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douglas9

(4,358 posts)
Mon May 25, 2020, 05:54 AM May 2020

Florida grasshopper sparrows now producing chicks

Scientists have long feared the Florida grasshopper sparrow would be the next bird to go extinct in North America. Now, though, scores of birds, bred in captivity and released into the grasslands of Central Florida, have started producing chicks that researchers hope will be the key to the species’ survival.

The population of the grasshopper sparrow had dwindled to just 30 breeding pairs when a coalition of nonprofit and government agencies forged a plan to rebuild the population with captive breeding.

Scientists experimented with different breeding techniques before hitting on a formula that placed the birds in roomy cages, raised by their parents and surrounded by fields. About 150 young sparrows were released in batches over the past year in hopes they’d be ready to mate this spring.

For weeks, researchers have been patrolling a grassy prairie south of Orlando, monitoring the birds to see if they could survive in the wild. The sparrows went right to work finding mates, building nests and are now raising the first chicks of the season.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/florida-grasshopper-sparrows-now-producing-chicks/2020/05/22/94091cb8-9b8d-11ea-ad09-8da7ec214672_story.html

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Florida grasshopper sparrows now producing chicks (Original Post) douglas9 May 2020 OP
Very nice to hear. I was unaware of this. dameatball May 2020 #1
No photo in the article, so I went to find one and also found this succinct observation: chia May 2020 #2
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