All language subtitles for Extraordinary.Birder.with.Christian.Cooper.S01E03.720p.WEB.h264-EDITH

CHRISTIAN: Damn,
look at all those ravens.

I'm Christian Cooper
and I am a birder.

Oh! That was cool.

My dad was a
biology teacher and

gave me my first pair
of binoculars when I was

about ten years old,
and I never put 'em down.

(squawking)

Wow, not something
I've seen in my life.

Now, I'm traveling the globe
to explore the world of birds.

That's amazing.

It's like a cloud.

And their relationship with us.

Ow!

Those of us who
don't have wings.

Oh, yes.

Oh-ho-ho!

And along the way, I'll
show you what I adore about

these crazy smart...

Your first look at
the outside world.

Dazzling...

It's fantabulous.

And super powered
feather creatures.

The things I do for the birds.

(theme music playing).

CHRISTIAN: Hawai'i, an
enchanted land of sun,

surf and all the
aloha you can handle.

But if you step
away from the resorts,

you'll find another hidden
side to this tropical paradise,

a wild, colorful one
with active volcanoes,

lush green rainforests

and birds galore.

Birds so unique you won't find
them anywhere else on Earth.

Oh, my God.

Wild Hawaii belongs to its
magical birds who evolved here

without any competition
until humans arrived and

brought invasive
species with them,

which is why the birds
here are so incredibly special.

So, I've come to the big island
of Hawaii to discover some of

these extraordinary creatures
and meet their human helpers.

(squawking)

(squawking)

CHRISTIAN: I'm here
in Hilo's Pana'ewa zoo

to find out about
one of Hawaii's most

endangered birds, the 'alala,

or as it's known in the
mainland, the Hawaiian crow.

Now, you may ask yourself,
what is a birder doing at a zoo?

You may ask yourself, what does
a crow have to do with Hawaii?

We're gonna find out all about
that and also what this place is

doing to bring the
'alala back from the brink.

Kyler Okake is the zoo supervisor
at Hilo's Pana'ewa zoo,

and today he wants
me to meet one of his

very best feathered friends.

KYLER: I'm gonna
introduce you to Loli'ana.

(squawking)

Loli'ana's our
ten year old male.

CHRISTIAN: Ten years old?

(squawking)

When they call like that,

are they sending any
particular signal or sign?

KYLER: Typically, we've
come to understand that as

their stranger danger call.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, really?
KYLER: Yes.

CHRISTIAN: So, they're, like,
"Who the heck is this guy?"

KYLER: Basically, yeah.

CHRISTIAN: I do
speak a little corvid.

KYLER: Yes, corvid.

CHRISTIAN: Can I try to,
to speak back to him?

KYLER: Give it a shot.

(corvid calls)

(crow squawks)

CHRISTIAN: He's like,
"That was idiotic."

(laughs).

CHRISTIAN: Hawaiian crows
can be chatty because there are

some serious brains behind
those beady, little eyes.

These guys know
how to use at least

24 different calls
to communicate.

They also have great memories,

recognize faces and are
incredibly resourceful.

'Alala make being called a
bird brain a huge compliment.

(squawks)

So, how many of these
guys are in the wild?

KYLER: Currently, zero.
CHRISTIAN: None.

KYLER: Yeah, none,
at the moment.

CHRISTIAN: Not long ago, the
total number of wild 'alala

dropped below 80 in
the forest habitats

they prefer on the island.

Invasive predators, disease
and habitat loss had taken

a serious toll
on the population.

So, in the 1970's scientists
began bringing individual

wild crows into
conservation programs with

the hopes of
literally saving the species.

So, the only 'alalas left are

all in captive
breeding programs?

KYLER: Yes.

CHRISTIAN: Thankfully, it's
working and there are now more

than 110 'alala in facilities
across the big island and Maui,

including this guy.

KYLER: Loli'ana tends to be
a little more reserved when

it comes to interaction, but
he is a lot more mischievous

when it comes to his items.

He'll attempt to destroy them,

almost like a dog
might tear your house apart.

We had a native plant
in here that was fruiting.

Loli'ana didn't
know that it was food.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, really?

KYLER: Until I
picked one and ate one,

and then he actually
came down and looked at it

and started picking off,

and by the end of the
day there was nothing left.

CHRISTIAN: Wow!

The goal is to eventually
send the birds raised in

the captive breeding
program into the wild.

So, there may come a day when they've
gotta make it on their own.

To give them a
wing up, you might say,

they've gotta master
basic survival skills,

like finding food.

Loli'ana, however, is
not a candidate for release,

but is still taking part
in wild pro school and today,

I'm a substitute teacher.

KYLER: Let's go
hide some treats.

CHRISTIAN: Okay.

Food, glorious food.

KYLER: Yes, we got meal worms...
CHRISTIAN: Wow.

KYLER: Beef slices...
CHRISTIAN: Yeah.

KYLER: And we have rodents.
CHRISTIAN: Wow, dead mice.

Not exactly my idea of brunch,

but for Loli'ana,
it's a five star feast.

Oh, someone's not
quite interested.

KYLER: Now, he's ready for it.

As you can see on these logs,
we have some holes in them,

so we'll hide some of
these little treats in there.

CHRISTIAN: All right.

You're gonna make me
touch meal worms with my hand.

I am grossed out, but
I'll do it for the birds.

These tests may seem like fun
and games to a curious crow,

but they're teaching them the
skills that a captive bred crow

needs to thrive in the wild.

Get in there. There you go.

Now, let's see the
bird fish you out.

Go for it, Loli'ana.

You got this.

Oddly enough, Loli'ana
doesn't seem that interested in

the meal worm treat
that we've hidden for him.

I think we're being played.

KYLER: I think we are.

We can try one of these mice.

CHRISTIAN: Is he more
likely to go for a mouse?

(squawks)

KYLER: This is actually
Loli'ana's favorite treat.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, is mice.
KYLER: Yeah, is mice.

CHRISTIAN: Interesting.

We're gonna up the ante
with a tasty mouse morsel,

but we're not
gonna make it easy.

So, we're gonna play the
equivalent of the shell game.

We're gonna make sure Loli'ana
sees that we have the mouse,

and then we're both gonna pretend to
hide the mouse somewhere,

but only one of us will
actually hid the mouse.

We'll see how
attentive and how exacting

Loli'ana's powers
of observation are.

(squawking)

Here's some for you.

KYLER: Thank you.

CHRISTIAN: No, here,
pretend to pass.

This is so mean.

All right, we mean humans are
now gonna see if we faked out an 'alala.

(squawking)

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: So, Loli'ana
is like, "What did they do?"

Which one will
Loli'ana go for first?

(squawking)

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: Oh!

Turns out, you've gotta get up
pretty early in the morning to

outsmart a Hawaiian crow.

For a while there, I wasn't
sure which one he was gonna go

for and then he
was like, "No, over here."

KYLER: This is the one.
CHRISTIAN: Darn you, bird.

KYLER: Can't fool me.

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: Mm-mm.

Loli'ana, thank you,
nice to meet you,

and you're too
smart for your own good.

Yeah, it's fun and games,

but it's also
important for their survival.

It's the rarest corvid in the
world and I would feel bereft if

it was gone from
the wild forever.

All these people are
putting in all these efforts

and all these resources,

and it's a great thing.

It's, it's, it's
what it's all about.

My next stop couldn't be
more different than the zoo.

It's wild, like, really wild.

I'm heading to the Pu'u
Maka'ala natural area reserve, a remote,

protected forest high
up on the slopes of Mauna Loa,

the largest
active volcano on Earth.

You won't find any
cotton candy or crowds here.

In fact, you'll hardly
see any people at all,

but there are birds everywhere.

Hey, Bret.

BRET: Hey, aloha, Chris.

CHRISTIAN: If you're a
Lord of the Rings type,

getting invited here is
the birding equivalent to

being given a
guided tour of Rivendell,

by Elrond himself.

Elrond, in this case, is
biologist Bret Nainoa Mossman.

It is striking, I,
I'll give you that.

BRET: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: He's gonna help me
find two types of Hawaiian birds

that can't be found
anywhere else on the Earth;

the 'oma'o and the
mysterious 'akiapola'au.

BRET: So, if you don't mind, I'm
gonna have you carry a couple of

these birds bags and a couple of
speakers and then we're gonna go

out and try to capture
a couple of these birds.

CHRISTIAN: Sounds like a plan.

Bret's job involves protecting
some of the rarest forest birds,

which aren't easy to find.

You know what
you're listening for.

My ears don't know
what I'm listening for.

But luckily I've heard that he's a
little bit of a bird whisperer.

(chirping)

BRET: The 'akiapola'au's is
already calling back to us.

(chirps)

There's no other bird species on
the planet that has a bill structure that

is identical or
even similar to theirs.

CHRISTIAN: Wow!

'Akis are bright
yellow forest birds that have

a totally unique bill, that's
kinda like a Swiss Army Knife.

They use the thicker,
bottom part to hammer into

the bark of the tree,
like a woodpecker.

Then, they use the more refined,

curved upper bill to
dill out fatty grubs.

It's cool to watch,
if you see an 'aki.

(bird whistles)

BRET: Oh, there.

That was the 'akiapola'au
that just whistled right there.

CHRISTIAN: If,
being the key word.

BRET: 'Akiapola'au are
really difficult birds to

track and follow in the forest.

CHRISTIAN: Why do they
cover so much distance?

BRET: Because they are
feeding on these large grubs,

they have to just cover a lot
of ground in order to find them.

CHRISTIAN: Hmm.

BRET: So, the best way to find 'akis
is really to listen for their sounds.

You can actually
hear their tapping,

just like a woodpecker.

CHRISTIAN: Being with Bret is
like mainlining information on

these birds, so I'm just, like,
absorbing it through my pores.

I'm ready for some bird.
Show me the feathers.

BRET: Let's do it.

CHRISTIAN: Today, we're not
just here to see the birds,

we're also here to catch them
for research Bret is doing.

So, we'll be using nets,
but to get to the nets,

we'll have to hoof it.

Whoa!

BRET: Ooh.

CHRISTIAN: You absolutely
have the right footwear.

Me? Not so much.

BRET: Yeah, you
might get a little muddy.

So, this is gonna be the
first net that we set up.

CHRISTIAN: Wow, these are
the tallest mist-nets I've ever seen.

BRET: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: Forest birds are
high fliers and like to hang out

way up in trees,
so to catch them,

some of our nets reach almost
50 feet up into the canopy.

It's a test of my
manual dexterity.

I'm failing.

(laughs)

BRET: So, Chris, I don't
know if you can hear it,

but there's a juvenile
'akiapola'au calling.

It's like a choo, choo.

CHRISTIAN: And is that like,
"Hey, mom and dad, feed me?"

BRET: Yes, exactly.

Basically, for the whole day
they follow their parents around

doing that choo, choo call.

CHRISTIAN: So, they're
like teenagers everywhere.

BRET: Exactly. Excellent.

That net is
ready to catch birds.

So, we'll go set
the other two nets up.

CHRISTIAN: Okay.

Catching an 'aki isn't easy
because there are only about

2,000 of them left, but any
we get will give us incredibly

valuable insight into the
health of all the birds here.

BRET: Good, we've got multiple
'akipola'au calling around us.

I think we, there's probably
two pairs in the area right now.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, wow.

'Akis and many other birds
that live in the forests,

are susceptible to a
serious mosquito-borne disease,

avian malaria.

Mosquitoes aren't
native to Hawaii,

so many Hawaiian birds
never evolved resistance to

the diseases they spread,
and just one bit form an

infected mosquito can be fatal.

BRET: If you can just kinda
hold it up from the bottom.

CHRISTIAN: So, the goal today is
to test the birds that live here

for malaria, and gather data
that scientists can use to help

the birds fight the disease,

which means we gotta do
some big league bird catching.

BRET: Okay, so, if you can help me
and stick one of these in a tree.

CHRISTIAN: Okay.

We're going to broadcast the
call of an extra-macho 'aki to

rile up the
locals and, hopefully,

catch the elusive bird.

Most people never get
to set foot in this place,

so I consider myself hugely
privileged to be here and hugely

privileged to be in the presence
of some of these species,

even if some of them
frustrate me by not giving me

the incredible views
I want all the time.

It's one thing to say
you're going to catch a bird,

and it's another to actually
catch one because you're basically

trying to trick a wild
animal whose survival instincts

are already on high alert.

BRET: Okay, yeah,
the bird is here.

So, he's, he's up
in this koa tree.

He's kinda hard to see, but
that call, that double note...

(whistles).

That's him.

CHRISTIAN: Wow.

CHRISTIAN: I'm deep in
a remote rainforest on

the big island of Hawaii
where we're playing a game

of cat and mouse with a bird.

BRET: So, Chris, would you mind
going on this side of the net?

I'll go to this side, and
then we're just gonna kinda stay

hidden and hope that
we can bring him down.

CHRISTIAN: Okay.

They're here and we're hoping
to get one of them into the net.

We can see him, we can
hear him, but can we catch him?

(chirping)

BRET: He just flew off
into that more distant koa.

CHRISTIAN: We
almost got one netted,

but it outwitted us.

It was like,
"Oh, no, no, no, no.

I see what you're doing
here and I'm not having it."

We may have struck out on
our 'aki quest for the day.

The birds are not
being cooperative yet.

Hopefully that will change.

But Bret and I are gonna check
the rest of the nets to see if

we've caught the other
forest bird I came here to see,

the 'oma'o.

BRET: So, here you can see a
clear sign of 'oma'o because

some of these berries
have been picked off.

CHRISTIAN: And this
is the native raspberry?

BRET: Yes, exactly, and these
are kind of a small example,

but they can be
larger than a golf ball.

CHRISTIAN: They're huge.
BRET: Yeah, yep.

CHRISTIAN: There are a
lot more 'oma'o than 'akis on

this island, and the berries prove
they're around here somewhere.

We've just gotta find 'em.

I know that if I looked
around here with Matrix vision

and I could see the code
of all the living things,

it would be the most unique
code you could ever see because

everything here is so
genetically distinct,

so not found any place else, and
that would be an incredible way

to experience this place.

(croak)

BRET: Oh, there was
'oma'o kind of that,

kind of that waah,
that kinda frog-like sound.

CHRISTIAN: Mm-hmm.
BRET: Um...

They're these big, heavy birds
as they're flying through the canopy.

Way up in the canopy.

CHRISTIAN: Something just moved.
Uh, there we go.

BRET: Oh yeah, that's an 'oma'o.

And so he's, he just went
right into the thick of it,

but that was an 'oma'o for sure.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah, I know, he just
went right into the thick of it.

That's two hard
strikes for me and Bret.

They have stealth technology
because they move and then, gone.

BRET: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: But luckily, his
team has finally hit paydirt.

WOMAN: Hey guys, we got a bird!

BRET: Oh, perfect.

We just captured an 'oma'o
back at the banding station.

CHRISTIAN: So, we're gonna see
what sort of data it'll give us.

BRET: Which one's the 'oma'o?

Okay, perfect.

CHRISTIAN: Wow! Look at that.

Finally, I get a
good look at an 'oma'o.

BRET: Exactly.

CHRISTIAN: The 'oma'o is a great
catch for a bunch of reasons.

For one, it's a native bird
and one with a vital job to do

here in the forest.

BRET: These guys are really
important because they are a frugivore.

CHRISTIAN: Frugivore means?
BRET: They eat fruit.

Here in Hawaii, we have
more fruiting plants than

almost anywhere
else in the world.

CHRISTIAN: Really?

BRET: Yeah, and part of that is
because the plants have evolved

to take advantage of
these fruit-eating birds to

spread their seeds
throughout the forest.

CHRISTIAN: The 'oma'o is now the
only native frugivore left here

on the big island of Hawaii,

and it's not found
anywhere else in the world.

By dispersing native seeds,

they're helping
maintain the forest,

which helps all the
endangered birds who live here.

Now that Bret's
got a bird in hand,

I can kinda see what that
drab coloring in the depths of

the forest, why it is
so hard to spot an 'oma'o.

BRET: Yeah, they're only little
splash of color is in their feet.

They get these
bright yellow toe pads.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, look at that.
BRET: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: I would have never
have noticed the bright yellow toe pads.

Now, it's time to
check this bird for malaria,

which means
drawing a little blood.

BRET: It can be quite
challenging to get the blood

from these guys.

CHRISTIAN: But when it comes to
testing for the deadly disease,

an 'oma'o is a valuable bird.

BRET: The 'oma'o in
particular are sedentary birds.

They don't move very much, and
they are resistant to malaria,

so this bird has a much higher
probability of having malaria in

its system, so that's a
really valuable sample.

CHRISTIAN: Now that
she's banded and tested,

we can send her back to her
home high up in the tree tops.

BRET: Let's give her a
nice little grip and then

you'll just go
ahead and release her.

Perfect.

That's what you like
to see, nice strong flight.

CHRISTIAN: It's finally time for
a little bit of extra-curricular

rare Hawaiian bird watching.

I wanna see if I can spot
some of the other chatty,

little birds I've been
hearing in the forest.

Now, who's making all
the noise over here?

BRET: There, it sounds like there's
a family group of 'alawi.

Oh, there's the
'elepaio right there.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, yeah.
BRET: Oh, and an 'alawi.

So, the 'alawi is
right above the 'elepaio.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, my God!
BRET: Oh, my gosh!

Oh, that's a great look.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah.

BRET: I thought the 'elepaio was
right next to it, just preening.

CHRISTIAN: Almost in
the same binocular field.

BRET: Yeah! Yeah, that is...

That's amazing.

Oh, there goes the 'alawi.

CHRISTIAN: That
was a great view.

It was sitting right in the sun,
holding still in perfect light

so you could see all the colors.

Yes!

Forest birds are really hard.

You're hearing so many things
and your appetite is whetted and

you wanna see each and
every single one of 'em,

and most of 'em,
you know, you miss,

you just can't get on 'em.

So, to get so many
forest birds that are so elusive

is quite a thrill actually.

There's so much here to
be protected and preserved.

It's a real, magical place and a
real important place for Hawaii.

Catching and banding birds
gets you good hard data,

but sometimes our
feathered island friends need

a little more hands-on help.

So, I'm heading to the
Hawaii Wildlife Center,

the only place in
the islands dedicated

to rehabilitating
native Hawaiian birds.

I'm eager to see
what species they have,

what they're doing to help
them recover and to, hopefully,

lend a helping hand.

This place is a lifeline for
hundreds of native birds with

nowhere else to go and today,

wildlife rehabilitator
Heidi Franz has got an

awful lot of
little mouths to feed,

so she's putting me to work.

HEIDI: So, these are our
manu-o-Ku or white terns.

CHRISTIAN: You are beautiful.

HEIDI: These are all orphans,

and they're
all juveniles, all babies.

So, they come in a
variety of different colors

and fluffiness right now.

CHRISTIAN: Manu-o-Ku are
seabirds that love to nest in

the city of Honolulu, on
the nearby island of Oahu,

but they're not too
particular about how they do it.

HEIDI: The
manu-o-Ku in Honolulu,

they just pick a tree branch,

and they just lay an egg on a
tree branch and call it a day, so...

(gasps).

CHRISTIAN: How does it stay?

The parents are spectacular
navigators who can fly up

to 120 miles in a single day,

to find fresh fish for
their babies, but sometimes,

while mom and dad are
out looking for dinner,

the babies lose their grip and
fall right out of the tree tops,

and that's how these
little guys wind up here,

adorable and hungry.

HEIDI: So, we're gonna go
ahead and try and feed this one.

CHRISTIAN: She's
unhappy right now because

she has not gotten a fish yet.

I've gotta admit, I'm a
little nervous about feeding her

because this fish is
practically as big as she is.

This is not gonna
fit down her throat.

HEIDI: It will, I promise.

CHRISTIAN: I'm at a rehab
facility for native Hawaiian birds,

trying to feed a very
small bird a very big fish.

HEIDI: Gobbled it down.

CHRISTIAN: If I hadn't
seen it with my own eyes,

I would not believe this
would go down such a tiny bird's gullet.

HEIDI: They're very
good at taking these fish.

There you go.

Good.

All right, so she's done.

CHRISTIAN: Girl, you're greedy!

HEIDI: I'm a growing baby.

I need my fish.

So, then we're gonna go ahead
and we'll feed everybody else.

This time you can try
flipping your fish around

and going with the tail.

CHRISTIAN: They may be cute,
but these little birds are also

surprisingly opinionated.

HEIDI: They do all have
different personalities,

different styles of eating.

CHRISTIAN: So, they
have their preferences?

HEIDI: Just like our toddlers,

our human babies, manu-o-Ku
can be incredibly picky.

So, you can see she doesn't
really wanna take that too much.

CHRISTIAN: She's like, "I
don't want it, I don't want it."

These fluffy white terns
are only meant to stay here

temporarily and they'll
soon be back home on Oahu

where about 2,300 of
them currently live,

but the center does have one
full-time resident who's also

the island's top avian predator.

JUAN: We're meeting
someone very special, Maka'io.

CHRISTIAN: Maka'io
is a Hawaiian hawk and

veterinarian Juan Gerez
is gonna introduce us.

JUAN: All right,
let's go meet him.

CHRISTIAN: All right.

He's freaking gorgeous.

Hawaiian hawks, also called 'io,

were a symbol of Hawaii's
great kings and queens.

These days, they're the only
hawks left on the islands and

they rule over them from the
very top of the bird food chain.

'Io are also special
for another reason.

They're considered
to be 'Aumakua,

a kind of spirit god that
represents a beloved ancestor

who comes back to their
family in the form of an animal,

like the noble 'io.

I love that black mask he
kinda has around the eyes.

Maka'io came to the wildlife
center in September of 2019,

with a badly injured wing
and damage to his right eye.

JUAN: The eye injury made it so

that he can't
see out of that eye.

'Io need to be able to use
both eyes for binocular vision.

CHRISTIAN: A lot of birds have
their eyes sort of on the side

of their head so they can
see as much around as possible,

'cause they
wanna spot predators,

but when you are a predator,
you want your two eyes in front

because that overlapping
field of vision helps you judge

distance in allows
you to catch prey.

Because he can't hunt,
he can't be released,

so Maka'io is in training to
become an ambassador bird who

can teach humans about his
species and the importance of

protecting Hawaiian birds.

So, it's not
just his enrichment,

but enriching the
lives of students here...

JUAN: Yes. Yeah.
CHRISTIAN: Here in, on Hawaii.

So, so that they learn
about their native birds.

JUAN: Yeah, that,
that's the goal.

It's education.

CHRISTIAN: Maka'io is
doing well at the center,

and he seems more at
home here every day.

JUAN: We work with
him on a daily basis.

We want him to trust us.

CHRISTIAN: But he's
still a wild hawk at heart.

He's happy to be
working with Juan,

but if he's going to
be an ambassador bird,

he needs to show that he
can be just as comfortable

around strangers, like me.

So, today, I'm going to
help out Juan and Maka'io with

a little trust exercise;
a round of glove training.

JUAN: Come over to this area.

CHRISTIAN: Okay.
JUAN: Raise up your, your arm.

CHRISTIAN: I saw him looking
at you right away, like, "What?"

After many, many
hours of hard work,

Juan has gotten the wild,

head-strong predator
comfortable enough

to fly to him, but is he
trusting enough to fly to me?

(laughs)

JUAN: How was that?
CHRISTIAN: That was great.

Success, man.
He's a beautiful animal.

I can see why
the Hawaiian royalty

considered him a symbol of them.

He's a great bird, and
I think he knows that,

and hopefully one day soon,
other people will be able to

find out what a
great bird he is.

I've got one last assignment
at the center for the day,

and it's a little less
dignified than my last job.

HEIDI: This is our
water bird aviary.

So, these are where
we house our nenes.

CHRISTIAN: The nene
or Hawaiian goose

is Hawaii's state bird and
the rarest goose in the world.

Unlike their Canadian cousins,

they don't migrate, so this
is the only place where they can be found.

These birds love
Hawaii's natural grasslands,

its pastures and lava plains,
but there's nothing they like

better than a nice,
green grass golf course,

and that can be a little bit
of a bogey for these birdies.

HEIDI: All right.

CHRISTIAN: Ah,
they're so pretty.

HEIDI: Yes, yes...

CHRISTIAN: Yeah,
their neck is gorgeous.

HEIDI: These are
our nene patients.

All three of these actually
had some sort of leg injury.

CHRISTIAN: What's
causing these leg injuries?

HEIDI: All right, so these
birds are from the golf courses,

so we can only assume that
it might be golf ball related.

So, we're going to do a check-up
on a couple of these nenes and

the goal is to just
see how they're doing and

how well they've
healed from their injuries.

CHRISTIAN: But first,
we've gotta wrangle 'em.

HEIDI: I'm gonna try
and go in there with a net.

CHRISTIAN: Okay.
HEIDI: We'll just try our best.

So, I'll give this to you.

CHRISTIAN: All right.
HEIDI: All right.

CHRISTIAN: Um...

Okay, this
should be interesting.

CHRISTIAN: I'm at the
Hawaii Wildlife Center

attempting to catch a nene.

My first ever wild goose chase.

And trying not to look as
silly as a you know what.

HEIDI: And also I should
say, do not step on this.

CHRISTIAN: Oh.

HEIDI: This is a pool.
You will go straight through.

CHRISTIAN: Oh!

HEIDI: So, make
your way around this.

CHRISTIAN: Important
information to know.

HEIDI: That is
important information.

CHRISTIAN: Thank you, Heidi.
HEIDI: Yeah.

Okay, so it looks like
Silver's gonna take off.

All right.

CHRISTIAN: Oh that was
easier than I thought.

HEIDI: Now you can start putting
that towel over her head.

It's gonna help her calm down.

CHRISTIAN: Right, okay.
HEIDI: Great, there we go.

Teamwork.

And then you're gonna tuck her
into your side like a little...

Yeah, like a football hold.

We call this a bird burrito.

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: Now that
we've got our goose,

it's time for
her health check-up.

Put her on the scale?

HEIDI: Yes.

Okay, and then she
is 1.59 kilograms.

So we're gonna
make a note of that.

It's her right leg.

She fractured
two bones in her leg.

And this all
feels nice and stable.

CHRISTIAN: Good.

HEIDI: So, and if you
wanna feel that, too,

this is her bone right here and

you can feel that
callous right there.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah, I
do feel the callous.

HEIDI: So, if
you come up higher,

there's a sharp
point right there.

That's the other break.

So, her exam looked really good.

Her bones have healed nicely.

She's in a good body weight.

We're looking like we're gonna
be able to release her later in

the week, so we would love
to have you come with us.

CHRISTIAN: I'm in.
HEIDI: All right.

CHRISTIAN: It's wonderful to see
what they're doing here because

they work with the native birds,
and when you are in the position

that Hawaii is in,
every individual matters.

The team at the
Hawaii Wildlife Center,

the fact that
they're doing the work,

makes my heart sing.

It's one thing to get up close
and personal with wild birds in

the safety of a
wildlife rehab facility,

but in reality, wild
birds belong in wild places.

So, I'm off to Hakalau Forest
National Wildlife Refuge to see

if I can find one of
my bucket list birds.

Hey, Steve.

STEVE: Hi, Chris,
welcome to Hakalau.

CHRISTIAN: This secluded refuge
sits on the eastern slope of

the tallest volcano
on Earth, Mauna Kea,

which is famous for its
breathtaking views of the stars

from its summit observatory.

But among birders in the know,

this more than 32,000 acre
mountain rainforest is the

place to be if you
want to spot a rare,

brightly colored Hawaiian
bird I've never seen before,

the 'i'iwi.

STEVE: We're gonna have
some good birding today.

This is one of the best places
to see Hawaiian native birds.

CHRISTIAN: Biologist,
Steve Kendall, is a

bird sensei of sorts, who's
spent nearly a decade getting to

know the rare, feathered
residents of this refuge as well

as just about anybody.

So, give me the 411 on Hakalau.

First of all, what
does Hakalau mean?

STEVE: So, Hakalau
means place of many perches.

The ancient Hawaiians used to
come up here and catch birds for

making their
feather capes and such,

and so it was known as an area
that had a lot of native birds.

CHRISTIAN: So, this
place is sort of integral to,

to the cultural
history of Hawaii?

STEVE: Yes.

CHRISTIAN: This forest used to
be a pristine habitat for many

of the island's native birds,

but by the 1980's, some of the
land had been cleared for cattle.

A forest without trees isn't
much of a native bird habitat,

so bird lovers and
conservationists got to work.

STEVE: We came in and
planted these koa trees.

Koa grows very fast, so you
get the canopy established,

and then we've
come in and planted all

these under-story
species underneath.

CHRISTIAN: 35 years? There's it?

STEVE: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: Who did
all this planting?

STEVE: Volunteers.

CHRISTIAN: In a
delicate ecosystem like this,

everything is
intimately inter-connected.

So when you bring
back native forests,

eventually you bring back
native birds, like the 'i'iwi.

STEVE: 'I'iwis nectarivores.

So, they're looking for
nectar in the 'Ohi'a flowers.

CHRISTIAN: The 'i'iwi is a type
of bird called a honeycreeper

and Hawaiian honeycreepers
are evolutionary superstars.

In Hawaii, more than 50 totally
unique honeycreeper species

sprang from just one ancestor,
and they each evolved their very

own custom-bills to make
use of every food source.

STEVE: The 'i'iwis didn't
use to rely so much on 'Ohi'a.

They were more
into the lobelioid,

and if you look
at their flowers,

they have a big, curved flower,
shaped like an 'i'iwi bill.

CHRISTIAN: So, that curved i'iwi bill is
specifically evolved to deal with this...

STEVE: Lobelioid.

CHRISTIAN: But when lobelioid started to
disappear from the forest,

so did the 'i'iwi.

So Steve and his volunteers
began planting lobelioid again,

and the 'i'iwi came home.

STEVE: We've seen them
back in the lobelioid flowers.

So, even though they hadn't seen
them for decades and decades,

they remembered that's one
that they gotta come pollenate.

CHRISTIAN: We birders
have a term for the birds

we've never seen before
in the wild, a life bird.

For me, an 'i'iwi
would be a life bird.

I'm really hoping
I get to see one,

but I'm also just a
bit out of my element.

I'm listening and I'm hearing
things that I don't recognize.

They're all new to me.

STEVE: Yeah. So, so far
I've heard 'elepaio, 'amakihis.

(chirping)

Oh, there's an 'i'iwi.

CHRISTIAN: So, what
does the 'i'iwi sound like?

What am I listening for?

STEVE: Well, it's, it's
kinda hard to describe.

Some people say
like a rusty hinge or...

(chirps)

Oh, I hear one
over here too, yeah.

CHRISTIAN: That,
that was an 'i'iwi?

STEVE: Yeah, yep.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, whoa,
whoa, whoa I got one.

CHRISTIAN: I'm on the
big island of Hawaii,

and I've just spotted one of
their evolutionary rock stars,

the brightly colored 'i'iwi.

STEVE: There you go.
CHRISTIAN: Yes, gorgeous!

STEVE: There you go,
there's the 'i'iwi.

Beautiful, huh?

CHRISTIAN: Yeah.
You got that bright orange,

you got the sickle bill,

you got the black wings
and the black tail.

Striking.

That was an 'i'iwi, my first.

Thank you, Steve.
I'm very excited.

Life bird for me. Hooray.

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: Pure joy.

Outside the refuge, Hawaiian
honeycreepers like the 'i'iwi

are some of the most
endangered birds in the region,

but populations are
a lot healthier here,

which not only makes
Hakalau a birding hotspot,

but also a living science
experiment for biologists

who wanna help Hawaiian birds.

STEVE: So, we're heading
down to a banding station.

We have some collaborators that have a
permit to catch birds here.

Hello, guys.

CHRISTIAN: I understand you
guys are netting birds here?

CARA: We are.
ALEX: We are.

We got some nets down this way.

CHRISTIAN: Alex Wang
and Cara Thow are fighting

the good fight to save
Hawaii's native birds,

and the data they collect in the
field will ultimately teach us

how bird populations
can bounce back here.

So, it's time to get some data.

I call it catching some birds.

STEVE: Nothing in this one?
CARA: Nothing in this one.

ALEX: Nope. Oh, but there's
something in the next one...

CHRISTIAN: There's a
bird in the next one?

ALEX: And it
could even be a native.

So, this is a Hawaiian 'amakihi.

It's one of our native
Hawaiian honeycreepers.

You should
really smell this bird.

STEVE: Yeah.
CHRISTIAN: What?

STEVE: It's kind
of a musty smell.

ALEX: Another feature of our honeycreepers
is that they have this smell.

CARA: Dusty old books.

ALEX: Yep.
CARA: Dusty library.

CHRISTIAN: I just sniffed
a bird for the first time

and I liked it.

(laughter)

CARA: All right, so,
there we go.

This is a hatch year bird.

So, it was born sometime
in the past 12 months.

CHRISTIAN: Well,
Hawaiian 'amakihi.

ALEX: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: Welcome to the
world for your first year.

CARA: So, I'm gonna start
by doing a wing measurement.

CHRISTIAN: Basic measurements
like weight and wing length,

help the team chart
the young bird's health,

data that allow them to
gage the overall condition of

this forest's bird population.

More data means more knowledge,

means more ways
to help the birds.

CARA: Absolutely.

Okay, Alex, it had
one tract with pin feathers.

ALEX: Okay.

CARA: We're gonna give this one
a snack before we let him go.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, he gets a snack.
What about me?

CARA: Yep.

ALEX: Well, you
can give it the snack.

CARA: Yeah, you can.
ALEX: How about that?

CHRISTIAN: I'd like that.

It's a quick time-out
for the bird equivalent of

an energy drink, and then this
'amikihi should be ready to get

back to bird business.

Shall we let this guy go
back to his daily activities?

ALEX: Would you
like to release him?

CHRISTIAN: Sure.

I can feel his little
tiny heart fluttering.

Now that you got
some fuel, let you go.

That was glorious.

The bird is free, and
all is good in the world.

That bird was just
lovely in its tranquility and

its uniqueness to this place.

You begin to understand how
the habitat and the creatures

that inhabit it
are linked so tightly.

Darwin was blown off course.

He went to the Galapagos when
he should have gone to Hawaii.

(chirping)

Seeing the birds of
the big island means

I have to cover a lot of ground.

So, it's out of the forest
and into the lava flows.

I'm about to go so
far off the beaten path,

I might as well be
on another planet.

I'm in this virtually
lunar landscape on a cold,

wet day fit only for a goose,

which is actually
fitting because it's

a big day for a pair of
nene here on the big island.

Yeah, I'm in the
right place for nene.

I'm here to help
release the nene,

the geese I met
earlier in the week,

but first, biologist,
Raymond McGuire,

has agreed to show
me around the place.

The Hawaii island nene sanctuary
is nearly 100 acres of soft,

rolling grassland, fruit
trees and native 'ohelo berries,

a nene favorite.

In other words,
it's a nene paradise.

(squawking)

And there are the nene.

RAYMOND: There they are.

CHRISTIAN: This
looks like heaven to me.

I'm only imagining
how it looks to a nene.

They must love this.

RAYMOND: That's the idea.

It's an oasis here in
the middle of the island.

CHRISTIAN: So how many
nene do you have here?

RAYMOND: We can have anywhere
from 20 to 200 in a given day.

CHRISTIAN: Just looking at them
nene may not seem that special

but they mean a
lot to Hawaiians.

They're even mentioned in
the Hawaiian creation chant as

guardian spirits of
the land but not long ago

they were almost gone.

RAYMOND: Back in the 1950's
there was only 30 nene left in

the entire world and now we
have more than 3,000 state wide.

CHRISTIAN: And how
did that comeback happen?

RAYMOND: Well with a lot
of time and a lot of effort.

We've gone through
captive breeding programs,

we've gone through releasing
hundreds and thousands of nene

out into the wild.

It doesn't take a whole
lot of resources to make

them go down to
30 but it takes...

CHRISTIAN: A lot
to bring them back.

RAYMOND: 70 years of
effort to bring them back.

CHRISTIAN: It's moving day for a pair
of nenes on the big island of Hawaii

and I'm here to celebrate
with them at their new home.

HEIDI: Hi, guys.
CHRISTIAN: Hi, Heidi.

You have a
special guests for us.

HEIDI: I do.

CHRISTIAN: So these
guys are ready to fly free.

RAYMOND: Actually first
we need to band them so that

we can identify
them later and, um,

hopefully they don't
go through Heidi again.

(laughter)

HEIDI: No repeat customers.
CHRISTIAN: No more, Heidi.

Now since I had a hand in
capturing this bird a few days ago,

he may remember who I am and
not be pleased to see me again.

RAYMOND: So, here we go.

Okay. You have a grip?

CHRISTIAN: Yes.
RAYMOND: All right.

So what you wanna
do is get down flat,

hold the wings in, flip
it over between your legs,

make sure that he relaxes.

CHRISTIAN: I have a nene
wedged between my thighs.

So right now this bird is
calm and while this bird is calm

we're gonna get the bands on.

RAYMOND: So these green bands
are unique to the big island.

These are our federal bands.

All right.

Because these are rehab
birds we wanna make sure that

they're still
comfortable with these bands.

So we're gonna let them
walk around for a little bit.

CHRISTIAN: There you go.

CHRISTIAN: I feel like I
messed up his do there with

the straight
feathers sticking up.

(squawking)

Once the birds have
adjusted to the bands,

it's time to head up the hill
and set them free in the wild,

where they really belong.

HEIDI: Oh two for one.
CHRISTIAN: Yeah, really.

RAYMOND: All right,
just put them in?

HEIDI: Yeah, go ahead.
RAYMOND: Okay.

HEIDI: Okay. In.

And there you go. Okay.

RAYMOND: So we'll
head up to the hill.

CHRISTIAN: Look at this.

Julie Andrews
never had it so good.

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: And to think
that this was almost gone,

seeing this right here.

How do you say
goodbye in Hawaii?

RAYMOND: Well, we
don't say goodbye,

we say, we'll see
you again, alohe'lohe.

Why don't you get this bird...

CHRISTIAN: Okay.

RAYMOND: And
we'll open it together.

CHRISTIAN: All right.

It's the big moment for
these two nene time to see how

they do in their new home and

if their new neighbors
will be wary or welcoming.

(squawking)

RAYMOND: Oh, and you hear them?

Nene around are interested too.

(squawking)

Oh nice.

(squawking)

CHRISTIAN: We've been looking
down at the two we released so

focused on them here in the pond
and then you just sort of scan a

little bit to the right and
sort of waiting to welcome them,

you've got a whole group
of nene there on the hill and

that was made
possible by

Hawaiians doing the heavy lifting to

bring this bird
back from the brink.

And to just see them here
as part of this landscape,

where they belong, and
doing so much better than

they were doing before,
it's everything.

You two, awesome.

It felt like this is the way
this place is supposed to be.

And I almost don't have the
words to describe the feeling.

It felt like everything,
it really did.

Being in Hawaii more than
any place else it has made me

realize how birding
gives you a sense of place.

Birding is about seeing the
bird in it's natural habitat

on its terms.

Everything that is unique about
Hawaii is pretty much at risk.

To give up the uniqueness
and just let it slide away,

we can't do it.

We as individuals have the
ability to shape the world

around us and make it better
and make things better for

the other creatures we
share the planet with.

We have that power, all we have
to do is put our minds to it.

Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.