Florida's rarest bird stars in new conservation documentary

TAMPA, Fla. — A small, brown bird found nowhere else in the world is garnering significant attention as conservationists fight to save the Florida grasshopper sparrow from extinction.

Only about 200 Florida grasshopper sparrows exist in the wild, in the last remaining dry prairies of Polk, Highlands, and Osceola counties. The critically endangered species is the focus of a new documentary, "Little Brown Bird," playing on Thursday at Tampa Theatre alongside two other wildlife conservation films.

"If you're at Disney World, every Florida grasshopper sparrow in the world is within a three-hour drive of you," Mary Marine said.

Watch full report from Michael Paluska

Marine is a Florida grasshopper sparrow biologist with Archbold Biological Station. While she wasn't part of the new film, her work supports the conservation effort highlighted in the documentary.

"It's amazing. What I really love to tell Floridians is that when we are talking about conservation of the Florida grasshopper sparrow, we're not just talking about some big, you know, you see it on TV conservation project, like this is your backyard. This is literally your bird," Marine said.

Tickets for Voices of the Corridor: Three films. One vision can be purchased online through the Tampa Theatre. The movies are playing at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18.

The sparrow's entire known population resides in what remains of the dry prairie in central Florida, making it one of the most geographically restricted bird species in North America.

Despite conservation efforts, the species remains critically vulnerable.

"200 is really what I would consider to still be on the brink, a couple of bad years, a bit of bad luck, and those numbers are low enough to really plummet," Marine said.

However, Marine remains optimistic about the bird's future thanks to collaborative conservation efforts.

"I don't foresee a future without Florida grasshopper sparrows because of how hard everyone has been working to keep them here," Marine said.

The documentary is one of three wildlife films premiering at Tampa Theatre: "Patchwork Wild," "The Book of George," and "Little Brown Bird." All three focus on Florida's wildlife corridor and conservation efforts.

Florida Wildlife Corridor Connect director, Alex Freeze, produced the strand to slough expedition in 2024, which resulted in the Patchwork Wild film. The documentary follows local trekkers who traversed 60 miles in seven days through Florida's wild spaces. The expedition team dubbed themselves the "Jolly Panthers" after spotting the endangered cats during filming.

"We hope that when people see this film, they'll be inspired by not only that wild connectivity, but that human connectivity, and want to carry that forward and protect these landscapes and go experience them for themselves," Freeze said.

"The Book of George" features National Geographic photographer George McKenzie Jr.

Paluska first profiled McKenzie Jr. earlier this year. McKenzie's mission is to save wild spaces and inspire the next generation of explorers and conservationists.

"My hope for the future is something I think I touched on the last time we connected, which is I don't want this to be the only thing the next generation sees," McKenzie said." I want them to be able to experience, live it, see it, and not have a picture that I took 10 years ago show up in a book or on a slide and be like, 'Oh, this is what we once had.' To be able to give them that and save that and preserve that for them is really important to me."

Marine emphasized that protecting the Florida grasshopper sparrow extends beyond just saving one species.

"The film and protecting the bird, you know, it's a story about birds. It's about conserving the birds. But really, it's a fascinating story of people, too," Marine said.

The birds have demonstrated their ability to adapt to ranchlands and working landscapes, which means that conservation efforts must include protecting both remaining dry prairies and working ranches that create green spaces.

"And then you zoom in all the way, and it's this little brown bird, and that's so emblematic, I think, of that fight, of that resiliency that we're all supporting," Marine said.

KT Bryden directed The Little Brown Bird; she is also the executive producer and the current film director at Wildpath, which produced the movie.

She said telling stories of conservation is more important than ever.

"We need more stories. We need more voices out there telling these types of things," Bryden said. "There is just such a small market for these stories compared to the rest of the media landscape. How many other topics do we get bombarded with? And these are really stories that are so important to our human health, our Earth, our well-being, and so it's just so important for people to be engaged and connected and try to make their own environmental films."

You can stream The Little Brown Bird online.

The evening will also feature a special introduction by Mallory Dimmitt and Carlton Ward Jr., as well as a panel discussion with filmmakers Page Buono, KT Bryden, and Danny Schmidt, preceding the films. After the screening, guests are invited to participate in an audience Q&A with characters from the films, including Buck Maclaughlin, Fabby Baeza-Tarin, and George McKenzie Jr.

Tickets are $10 at the box office ($12 online).

Share Your Story with Michael

A lot goes into the price of paradise and Michael Paluska focuses on every aspect. From the job market and housing to how Florida’s growth impacts our state’s wildlife. Send Michael tips to keep these important conversations going.

Contact Michael Paluska

.