Original subtitles

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.