Dr. Andres Alvarez measuring a yellow-faced parrot nest in a termite mound
One Earth Conservation parrot conservation efforts in Paraguay have really grown in the past year.
First and foremost, we celebrate the official formation of Asociación para la Conservación de Psitácidos del Paraguay (Association for the Conservation of the Parrots of Paraguay). This has been in the making for a couple of years, under the committed leadership of Dr. Diana Pésole. She and several of our field conservationists, including Dr. Pam Segovia, Matías Silvera, and Dr. Andrés Álvarez, have worked diligently with One Earth Conservation for over ten years striving to keep parrots flying free in Paraguay (photos below). It is our hope that this new organization within Paraguay can raise more funds and work more synergistically with local stakeholders and the public. May it be so!
We are also excited to announce that, as of late last month, we have completed two seasons of intensive study of the yellow-faced parrot, a species that is facing the threats of poaching, habitat fragmentation, and agricultural use of their nesting and feeding grounds. As part of this ground-breaking work in Paraguay we recently released a Guide that asks questions, makes recommendations, and suggests needed research areas to pursue so that we can protect this and other parrot species in Paraguay. The Guide is mostly a literature review of pertinent subjects that relate to yellow-faced parrot conservation combined with a summary of our field data. One of the biggest threats for the yellow-faced parrot is the loss of ground termite mounds, in which they nest, due to agricultural activities. So studying the parrot means studying termites, plants, trees, and soil types. You can read more about these subjects here in our guide.
We also recently released our Paraguayan Annual Report. In this we describe our growing Rescue and Liberation Center, our macaw nest monitoring and protection program, our population counts, our education and awareness activities, and our program for interns.
Image caught by a trail camera of a nesting red-and-green macaw in our conservation area
Next year will be an ever-bigger year as we continue to partner with Paracel, Estancias La Puri, and Centurion, and grow our collaboration with World Wildlife Fund in our macaw conservation project. We will also expand our Rescue and Liberation Center and continue to offer parrot conservation courses in Paraguay and other countries.
Rescued and then released red-and-green macaws (photos by Matías Silveras)
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