Matt Mendenhall

The decades-long project to keep the California Condor from going extinct faces a new crisis due to the widespread strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported on Wednesday that six condors are confirmed to have died from HPAI since March 20, and 12 other deceased birds are suspected to have had the illness. Five more condors are undergoing testing for the bird flu and are receiving care.

Every incidence of a bird being hit by an aircraft is sad, but this story is particularly shocking. On November 19, 2022, a United Airlines flight from Chicago was on its final approach to Newark International Airport in New Jersey at 3:45 p.m. when it hit a bird about 9 nautical miles from the runway at about 3,000 feet above ground.

A documentary film about bird rehabilitators in India’s capital city is among the five nominees for the best documentary feature film of 2022. All That Breathes was released in theaters in October and is slated to be available on HBO Max sometime this year (a date hasn’t been announced). If it wins, it will become just the second bird-themed documentary honored by the Academy Awards after March of the Penguins, released in 2005.