In July, The New Yorker featured Archbold's Dr. Angela Tringali for her team’s work to recover the endangered Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. Archbold scientists are part of a collaborative effort with other public and private conservation groups to save the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. Archbold has worked closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Department of Defense to reintroduce the birds at the Avon Park Air Force Range. Archbold scientists have seen great success, gaining recognition from The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins. The Florida Grasshopper Sparrow was listed as Endangered in 1977, and by 2016 had declined to about 300 birds. In 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission initiated a captive breeding program to prevent extinction of the species. In 2021, Archbold scientists worked with these agencies to reintroduce 99 sparrows to the prairies on Avon Park Air Force Range. According to Elizabeth Abraham, who leads the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow work at the Range for Archbold, "The sparrow population on the Range was six times bigger in 2022 than it was in 2021. We found more than 7 times as many nests, and 93% of the chicks produced in 2022 had at least one parent that was from the captive breeding program." Archbold biologists and many partners from the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow Working Group continue to release sparrows from the captive breeding program to other protected, managed areas. While the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow is still imperiled, biologists have increasing hope for the species. How can you help? Your donation to Archbold today helps us continue important work like this.

Read the full article here: Florida's Vanishing Sparrows by Dexter Filkins

Photo caption: Elizabeth Abraham spotting Florida Grasshopper Sparrows on Avon Park Air Force Range