Saving Florida's Endangered Grasshopper Sparrow
The Florida grasshopper sparrow is America’s most endangered songbird, with fewer than 200 remaining in the wild. Once thriving across Florida’s dry prairies, this little brown bird now faces near extinction due to the loss of over 90% of its original habitat.
In 2015, Andrew Schumann of White Oak Conservation and many passionate colleagues and organizations teamed up to prevent this from happening. The team developed and implemented the first conservation breeding program for the species, and today, thanks to the collaboration, not only are wild populations of Florida grasshopper sparrow increasing for the first time, but protected Florida dry prairie habitat is also increasing.
Screening Room: The Little Brown Bird
Watch and discuss The Little Brown Bird from 7 - 8 p.m. on Monday, May 18, at the Highlands Regional Library. The 32-minute screening will be followed by a short presentation and Q & A with Andrew Schumann, Conservation and Recovery Program Manager, White Oak Conservation, and Board Member, Duval Audubon Society.
This program is part of our 2026 Conservation Series.
About our speaker: Andrew Schumann's career at White Oak Conservation has allowed him to work with some of the world’s most endangered animals. He has a strong interest recovering wild populations of animals through rearing and release programs. At White Oak he has been able to do this, and has worked with Andean condor, whooping crane, Mississippi sandhill crane, and Florida grasshopper sparrow reintroduction, translocation, and supplementation projects.
About the film: Created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Wildpath, this documentary highlights the endangered Florida grasshopper sparrow. Biologist Fabiola 'Fabby' Baeza-Tarin and an unexpected team, including Andrew Schumann, are shown working to protect these sparrows, their dwindling habitat, and the headwaters of the Everglades.
About our community partner: Duval Audubon Society is a local chapter of the National Audubon Society serving Clay, Duval, and Nassau Counties in Northeast Florida. It's mission: Connecting people with nature, conserving and restoring natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife.
Funding for these programs was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities with funds from The Mosaic Company. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these programs do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or The Mosaic Company.
Further Reading:
- The Gulf South: An Anthology of Environmental Writing
- Florida Scrub-Jay: Notes on a Vanishing Bird, by Mark Jerome Walters
- Saving Florida: Women’s Fight for the Environment in the Twentieth Century, by Leslie Kemp Poole
- Paradise Lost?: The Environmental History of Florida
- National Geographic Field Guide to Birds: Florida
- Travels on the St. Johns River, by John Bartram
- A Wing and a Prayer: The Race to Save Our Vanishing Birds, by Anders Gyllenhaal
- Birds and Us: A 12,000 Year History from Cave Art to Conservation, by Tim Birkhead
- The Wilder Heart of Florida: More Writers Inspired by Florida Nature
- Guide to the Great Florida Birding Trail East Section: A Project of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
You May Also Like...
-
Life Lab: Lights Out for Bird Migration
- with Johnna Bellen, Duval Audubon Society
- part of the 2026 Conservation Series
- 2 - 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 21, at Willow Branch Library
-
Life Lab: Love Your Backyard Birds
- with Elizabeth Filippelli, Duval Audubon Society
- 7 - 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 27, at Webb Wesconnett Library
Be the first to know about upcoming History Chats and more!
