Laney Rickman Blue-throated Macaw Reserve
The story of the Laney Rickman Blue-throated Macaw Reserve is deeply intertwined with the remarkable success of the Nido Adoptivo™ nest box project.
In 2006, Bird Endowment founder Laney Rickman joined forces with Bennett Hennessey, Asociación Armonía to launch Nido Adoptivo™, providing supplemental nest boxes for the Critically Endangered Blue-throated Macaw throughout its native range in Bolivia. Laney passionately spearheaded the project—and famously even dyed her hair blue for the Blues —until her untimely death in 2017.
In 2018, Asociación Armonía purchased the Espercancita cattle ranch, which encompassed 1,600 acres of vitally important Blue-throated Macaw breeding grounds. With support from American Bird Conservancy, the International Conservation Fund of Canada, IUCN Netherlands, and the World Land Trust, this vital habitat was permanently protected and named the Laney Rickman Blue-throated Macaw Reserve in honor of Laney and her extraordinary dedication to saving this magnificent species from extinction. American Bird Conservancy President Michael Parr hailed the establishment of the Reserve as one of the biggest conservation wins for birds in 2018.
Protecting these primary breeding grounds was a tremendous milestone. For the first time, the habitat surrounding many Nido Adoptivo™ nest boxes was secured for conservation, helping ensure the long-term future of both the nest box program and the Blue-throated Macaws that depend on it. Since then, Armonía has purchased several adjacent cattle ranches, bringing the Reserve to 7,600 acres.
The results have been extraordinary. To date, 184 Blue-throated Macaw chicks have successfully fledged from Nido Adoptivo™ nest boxes. Even more encouraging, increasing numbers of those fledglings—identified by their leg bands—have survived to adulthood and are now returning to breed and raise chicks of their own.
This second generation of nest box birds is an especially important measure of conservation success. It demonstrates that chicks produced through the program are not simply fledging, but surviving, reproducing, and contributing new birds to the wild population—an encouraging sign of continued population growth and long-term recovery.
The Blue-throated Macaw’s IUCN population trend has also improved from “decreasing” to “stable,” an important milestone for a species that remains Critically Endangered. Together, habitat protection and the Nido Adoptivo™ program are helping give the Blue-throated Macaw something once far from certain: a future in the wild.
“We are very pleased Esperancita ranch is bought … and will be called the ‘Laney Rickman Blue-throated Macaw Reserve,’ named after our dearest friend and conservationist Laney Rickman.
The most important breeding site for the southern subpopulation is now protected forever, and we can freely continue the nest box work that was started with the amazing help from Laney.”
~ Asociación Armonía
For an overview of both Barba Azul and the Laney Rickman Reserve including a location map, please click here
In charge of managing and protecting the Laney Rickman Reserve and the nest box program is Armonía’s employee Park Ranger César Flores, once a cattle rancher, today a conservationist and protector of the Blue-throated Macaws. César and his family live on the Reserve.
