Save a Parrot Nest!

You are helping us to protect parrot nests in the wild. We are in the final weeks of the nesting season.

In Nicaragua, we were monitoring nine nests. Unfortunately, unseasonal rains have waterlogged three nests creating humidity and mold that made it difficult for the eggs to incubate. Another nest was destroyed by natural causes, likely a barred forest falcon which is an expert at extracting bird chicks from nest cavities.

Poaching for the illegal pet trade continues to be a major threat. One nest located on a private forest area was stolen by poachers who used boot spikes to climb the tree and extract the birds, just a week after we had banded them. 

So, after losing five of the nine nests, we are in the final days of caring for the final four nests and their nine chicks. They parrotlets whould fledge in the next two to three weeks. Your support is especially critical right now because the funds you gift are used to pay the farmers who have successfully protected the nests. 

In El Salvador, we were unable to monitor and protect yellow-naped Amazon nests this year because the Ministry of Environment contracted a consulting firm to do the job in the same mangrove area where we had worked in the past. We were disappointed to learn that to this date, nests were not protected and an entire season of nests were lost. 

In May, we plan to carry out annual population monitoring in Nicaragua because parrot families stick together after nesting season when the young birds do not travel as far. We do this general monitoring annually.

Thank you for your incredible for the parrots. Science has shown that these birds are not only extremely intilligent, they intentionally plant trees across the landscape. They are the reforesters that our planet needs. Your support helps the birds do this vital work. 

The yellow-naped Amazon is critically endangered, yet, against all odds, you are helping us protect them in overlooked geographies like those in the dry forests of Nicaragua and El Salvador. As a result, we are gradually seeing increases in the populations we work to protect.

One challenge we currently face is that we have no single funder to support the parrot conservation program, but individual donors like you who make it possible for us to protect nests. We also face admisitrative hurdles presented by the government in Nicaragua, that has driven nearly all other conservation NGOs out of that country. We persist thanks to your support. 

Thanks to you, during the past several months we made reward payments to farmers who protected five parrots nests, helping eight parrots fly into the wild. An anonymous donor affiliated with the SoCal Parrots also contributed so that we could make these payment. We are so grateful to you all. Two additional parrots were protected last season at the Morgans Rock Hotel and nature reserve in Nicaragua. In all, you helped us protect seven nests, helping fourteen parrotlets to flege.  

During the past three months, our team has been patrolling the forest and carried out informal birding and also birding as part of October Big Day. Through these observations, we casually recorded 50 birds, which includes 35 birds roosting in a single tree! It is impressive when you consider that in 2009, our research resulted an estimated number of 80 birds in the entire Paso del Istmo Wildlife Corridor in Nicaragua. With each passing year, the parrots are more readily observed, and that, is great news!

Now, we await new nesting activity by the parrots. When we recently visited the farmers to make the payments, we also climbed up to check on the nest and remove debris, insect pests (non-native bees), and make sure the nest was in good condition for the next see. 

Thank you for helping us to protect the parrots and support the communities.