Bird Conservation

The Foundation has been making strides in bird conservation and taken a lead role in efforts to conserve some of the most endangered birds to bring them back from the brink. Our contributions on behalf of bird species include:

Puerto Rican Parrot

The Puerto Rican parrot is an important part of Puerto Rico’s natural and cultural history, and is a symbol of national pride and natural resource conservation. There were once over one million of these birds and today there are only 200 left. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and its partners are helping to build a new aviary in the Caribbean National Forest to serve as the primary facility for the reproduction and reintroduction of Puerto Rico’s national symbol.

California Condor

The Foundation has also made a long-term commitment to the recovery of birds such as the California condor, which was nearly extinct, with only one breeding pair left in the wild in 1985. After 9 years of investments by the Foundation in a model captive breeding program, the population has grown to 140 birds now flying free.

Bird Habitat Conservation

With its partners, the Foundation invests more than $3 million annually for birds and their habitat, including programs to help private landowners enroll their lands in bird habitat conservation programs, protect migratory bird and songbird nesting and feeding grounds, and restore species such as the red-cockaded woodpecker to their historic range.