corwin:
So today we can come along this coast and have this spectacular moment. But this was a species that was in true jeopardy, wasn't it?
Pamela Flick:
Absolutely. In 1982, the entire population of California condors was just 22 individuals. At the time, the decision was made to pull all the condors from the wild to start a captive breeding program.
Jeff Corwin:
But they're a complex creature. It takes years and years for an adult to get to that point where it can replace itself.
Pamela Flick:
Yeah, at least six years. And that's one of the problems because they have such a slow population growth and they only breed once every two to three years and they only lay one egg per breeding attempt.
Jeff Corwin:
So Pam, how many condors do we have today?
Pamela Flick:
Well, the entire population in the world is roughly 500, and of that, about 300 are free flying today here in the central coast of California, in the mountains of Southern California in Baja, Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. And there are plans to reintroduce condors to the Yurok ancestral lands in Northwestern California within the next year.
Jeff Corwin:
That's amazing.
Jeff Corwin:
Condors have been pulled from the brink of extinction, but the work has just begun. From the famous Pacific Coast Highway One, we're traveling to a protected mountain peak high above the clouds.
Well friends, get ready. You're about to experience one of my most favorite conservation projects in North America. We are working with the Ventana Wildlife Society. Their mission is to save what I consider the ambassador of the California sky.
The Ventana Wildlife Society currently monitors more than 100 condors and 10 active breeding pairs. Today, senior biologist, Joe Burnett, and his team are preparing the next generation of condors for their new lives in the wild.
Jeff Corwin:
Joe, so what is our mission today?
Joe Burnett:
Today, we're going to get these tags on the birds. So this is how we'll visually identify each individual out in the field with this color number combination. But our first step, we got to get them in the nets and catch them. So let's go do it.
Jeff Corwin:
All right, let's go do it. This is going to be fun.
Jeff Corwin:
We enter an area called the flight cage. There are nine juvenile condors in this enclosure and all of them are the product of active breeding programs.
Jeff Corwin:
What we're trying to do is carefully trying to corral the condor. We don't want to stress it out.
Jeff Corwin:
But we can only work with one at a time.
Jeff Corwin:
Look at the size of this bird. It's just amazing. This is a very young bird we're. Right now it has
probably an eight foot wing span. Just incredible.
Jeff Corwin:
For this team, the safety of each condor is the highest priority.
Jeff Corwin:
I got a good grip...
We've hit our character limit. Leave us a comment for the rest of the transcript.
...
Read more 
No More Deaths
