All language subtitles for Extraordinary.Birder.with.Christian.Cooper.S01E06.720p.WEB.h264-EDITH

CHRISTIAN: Damn, look
at all those ravens!

I'm Christian Cooper
and I am a birder!

(laughs)

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 them down.

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.

Oh!

Those of us who
don't have wings.

Oh yes!

(laughs)

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
feathered creatures!

The things I do for the birds!

(theme music playing).

CHRISTIAN: Alabama, the
heart of the deep South,

far from my home
in New York City,

but I have roots here.

Half of my family
came from this area,

but left generations ago.

When it comes to nature,

Alabama is wild,
with winding rivers,

dense wooded forests,
swampy marshes, all of which

adds up to one thing; birds.

Lots of them.

So much so that
the state now hosts

the annual
Black Belt Birding Festival,

that has hundreds
of avid birders from

around the country
coming to see wood storks,

white pelicans, and the
crown jewel of the state,

the swallow-tailed kite.

I'm meeting up with my friend
and fellow birder, Chris Joe,

who's turned his family farm
into one of the places to be

for birds and birders.

In the black belt region of
the state at festival time,

bird lovers are
flocking in, quite literally,

so there's no better time
of year for me to be here.

I see a dock!

CHRIS: See what we can
see from a boat standpoint.

CHRISTIAN: But first,
Chris says the bird life on

the Alabama River
is a can't miss,

so we're heading out
on the water to check out

a group of incredibly
adaptable birds that nest

right beneath the
Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Cliff swallows.

Ooh!

CHRIS: All right.

CHRISTIAN: Well this is lovely.

CHRIS: Yup, yup.

CHRISTIAN: And what
water way are we on here?

CHRIS: We are on
Alabama River water way.

It's very, very important
as far as the life blood of

the state channeling water.

CHRISTIAN: Someone told me
that Alabama has more navigable

water ways than any other state.

CHRIS: Yes. Yeah.
CHRISTIAN: Wow.

So that's a lot of,
a lot of streams.

CHRIS: As you can see
and look at the banks,

the tree gives life to these
birds and without this habitat,

a lot of things
wouldn't, wouldn't be.

CHRISTIAN: It certainly is lush!

It looks like it could
definitely be the place where

you could find a lot of life.

CHRIS: Oh, I'm
thinking eyes peeled.

See look, look at that!

We got some egrets coming to us.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah,
those are egrets.

Beautiful.

Chris isn't kidding.

There are suddenly
birds everywhere.

Belted kingfisher...

CHRIS: Ah, yes.

CHRISTIAN: Flying
across the river.

And great blue...

CHRIS: Yeah!
CHRISTIAN: Right away.

That's a good looking bird.

Fish crows off to my right.

See what else we got.

Ooh, here we go, we've
got a, a bunch of vultures

cruising around here.

What do we got here?

Oh, two black vultures
and one turkey vulture.

CHRIS: Oh yeah.

They'll get in groups
and I'm talking about it looks

like a cloud swarming
and black vultures.

CHRISTIAN: That many?
CHRIS: That many.

CHRISTIAN: Wow.

That's indigo bunting.

It's beautiful that
you have these birds here!

CHRIS: Oh yeah.
See how low that one coming?

CHRISTIAN: Oh yeah.
CHRIS: Red tail hawks.

CHRISTIAN: Wow.

Wow, the Edmund Pettus bridge.

CHRIS: There you have it.

I'm thinking the swallows there,
so let's go check them out and

be ready 'cause they may
come out at lightning speed.

All right.

CHRISTIAN: Woo, it's hot.

CHRIS: Now, let's
see can we see those

swallows I been talking about.

CHRISTIAN: The cliff swallow
is one of those birds that just

kind of goes with the flow.

In the wild, they live along,

you guessed it, cliffs,

but these days
they're mostly city dwellers.

They build their nests under
bridges by sticking hundreds of

mud pellets together and
the location is no coincidence

because it gives them
easy access to rivers that are

swarming with tasty bugs
and when it's time to eat,

it's a total feeding frenzy,

with up to 1,000
swarming cliff swallows,

picking off bugs
right out of the air,

which is crazy to watch.

So the wonderful thing
about cliff swallows is how

they make these mud nests...

CHRIS: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: Tucked under bridges
and other human structures.

CHRIS: Tuck them in there.

CHRISTIAN: Well, I can see a
whole bunch of them sort of...

In each cornice of the bridge
support nest upon nest upon nest

and then you go
over to the next one,

and it's nest
upon nest upon nest.

CHRIS: It's the challenge of,
of seeing them and also

the challenge of getting
a shot worth using 'cause

when you see 'em, okay,
I got a shot, I got a shot and

then they dip out of frame,
and I'm, like, aw crap.

I missed it.

CHRISTIAN: They're aerodynamic.

They are incredible aerialists.

Constantly swooping
and swerving, and that's what

make it the challenge to
get them in your binocular.

CHRIS: Yeah,
with birds that small,

you just got to stay,

darting your eyes and,
and watching the skies.

CHRISTIAN: I'm
starting to think that

Chris and I might strike out,

but as the sun
starts to cool down,

the birds decide it's
time to make an appearance.

Cliff swallow.

CHRIS: There we go.

CHRISTIAN: Cruising
off on elegant wings

and he's looping back.

CHRIS: Yeah.
CHRISTIAN: Here he comes.

And swallows have a really
beautiful way of flying in

that they kind of pull the
wings in with each stroke.

CHRIS: Right.

And then they, it's like they
climbing up to a certain height

and then they're
just dropping, dropping.

CHRISTIAN: Well...
CHRIS: See that?

CHRISTIAN: Yup, yup.

Just kind of flying in
and out and returning to that

little hole and
that little mud nest,

wedged on the underside of
that bridge of all bridges.

Seeing the cliff swallows
that make their homes

beneath the
Edmund Pettus bridge,

I can't help but
let my thoughts drift

to what that bridge
itself represents.

There are certain things
about the South that are

seared into the
African American consciousness.

In 1965, a non-violent
Civil Rights March,

mostly African Americans, and
some White allies, wanted to

walk from Selma, Alabama
to Montgomery, Alabama to

protest for their
right to vote because it was

being suppressed here in
Alabama and throughout the South

and so they tried to march.

And the White authorities lined
the bridge with state troopers

and police officers who
beat them unconscious and

bloody in the street.

It was called Bloody Sunday
and the images from that shocked

the nation and the world so
terribly that it actually helped

forests change here in Alabama.

Today, seeing a different
perspective of this bridge,

one where birds are thriving,
reminds me that life goes on

even in the
shadow of grave events.

The other thing that I enjoy,
whether it's the kingfishers

we saw on the river or
the great blue herons,

or these swallows underneath...

CHRIS: Right.
CHRISTIAN: That bridge.

Is that the swallows were
probably underneath that bridge

back in the day in 1965...

CHRIS: Right.

CHRISTIAN: When all of that mess
was going up on that bridge.

And to me, that is comforting...

CHRIS: Yes.

CHRISTIAN: Because what it says
is that whatever awful things

we do to each other,
nature keeps going on.

CHRIS: Right.

CHRISTIAN: Keeps doing its thing
and so the natural world offers

a little relief from that.

That's living history.

That's not, like, oh,
back in the slave times.

That happened when
I was, when I was alive.

CHRIS: It's just something that

you really don't
get the gravity of

a lot of those ones
that walked the bridges,

they are here now
still telling the story and

still letting people know
what transpired on that bridge.

CHRISTIAN: So, how do you, as a
native Alabamian, reconcile that

very recent history
of really awful racism...

CHRIS: Yeah.

CHRISTIAN: With
being here today?

CHRIS: We all know
about Alabama's history.

You could let it paralyze
you or you can go on and,

and try to make something
more of, of this history and

then take it into the future.

I like to think of it as what do
we have now that we can showcase

to the world
that is so different,

it's so unique that it
going to bring people here?

I, I feel like that's my
charge to show outside people

like yourself what the South
has and what it has to stay

about different topics and like,
saying birding is one of them.

But not only birding,
just how we treat people.

CHRISTIAN: Not
forgetting the history,

but mindful of the history.

CHRIS: Mindful.

CHRISTIAN: Trying to
forge a better path forward.

CHRISTIAN: Just east of Selma,
I'm headed to Auburn University,

where there's an iconic bird
that's the pride of campus and

it's so unique, it
has its own battle cry.

When some people
think of Alabama,

they think of
Auburn University sports.

Football in the
fall and a stadium

of tens of thousands chanting,

"War eagle!"

As an eagle flies
overhead to rouse them.

(cheering)

Well, I'm here at the
Southeastern Raptor Center

to meet two raptor experts,

who are going to show
me how they rehab these

magnificent animals and

then train them to do
those flights over the stadium.

Amanda Sweeney
has an awesome job,

especially if you're
a raptor fan like me,

because she gets to work
with one of the most majestic

and intimidating
winged creatures around,

the golden eagle.

AMANDA: This right here is
the current war eagle, Aurea.

CHRISTIAN: And she's gorgeous.
She's a golden eagle.

AMANDA: Yes.
CHRISTIAN: Ooh.

AMANDA: She came
from Selma, Alabama.

CHRISTIAN: That's
remarkable in and of itself.

AMANDA: Yes, a very
rare for the golden eagles

to be this far South.

She sustained a
wing injury in the wild.

So we brought her in with
the goal being, of course,

to get that wing
back to normal and

release her back into the wild.

CHRISTIAN: So that's
what you guys do here.

You are primarily a
rehabilitation center to get

these birds back
out into the wild.

AMANDA: Yes, so we get in about
300 injured raptors every year.

CHRISTIAN: Look at
the golden feathers

on the back of her neck.

AMANDA: So she is
actually our largest eagle,

weighing in around eight pounds.

CHRISTIAN: Wow.

Golden eagles are absolutely
incredible and are speed demons,

despite their massive size.

When they dive for prey,

they can hit close to
200 miles per hour

and
when it's time to find a mate,

they'll put an epic
display in the sky that

alternates between diving
and rising up through the air

to impress their future partner.

They'll even do a
little aerial fork lay,

tossing sticks or dead prey high
in the sky and diving after it.

It's kind of
like a game of catch,

but between birds.

AMANDA: Part of what
we do here

is we get
her ready for the stadium,

for game day and so we can go
meet Andrew and do just that.

CHRISTIAN: I'd love
to get a closer look.

We're joined by Andrew Hopkins,
who's Aurea's primary caretaker

and I'm hoping he's given her
the heads up that we're about to

invade her personal space.

Hi.

You are a magnificent creature.

ANDREW: All right, so
I'm going to go ahead

and bring her towards me,

so I'm going to put
a piece of food on this perch.

There we go.

AMANDA: So what I'll do is
I'll give you a piece of food

and then you'll be able to place

on that perch for
her to come to you.

ANDREW: She's looking now.

There we go.

Drop...

CHRISTIAN: Amongst the
rocks, will she take care...

Oh, yes, she will.

ANDREW: Those eagle eyes
will tell her where it's at.

CHRISTIAN: Yup.

ANDREW: We're gonna
call her back over here.

She gonna jump
up that one first.

CHRISTIAN: Much like the
friendship between man and dog,

Andrew and Aurea share
an incredibly close bond.

ANDREW: Aurea was
found near Selma, Alabama

with a fractured wing,
and so she was actually brought

to our rehabilitation facility.

Our veterinarians

tried to fix up that
wing as best as they could,

but unfortunately, it
just didn't quite heal right.

Once she was
deemed unreleasable,

we began working with her
for those stadium flights

and eventually, she
became War Eagle VIII.

The biggest thing
with raptors is trust and

so Aurea has learned
to trust me because

she knows when she's
with me, she's safe.

She's going to get food.

There's nothing
that's going to harm her.

And so we have that
trust with each other.

CHRISTIAN: No.

I see her coming and I'm, like,
I better get out of the way of

those talons
before it's too late.

ANDREW: When she's
flying in Jordan-Hare stadium,

it's electric.

All the fans, whether
you're an Auburn fan,

or even the visiting team,

they're excited.

You know, it's not very often
that you see these golden eagles

or bald eagles up close,
and to see them flying around

that field,
everyone's hair is raised.

People say that they cry
when they see the eagle flying.

We've even had people
that tell us that it's on their

bucket list to come

to Auburn University
and see the eagles fly.

That's how big of a deal it is.

CHRISTIAN: Look at her.

Well, she looks fabulous!

Like, she's ready
for her close up.

AMANDA: Now, since it's so warm,

we can't fly Aurea
in the stadium today.

But we can fly
Independence in the stadium.

CHRISTIAN: And
who is Independence?

AMANDA: Independence
is our bald eagle

that's currently flying.

CHRISTIAN: Okay, so I get
to meet two eagles today?

AMANDA: Yes.

CHRISTIAN: We're heading
out to Jordan-Hare Stadium,

where over 80,000 dedicated,
some might say obsessed fans,

show up every Saturday to cheer
on their beloved football team.

Each game starts with a
War Eagle, soaring overhead.

AMANDA: This is
where it all happens.

CHRISTIAN: Where
the action is, huh?

AMANDA: Yes.
CHRISTIAN: Wow.

And just like the players,

the eagles need to
practice for game day as well.

(squawking)

Oh man! Look at you!

You are gorgeous!

While Amanda waits down
on the field, Andrew and I

take Independence to the
top corner of the stadium,

where she'll start her flight.

ANDREW: On game day, it's an
entirely different environment

so there will be
almost 90,000 people.

You won't be able
to hear anybody talk.

CHRISTIAN: Wow.

(squawking)

Let's do this.

ANDREW: So, we'll wait
for a wave from Amanda.

So I'm going to give...

Oh, she gave us
the signal actually,

so she is ready.

(squawking)

CHRISTIAN: Yes!

These birds just inspire.

They are majestic and
they just communicate

a sense of mastery
of their environment.

Of the air.

Of, of being an apex predator.

(squawking)

There's a reason why
eagles have always been

symbols of royalty
and nobility and...

It's 'cause they are
so huge and so majestic.

They just kind of
project that authority.

(squawking)

I'm just, like, it's all
about her and I'm, like,

I am not worthy!

AMANDA: When she
comes to the stadium,

people get to
see her, experience her,

and that gives them more
of a passion for raptors and

that's really what
we're trying to do and

inspire people to care
about protecting them.

CHRISTIAN: With a bird
that powerful, I mean,

the talons on that bird alone
could sink into your flesh,

let alone that
hooked beak has evolved

to rip pieces of
flesh off like a knife.

Both for the bird
and for the human,

there's got to be a lot
of trust going on there.

They've got to really sort
of understand each other and

clearly Amanda and Independence
have that relationship.

CHRISTIAN: I'm heading east
of Auburn's campus to Opelika.

Where the muggy swamps and
forests are the perfect habitat

for one of the absolutely
coolest water birds around,

the wood duck.

Wood ducks are a unique duck
amongst the ducks we have here

in North America and
incredibly beautiful.

Barry Fleming is a
wood duck fanatic,

so much so that he helped found

the Opelika
Wood Duck Nature Preserve,

75 acres of protected
buggy wetlands that,

if you're a
wood duck, is nirvana.

So Barry, tell me
about where we are.

This is a place you've created
specifically for wood ducks.

BARRY: It is and it's actually
the wood ducks that let us know

this was their,
their favorite spot.

It's been a place that many
wood ducks nest every year and

so we put a lot of
young wood ducks back out

into the environments
around this area.

We have over 100 babies produced
every year on the lagoons.

CHRISTIAN: So you
really are repopulating.

BARRY: We are.

CHRISTIAN: Barry helps to manage
the preserve to make sure that

the wood ducks have
the perfect set up.

But that requires
some maintenance,

so I'm here to help out.

But first, he's gonna show me
the result of their hard work.

The wood ducks
in all their glory.

BARRY: The face of the bird,
those patterns are like,

somebody came in with force
and made these different shapes.

It's almost like
Picasso or Moro.

Somebody with a lot
of boldness, you know, that,

that created the
patterning on the heads.

CHRISTIAN: Male wood ducks
are super easy to spot,

with their
iridescent green head,

patchwork chestnut chest, and
almost crown-like feathering.

The species is one of
the only ducks equipped with

claws and for good reason.

Wood ducks, like, well,
wooded areas where they nest in

cavities high up in trees.

Their claws help them when it
comes to perching on branches.

When it's time to partner up,
the males are known to strut

their stuff to attract
a potential mate with

elegant swimming
performances that showcase

their incredible plumage.

BARRY: Very dramatic,

all those different
colors coming together.

I do believe it's
the sexiest duck in

the eastern United States.

CHRISTIAN: Sexiest duck.

Okay. I'll, I'll accept that.

BARRY: As you see,
there is wood duck boxes

all around this lagoon,
but as a cavity nester,

they're also up in the
woods around here,

with
the boxes over the water,

the babies just jump
out the front and land

in the water and go bloop,
and they, and they float.

In the woods, they fall
from up to 40 feet high.

CHRISTIAN: 40 feet!
BARRY: And they still bounce.

CHRISTIAN: Wood ducks
are precocial, which basically

means that the
second they're born,

they're ready to do
just about anything.

From walking to
swimming or

finding a
snack out on the water,

but that means mom has to
get them out of the nest ASAP.

And that requires taking one
giant leap for wood ducklings

with mom, cheering
from the base of the tree.

It's a sight to behold
and it's not long before

the entire family is

out splashing around
for a day on the lake.

How many chicks are
there in a typical nest?

BARRY: We have a, a
video footage of, uh,

mothers going through the
water with 20 or 30 birds.

CHRISTIAN: Oh my God.
20 to 30 children.

Parents across America
are cringing at the thought.

Wow, it is so peaceful.

You've lived here how long now?

BARRY: 35 years.

CHRISTIAN: 35, so you're
an Alabamian at this point.

BARRY: I am.

CHRISTIAN: Well what's
your experience down here?

BARRY: I guess when I
moved to Alabama 35 years ago,

I really wanted to get
out and figure out and

feel out what the
history was really about and

so there's a whole lot
of history that's not even

written down yet
that this will blow your mind.

In the '60s and so
forth and that affects

the current political situation
in Alabama even today...

CHRISTIAN: Mm-hmm.

BARRY: So there's
more work to be done.

CHRISTIAN: You look
out here

and you've got a
whole diverse range of species.

You've got the
barn swallows flying over.

You've got the eastern phoebes.

You've got the
wood ducks, obviously,

and they are all gonna
sink or swim together,

based on what happens here.

BARRY: Exactly.

CHRISTIAN: And I think there
is not an unfortunate parallel

to draw between the
same thing with people,

that in Alabama and in
the rest of the country,

we are going to find a
way to sink or swim together.

BARRY: Right, exactly.

It's incumbent on us all to
step up our social agency and,

and participate
in the better world.

We do have a project, the annual
clean-up of the wood duck boxes.

So.

CHRISTIAN: Does it
help the wood ducks?

BARRY: It helps the wood ducks.

CHRISTIAN: I'm game.
BARRY: Cool.

CHRISTIAN: While
there are plenty

of
natural nesting grounds

around the preserve, Barry has
a dozen artificial nesting boxes

around the property that
give the wood ducks an easy

and immediate
place to raise young.

It's kind of like checking
into a private maternity suite

but this one is in
dire need of an upgrade.

BARRY: So this is the
box we're going to inspect.

CHRISTIAN: Okay.

BARRY: I can
already tell that predator

guard is falling somewhat,

so we're going to replace
it where it needs to be.

CHRISTIAN: Got you.

All right.

BARRY: To hold
it in place, yeah,

when it falls down that low,

it enables particularly
snakes can crawl over.

CHRISTIAN: Ahh.

(drill whirring)

Yes!

BARRY: Okay.

CHRISTIAN: Power tools and I are
not friends but so far so good.

BARRY: So next thing we do
is a little tap and a knock

to make sure
there's no one in side.

CHRISTIAN: 'Cause there
might be a wood duck in there.

BARRY: Could be a wood duck.

(knocking)

All right, sounds good.

CHRISTIAN: All right.

BARRY: And this going to open
I would go very carefully when

you open it just to
see what's in there.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, we got a snake.
BARRY: You gotta be kidding.

CHRISTIAN: We got a snake.

CHRISTIAN: I'm in Opelika,
Alabama fixing a wood duck box

and we just discovered
an unexpected guest.

Oh, we got a snake!

BARRY: You gotta be kidding.
CHRISTIAN: We got a snake.

Now tell me, is
this thing venomous?

CHRIS: That is not.
That's a gray ratsnake.

CHRISTIAN: All right.

Well let's get the
gray ratsnake out.

Do you have a glove?

CHRIS: I do have a glove.

These, these snakes
are excellent climbers.

They'll go straight up
a tree

and he's strong
and you can hold him...

CHRISTIAN: Oh, he is strong.

BARRY: Almost anywhere you
want and he'll be all right.

CHRISTIAN: He is really strong!
CHRIS: There you go.

He might be trying to get out.

Oh, he's on the top so
we're going to have to let him.

CHRISTIAN: Go on, keep going up.

Why was the snake in here?

Is he eating something
or is he just hiding out?

CHRIS: Well, he could have
actually had a big meal that's

going to last him
a week or two

and he found
this little resting spot and

he's just been laying
in there for a day resting.

CHRISTIAN: He is beautiful.
CHRIS: It is beautiful.

CHRISTIAN: And I don't care
what people say about snakes.

Snakes are cool.

He's non-venomous so there's no
reason to be afraid of the snake

and this guy is
beautiful as hell.

CHRIS: He sure is.

So he's out of the box.

CHRISTIAN: He's out of the box.
CHRIS: Perfect.

CHRISTIAN: Whoa!
CHRIS: Whoops.

When it comes to it...

(laughs)

BARRY: Free back into the
wild from whence he came.

CHRISTIAN: All right.

CHRIS: All right, well
that was a experience.

Think we did good, Chris.

CHRISTIAN: I think so.
CHRIS: We're good to go.

CHRISTIAN: With ducks,
mi casa es su casa.

The thing you have to
understand about birding is that

it is about seeing the bird on
its terms in its own place and

that was what was so
wonderful is that this is

the wood ducks' place and we
got to best guests in it and

to see them in their own
place and that was glorious.

But Barry isn't the only
Alabamian helping birds find

a new place to set up digs.

So it's time to get out of
the swamp and into the forest

of Hurtboro, Alabama, where a
picky woodpecker needs some help

apartment hunting in the woods.

Woodpeckers are a
special family of birds.

They drill into wood
like nobody else does.

They move through the air.

Move up tree limbs in
a unique way, but some

of them are in real trouble.

That's why I'm here
on this massive property

in southeastern Alabama,

where we're gonna look for
the red-cockaded woodpecker and

find out what
they're doing here to try

to create a future for this
critically endangered bird.

So Mark, this is

prime red-cockaded
woodpecker habitat.

MARK: You don't find
any better than this.

CHRISTIAN: Mark Bailey is
a wildlife conservationist

who's helping to
build artificial homes for

the red-cockaded woodpecker
and for good reason.

Red-cockaded woodpeckers
are master architects and

strategists when it
comes to nest building.

They'll only live
and live trees because

those trees help them
to fend off their enemy.

Ratsnakes who love the
taste of young woodpecker.

For the snake, getting to the
nest requires a serious climb.

So red-cockaded woodpeckers
use a totally unique way to

repel them by pecking
away at the tree and

letting the sap seep down
and into the snake's path,

a bit like how
medieval knights used hot tar

to protect their
castle from invaders.

The problem?

It takes ages to peck away
at live trees and as forests

are logged throughout Alabama,
this bird has struggled to find

new places to set up homes.

That's where Mark comes in.

MARK: It's really
revolutionized

the way
we conserve the woodpecker.

Now we can put these inserts
in threes that are too young

to have enough
heart wood in the center

for the birds to excavate into.

You could put this
insert in a 30 year old tree,

when it might need to
be 90 years old before

it's old enough for the
woodpeckers to have enough

heart wood to do
it their, their own,

so we're able to give
them a head start that way.

CHRISTIAN: But
as with all homes,

after a few years
of wear and tear,

each place needs a
little maintenance.

MARK: We're going to go to
that tree right over there.

We'll go up there and
replace that old cavity.

Ready?

CHRISTIAN: Ready.

I was told that this area
is pumping out close to, like,

60 new red-cockaded woodpecker
individuals every season.

MARK: Yep, that's about right.

50 to 60, we think.

This population represents
over 10% of the red-cockadeds

in the state of Alabama.

CHRISTIAN: Wow, on
this private land?

MARK: Right.

CHRISTIAN: All right, so we
got to do something about that

box up there that's
not doing well anymore.

MARK: Yeah, I'm going
to cut it out

and put
a fresh one in there.

CHRISTIAN: You're
going to do that?

MARK: You don't want to? Okay.

CHRISTIAN: You know,
I'll leave it to the experts.

Before Mark
shimmies up the tree,

we first have to
see what's inside using

the longest
camera lens imaginable.

MARK: In, uh...

CHRISTIAN: All right,
so ooh, look at that.

We got good visual.

MARK: Now see, that is
just a lot of nest material.

CHRISTIAN: Okay.
MARK: That's straw.

CHRISTIAN: So what we
determined that the nest is.

There's no nesting
woodpeckers in there.

MARK: Yeah, the coast is
clear to go up there and

cut that thing out.

We won't hurt any

animals and we'll make a
nice home for the woodpecker.

CHRISTIAN: Okay
well have fun with that.

MARK: All right.

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: But in order
to replace the bird box,

Mark has to get 50 feet up in
the tree, using quite frankly,

the weirdest climbing
device I've ever seen.

All while dragging a
chainsaw up behind him.

Don't do this at home, kids.

This is where the fun begins.

(chainsaw whirring)

We're seeing human ingenuity
at the service of the birds

to help the
red-cockaded woodpecker

survive and
that's pretty awesome.

MARK: You could see how
the bottom of this thing has

rotted out probably from
squirrels using it as a nest.

And it's full of nest material.

There's an abandoned, uh...

Whoa, oh my.

CHRISTIAN: I am deep
in the Alabama woods,

helping to replace a bird box
for a red-cockaded woodpecker.

MARK: Whoa.

There's an abandoned
nest with some eggs.

A lot of eggs. Oh, my.

These might be snake eggs.

CHRISTIAN: Wow.
MARK: I want to save these.

These are not woodpecker eggs.

I think they're reptile eggs.

They're soft.

And how did a
earthworm get in here?

CHRISTIAN: Wow.
MARK: This is an earthworm.

CHRISTIAN: This nest is a
unexpected treasure trove.

MARK: Yeah, it really is.

CHRISTIAN: With the
snake eggs and apparently

super human earthworm removed,

it's time to put the
new insert into the tree.

How many of these
have you installed?

MARK: I'm guessing
somewhere between three and 400.

Somewhere like that.

CHRISTIAN: So Mark, I'm
officially christening you

the godfather to about
600 red-cocked woodpeckers

who wouldn't be in
Alabama without your effort

so thank you and good job.

MARK: Thanks.

(laughs)

CHRISTIAN: With the
artificial nest box in place,

Mark hopes that
within the next 48 hours,

a red-cockaded woodpecker

will move in.

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: And as the
sun sets over the forest,

it's time to see if
our hard work

will pay off
as the woodpeckers come in

from their daily hunt
and call it a night.

Oh, there he is.

I see him. Looks like a pair.

Oh, there it goes.

There it goes. Yup, yup.

MARK: Yeah, that
call is distinctive.

CHRISTIAN: Uh, and there's
one up there at about 1:00.

They're basically doing what
red-cockaded woodpeckers do.

They're, you know,
picking

at the bark on the
underside of the branches.

I've seen them a couple
of time hanging upside down.

All right, there they go.

There's the two
of them flying over.

Wow, what a beauty.

Seeing the work Mark does
to create

year-round housing
for the red-cockaded woodpecker

gives me hope for these
little hard-nosed birds.

But further south

along the shores of
the Walter F. George Reservoir,

there's an equally tough,
some might say vicious,

songbird that hunts the
open grasses near the water.

The loggerhead shrike.

Don't let its
pint-sized body fool you.

Shrikes are fierce and among

the few carnivorous
songbirds in the world.

While it doesn't have talons,
this bird makes up for it with

its razor sharp beak that it
uses to deliver a death blow to

its prey which
explains its nickname,

the butcher bird.

RASHIDA: We have a
nice resonant population here

of, of loggerhead shrikes,

as well as a group
of migratory birds

that push through
here throughout the year.

CHRISTIAN: Rashida Fareed
is a wildlife ecologist who's

birded the forests of
Alabama her entire life.

So Rashida, my dad's side of
the family came from Alabama.

The Coopers migrated out
of Alabama and, you know,

the New York side of the family,
we're New Yorkers born and bred

at this point for generations.

Where, like, the South,
oh my God, and yet I'm finding,

now that I'm here,

the situation is maybe a
little bit more nuanced than...

RASHIDA: It is.

CHRISTIAN: My preconceptions
are as a northerner would

lead me to believe.

RASHIDA: You know, people
migrate for different reasons,

but Black people
leaving the South because

obvious racism problems, right?

And also, economic reasons.

They were looking for
opportunities and those that

stayed to some degree,
had to be the type of people

who had a genuine
kinship with the land.

Cultivating the land and then
just the beauty of the landscape

and I think that is
really quite remarkable,

if you think about, right?

My family, we go back six,
seven generations and we've

always had a very strong
relationship with the land.

CHRISTIAN: So is that why
you're a wildlife ecologist?

RASHIDA: I think so. I think so.

For me, growing up in the South,
the forest became a place of

safety and belonging,
which is different,

because for so many
Black people in the South,

the forest is a
place of fear and danger.

CHRISTIAN: The goal is to have
everybody of all colors be able

to be outdoors in any
space and feel comfortable and

feel that sense of belonging.

RASHIDA: Yeah,
that would be beautiful.

CHRISTIAN: Learning
about Rashida's history and

experience gives me an
entirely new perspective on

what it means to be a
birder and Black in Alabama.

Eric!

RASHIDA: Hey!
ERIC: Hey, how you doing?

CHRISTIAN: But birds
bring all people together.

So we're meeting
our mutual friend,

wildlife biologist,
Eric Soren who's been

monitoring the local population
of loggerhead shrikes.

ERIC: So we're
going to use a trap.

It's a modified
walk-in trap

that's
specifically made for shrikes.

RASHIDA: Gonna
entice some shrike today.

ERIC: All right,
there's one that just lit

right there on that sign.

RASHIDA: Oh, he is.
CHRISTIAN: Oh. Excellent.

ERIC: So let's, let's
put it between this small

little shrub here and the pine.

CHRISTIAN: Okay.

ERIC: All right.

Well we've got
the shrike trap...

CHRISTIAN: Okay.
ERIC: Set.

Now it's just a waiting game.

CHRISTIAN: And why
are we doing this?

Why are we catching
shrikes in the first place?

ERIC: So Chris, shrikes are
declining across the continent.

CHRISTIAN: Like so many, like,
all the birds really, but.

ERIC: Yeah but this one
seems to have a steeper decline

than most other songbirds, and
the reasons are really unclear

and so there is a
consortium of people.

Researchers.

People from academia, people
from state agencies that focus

on this species on
trying to better understand

why they're disappearing so
we could put better management

in place to help
reverse those declines.

CHRISTIAN: And that's why
we're trapping the shrikes.

ERIC: Exactly.

CHRISTIAN: The trap is set
and the shrikes are circling.

Now we just need to
see one hit the cage.

All right, so
he's looking around.

RASHIDA: Yeah he's
definitely looking.

ERIC: There he is.
RASHIDA: Oh, oh, oh.

ERIC: He's going down. Actually,
he's starting to investigate.

RASHIDA: There he is.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, it
didn't close though.

ERIC: Well, he's on the side.
RASHIDA: He's on the side of it.

ERIC: So, this is
what they typically do.

What they do is they
kind of investigate.

They're going to walk around...

You've got it! We've got it!

RASHIDA: Oh, he's in!
CHRISTIAN: We got him! Let's go.

ERIC: Let's go.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, look at him.

ERIC: You've got it!
We've got him!

RASHIDA: Oh, he's in!
CHRISTIAN: We've got him!

Let's go.

I'm on the shores of
an Alabama reservoir,

where we just captured a
bloodthirsty loggerhead shrike.

Oh, look at him!

ERIC: Worked like a charm.
RASHIDA: Wow.

CHRISTIAN: Oh, what a beauty.

ERIC: All right, so
let me go ahead and, uh...

RASHIDA: He's beautiful.

ERIC: Maybe get him
out as fast as I can here.

RASHIDA: He's a beautiful bird.

Look at that Zorro mask.

(shrieks)

CHRISTIAN: Ooh.
RASHIDA: Aw, thank you!

CHRISTIAN: Shrieking shrike
in hand, it's back to the

banding station to tag
the bird for future tracking.

ERIC: So most
bands are aluminum.

CHRISTIAN: Mm-hmm.

ERIC: These are
stainless steel and there's

a reason why they're
stainless steel for this guy.

If you used aluminum, they'll
use that powerful bill and just

rip it off and it defeats
the whole purpose of banding.

CHRISTIAN: Oh wow.

ERIC: So the
stainless steel really is

tight and they cannot move this.

You can determine the presence
of a shrike in a area by just

driving these old country
roads and looking at fences,

and if you start seeing things
hanging there or skewered there,

there's a telltale sign you
may have a shrike in the area.

CHRISTIAN: So it's
like walking into, like,

the serial killer's lair and
finding the pieces hanging off.

ERIC: Exactly.
CHRISTIAN: Oh my God.

ERIC: So that's
what's so fascinating.

These birds have been known
to take even birds their size

or larger and skewer them.

It's amazing.

CHRISTIAN: It just
fascinates me that,

you know, if you think of a
pretty little songbird that

might be in your backyard
singing and eating seeds and

eating berries and somehow
through some twist in the road

of evolution,
it's turned into this,

with that knife-like beak
that it can tear flesh with and

a habit of taking its
prey and skewer it on

thorns and barbed wire.

The moral of our story
is don't mess with shrikes.

So is he ready to go?

ERIC: He is ready to go. So...

CHRISTIAN: All right,
let's get him out of here.

ERIC: All right.

CHRISTIAN: He's,
he's been a trooper.

ERIC: Okay, you ready?
CHRISTIAN: Yup.

RASHIDA: Bye-bye.

(laughs)

ERIC: And there we go.

And now we'll be able
to easily identify him.

CHRISTIAN: Yup.
ERIC: So, success.

CHRISTIAN: Yeah, well done!

Catching the Hannibal Lecter
of songbirds is a reminder that

birds really are
actually dinosaurs,

but now it's time to head
out to Chris Joe's family farm.

We're just a week
away from the

annual Black Belt
Birding Festival

and I'm getting a
sneak peek at the main event,

the swallow-tailed kite.

So Chris, you promised
me swallow-tailed kites.

CHRIS: Yeah, I know.

I know, but I think we got
to ring the dinner bell first!

CHRISTIAN: And how does
one ring the dinner bell

for swallow-tailed kites.

CHRIS: Well, we
ring it with that.

Check it out.

CHRISTIAN: That
looks like a tractor.

CHRIS: Yep, that's it, man!

CHRISTIAN: That
will bring in the kites?

CHRIS: Oh yeah.

CHRISTIAN: The
swallow-tailed kite is

among the most
acrobatic of raptors.

It's forked tail
is its signature.

This bird soars through
the sky while hardly ever

beating its wings.

It's kind of like watching a
paper airplane you throw from

your balcony as it
glides gently down to Earth.

When it's time for these
kites to eat, the show begins,

with the birds
flipping and diving

effortlessly through the sky,

as they snatch
bugs out of the air.

CHRIS: As we drive the tractor,
it just brings up the insects

and that's what
they come in and get.

I think I'm a do something
special and have you get in

there and let you
ring that dinner bell.

CHRISTIAN: You
just love to torture

the non-driving
New Yorker, don't you?

CHRIS: Ah man, piece of cake.

You can do it, man.
You can do it.

CHRISTIAN: Driving is not
what I would call my forte.

But if it brings the kites,
I'm up for the challenge.

CHRIS: Get it cranked up.

(tractor starts)

CHRISTIAN: All right.
CHRIS: Let's get started!

CHRISTIAN: Okay. Bye.

CHRIS: You'll be fine, man!
CHRISTIAN: Uh-huh.

Who's idea was this?

(moans).

CHRIS: All right, partner, try
to keep it in a straight line.

Hey, rev your engine up!

Give it some more RPM.

There you go.

Now we're cooking,
now we're cooking!

All right, man. Let's go.

CHRISTIAN: While Chris'
family cuts the grass here so

they'll have hay
to feed the cattle,

mowing kicks up
bugs into the air,

which is basically
like telling the kites

that it's time to eat.

I'm ringing the dinner bell.

Scaring up all
the bugs, grasshoppers.

CHRIS: Try to, try to keep
a straight line there, chief.

How about it?

CHRISTIAN: I don't
know what y'all call a

straight line down here,

but in New York,
this is a straight line!

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: All right,
here we go, here we go.

CHRIS (over radio):
Now turn to the right.

CHRISTIAN: To the right.

CHRIS (over radio):
Make a loop to your right.

There you go.

Don't take it off
the ground, just keep it,

keep it where you got it.

CHRIS: All right.

All right, there you go.

Now, get on your
left side so you're putting

the tractor over in the grass.

There you go.

CHRISTIAN: After a few
laps around the field,

Chris decides he has seen enough
of my crooked mowing lines and

brings in the professional,

his dad Cornelius,
to clean up my mess.

CHRIS: Come on, come on.

Let's get to the shade, man.

I mean, you did admirably.
Let's say it like that.

CHRISTIAN: Admirably, but
if you were going to say that

I can't do anything straight,
I will not give you an argument.

CHRIS: All right.

I think we got something coming.

Oh okay, okay, okay!

Are you seeing that?

CHRISTIAN: Just over the...
CHRIS: Wait, wait, wait, wait.

CHRISTIAN: Pasture,
over the tree tops?

CHRIS: Yeah! Is that one?

CHRISTIAN: I got something.
CHRIS: That a swallow-tail!

(screams).

Okay, okay, okay,
okay, okay, okay!

CHRISTIAN: It's gorgeous.
CHRIS: Holy crap.

I knew they, I
knew they were coming.

CHRISTIAN: Ooh, that
is a sweet looking bird!

I mean, it really is
gorgeous in the sky.

CHRIS: Ah man!

CHRISTIAN: And that tail
is just, you know, the fork.

And the way they twist it.

CHRIS: I'm telling you.

CHRISTIAN: They're so
maneuverable in the air and

yet when you see them high up,
they're just drifting, you know?

Like they, effortlessly.

All right, so the kites might
not be coming down to feed.

Could be me,
could be the cameras,

but how lucky am I to get
to see them soar above me?

Ooh!

CHRIS: There we go. There we go.

See I told you we'd deliver!

CHRISTIAN: That
bird is the gorgeous!

(laughter)

CHRISTIAN: There's an
elegance to this bird.

I mean, kites tend
to drift on the air and

so you get this beautiful
elegant silhouette just

drifting on the air
looking effortless.

Making it look easy.

Like, this is all I do
and I could do this all day,

and it's just a,
a glorious thing.

Oh, here comes one.

CHRIS: Oh yeah.

CHRISTIAN: One
solo bird just dropped in.

Woo!

CHRIS: See that move?

CHRISTIAN: And it's just...
CHRIS: Holy smokes!

CHRISTIAN: It's just a, a
little flick of the tail.

What a beauty!

Now see, this alone,

this made the trip
down to Alabama worth it.

This, this does not
happen in New York.

CHRIS: Wow.

CHRISTIAN: I am in your
debt and in Alabama's debt.

The part of the story
that's most interesting to me

as a birder is that they
not only have kept the land,

but they have assumed a mantle
of stewardship to the land to

protect the birds and to
help the birds thrive and

I can't tell you how
great that makes me feel.

I've had to put
aside some preconceived

notions about Alabama.

Not ignore the history.

In fact, very much
acknowledge the history but

then look at where Alabama
is today and also think about

where it might be in the future.

I've had to sort of accept a lot
of nuance and in that process,

one thing I've noticed is
how birds provide commonality.

There are still plenty of racial
problems throughout this country

baked in and institutional.

So, come here,
experience what is here.

Make your own
judgments but above all,

experience the
beauty of this place.

And I think it'll open
up your mind a little bit.

It did mine.

Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.