Nido Adoptivo™ Is Building On Achievements, Moving Forward
The Nido Adoptivo™ annual funding campaign for the nest box project began in 2006, developed by Bird Endowment founder Laney Rickman in partnership with the Bolivian NGO Asociación Armonía to support the Blue-throated Macaw Conservation Program in El Beni state, Bolivia, the endemic bird's natural range. This effort follows the “Saving the Blue-throated Macaw Ara glaucogularis: A Species Recovery Plan,” developed by Asociación Armonía and Loro Parque Fundación.
Each US$300 donation to sponsor a nest box for a year covers the cost of materials to build the nest boxes, plus fieldwork to locate and establish appropriate nesting areas where wild breeding pairs would accept artificial nest boxes. In addition, park guards monitor and protect the nest boxes during the breeding season.
The Blue-throated Macaw is Critically Endangered. Nido Adoptivo™'s objective is to increase the annual reproductive output of the Blue-throated Macaw wild population through a strategy utilizing nest boxes attached to trees. Over the past 20 years, our efforts have helped the population grow from fewer than 100 when the nest box project began to nearly 800 today.
Since the program’s inception, an incredible 184 Blue-throated Macaws have fledged from the nest boxes at the Laney Rickman Reserve. For the first time, in 2017, a second-generation chick was raised by parents who had both fledged from these nest boxes. In 2021, nine breeding birds were confirmed to be ringed individuals, having fledged from these nest boxes in previous years and returning to breed, demonstrating the success of this program and the promise of future population growth.
As part of Armonía’s ongoing efforts to improve the nest box project, camera traps have been used since 2020 to better understand the breeding habits of the Blue-throated Macaw. See videos by Bennett Hennessey using camera trap footage from each breeding season.
The GRAPH above shows the cumulative number of
Blue-throated Macaw fledglings by breeding season.
Note that the curve steepens after 2018, with numbers increasing more rapidly after the land became protected as a reserve. The project celebrated the milestone of 100 chicks fledged in 2021, after 16 breeding seasons. Extrapolating the trendline on the graph suggests that the next milestone, the 200th chick, could be reached in 2027 after only an additional 6 years!
The steepening curve is encouraging and suggests that conservation strategies are effectively addressing the threats faced by the Blue-throated Macaw. This trend indicates a significant acceleration in the number of chicks successfully fledging annually, a crucial indicator of population recovery and conservation success.
2026 Video coming soon!
BREEDING SEASON RESULTS:
During the 2026 breeding season, the nest box project at the Laney Rickman Reserve produced the most fledged chicks in one year, with a record-breaking 20 Blue-throated Macaw chicks.
Since the Nido Adoptivo nest box program started in 2006, an incredible total of 184 Blue-throated Macaws have joined the wild population. See the graph above.