Category: Focus Areas
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Pilot View: Preserving Pacific Flyway Habitat for Sandhill Cranes
There’s one thing for certain when you take to the skies – once you leave the ground, you’ll eventually need to land. That’s not just true for our volunteer pilots. It’s also true for our feathered friends. For Sandhill Cranes flying through Central California, agricultural fields are a vital part of their migratory journey. Photographer…
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Pilot View: Flying West with Endangered Masked Bobwhite Quail
When first described by scientists, the masked bobwhite quail thrived across the Southwestern United States and into Central Mexico. By the turn of the century, however, the population began to decline. And by the late 1940s, the birds were believed to be extinct. That changed in 1964, when an Arizona taxidermist followed reports of quail…
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Documenting Critical Habitat for Sandhill Cranes
Sandhill Cranes are one of the oldest living bird species, with a fossil record stretching back millions of years. Today, however, their continued success faces growing challenges as urban expansion and climate change reshape the landscapes they depend on. As cities push into rural areas, vital crane habitat disappears—along with the agricultural lands and wetlands…
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Pilot View: Two Days. Hundreds of Miles. Flying the Colorado River.
The Colorado River is a majestic and essential waterway, flowing from the mountains of Colorado through several western states and into Mexico. Once, it reached the Pacific Ocean; today, the water rarely makes it that far. Water use along the Colorado is a complicated and often controversial topic, especially as millions of people, businesses, and…
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Helping an Endangered Quail Take Flight Again
There has always been a special place in our hearts for our fellow aviators, and we are not just talking about pilots. LightHawk works with partners across the United States to conserve endangered birds, and for several years we have supported the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center…