Watch The Lost Bird Project

The Lost Bird Project is a 2012 documentary film directed by Deborah Dickson that tells the story of sculptor Todd McGrain's mission to memorialize five extinct North American bird species. The film follows McGrain as he travels across the United States to install his sculptures in the locations where these birds were last seen alive.

The movie focuses on five bird species: the Great Auk, the Labrador Duck, the Heath Hen, the Carolina Parakeet, and the Passenger Pigeon. Using his artistic talents, McGrain creates life-size bronze sculptures of these birds and places them in the exact locations of their last sightings in an effort to raise awareness about their extinction.

The film opens with McGrain explaining the inspiration behind his work - the death of his brother from an overdose. The shock and grief of his brother's death led him to think deeply about the fragility of life and the concept of loss. This introspection led him to an interest in extinct bird species and the challenge of using art to create a lasting tribute to their memory.

The journey begins with McGrain visiting the site of the last known sighting of the Great Auk on the windswept shores of Newfoundland. The bird was hunted to extinction for its meat, feathers, and oil, and its final moments were captured by a taxidermist who preserved its body. McGrain's sculpture is placed on the shore to reflect the bird's natural habitat, and its presence serves as a haunting reminder of what humans are capable of doing to other species.

The film then moves on to the story of the Labrador Duck, a bird that went extinct in the mid-19th century due to over-hunting and habitat destruction. McGrain's sculpture of the bird is placed in a marshy wetland where the duck was last seen. The irony of the situation is not lost on McGrain - a mall now stands where the wetland once was, a symbol of man's indifference to the natural world.

The third bird in the series is the Heath Hen, which went extinct in the early 20th century due to hunting and the destruction of its habitat. McGrain's sculpture is placed in Martha's Vineyard, where the last surviving male of the species was captured in 1908. The emotional impact of seeing the sculpture in situ is palpable, and viewers are left with a sense of awe at the beauty and fragility of life.

The Carolina Parakeet is the fourth bird in the series, and its extinction was caused by the destruction of its habitat and the killing of the birds for their colorful feathers. McGrain's sculpture of the parakeet is placed in a park in Florida, where the birds once flew freely. Viewers are left with the impression that the bird's demise was entirely preventable, and that the loss of this beautiful species is a tragedy that can never truly be understood.

The final bird in the series is the Passenger Pigeon, a bird that once numbered in the billions but was hunted to extinction by the early 20th century. McGrain's sculpture is placed in Wisconsin, where the last bird in the wild was seen. The enormity of the loss of this species is not lost on viewers, and McGrain's sculpture serves as a testament to what can happen when humans fail to protect the natural world.

The Lost Bird Project is a powerful and moving tribute to the beauty and fragility of life. Through McGrain's sculptures, viewers are reminded of the immense loss caused by the extinction of these bird species and are left with a sense of awe at the beauty of the natural world. The film serves as a call to action, urging viewers to take responsibility for their actions and work to protect the species that still exist before they meet the same fate as those memorialized in McGrain's sculptures.

The Lost Bird Project is a 2012 documentary with a runtime of 56 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 8.0.