The 'Akiapōlā'au is a bright yellow bird with a black eye mask, found only in the upper elevations on the Big Island of Hawai'i. But its most distinct feature is its totally unique, uneven bill. The top of the bill is long, skinny, and curved like a sickle. Once abundant, habitat loss and…

Known locally as 'Akē'akē, the Band-rumped Storm-Petrel is one of the smallest and rarest seabirds that nests in the Hawaiian Islands. To protect the nests of these rare birds, scientists have to find them… but it’s not easy finding a nest burrow tucked into the mountainside. That’s why…

The ‘Ua’u or Hawaiian Petrel is an endangered species once thought extinct or nearly so. But in recent decades, biologists have relocated some of their well-hidden nests — such as underneath the lava fields of Mauna Loa, an active volcano. Areas where the lava has long since cooled have…

We end our season with a little seabird that’s making a comeback. The Hawaiian Petrel, or ‘Ua’u, was once written off as going or gone from the islands. But after recent discoveries of remnant colonies, we see how some human intervention with the right tools can make a huge difference for…

Hawai‘i has its own species of crow, the clever and charismatic ʻAlalā. But the species hasn’t been able to survive in its shrinking native habitat. The only reason the ʻAlalā still exists is because of captive breeding programs. Reintroducing them to the wild is fraught with challenges…

In the season premiere we travel to Hawai‘i to meet a unique group of birds called honeycreepers. There were once over 55 species of honeycreepers, but over half of them have gone extinct. One of them, the Palila, is still holding on. What do we need to do to protect it?

The Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary in Northwest California is an important stop along the Pacific Flyway, one of the four main routes for bird migration through North America. Visitors are sometimes surprised to learn that this wildlife sanctuary is also the city of Arcata’s…