florida grasshopper sparrow

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 population of the ailing Florida grasshopper sparrow appears to be stabilizing.

Wildlife managers are celebrating a significant milestone in a more than $2 million effort to rescue North America’s most endangered bird from extinction.

Fewer than 80 Florida grasshopper sparrows remain on the Central Florida prairie. Now to boost their population researchers for the first time are releasing captive-bred sparrows in the wild.90.7's environmental reporter Amy Green joined Juan Oteyza and Becky Schneider of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as they released some of the latest sparrows.

It's a milestone in the effort to save North America's most endangered bird: For the first time wildlife managers are releasing captive-raised Florida grasshopper sparrows in the wild.

A central Florida bird that scientists say is North America's most endangered is near extinction.

An iPod chirps from a shrub as the sun rises over the central Florida prairie, sending pink rays over the saw palmetto and wiregrass. In the distance hardwood hammocks obscure the horizon."When the light is like it is right now we call it the golden hour," says Erin Ragheb of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That's why she works quickly.