Blue-fronted Amazon Project

Category: Nestlings, Pantanal, Team | Date: Feb 13 2009 | By: Blue-fronted Amazon

The reproductive season of the blue-fronted parrot at Pantanal occurs always between July and December. On July, the couples start to look and compete for cavities in trees to make their nests. In August they start to lay the eggs (with an interval of 2 to 15 days between eggs) which will be incubated for about 28 days.

Female in the nest.

Just born chick.

Females taking care of the nest.

The nestling are featherless, and have their eyes closed; and in my opinion they are wonderful! But not everyone agrees with that… ;0)

They stay 54-60 days in the nest, under extreme careful parental care. And around November/December, they are ready for their first flight!

These guys are ready for their first flight!

On 2008, we monitored 155 cavities on trees (which have been previously used as nest), from which 51 were used for nesting this reproductive season. The nests had anything between 1 and 5 eggs each, with a total of 131 eggs. Many eggs were lost, either due natural predation or rain/wind. Sixty-four parrots hatched, and around 40 of them made through their first flight (and were leg banded). We wish them good luck and a long life. Happy with this success we continue our work for their conservation.

Some more pictures for you… Enjoy!

Here I am checking a nest!

And Vandir is checking this one.

Everyone helps to check the equipments, to make sure everything is working properly.

Veronica is monitoring some chicks.

These guys grow fast! We need to measure them often to monitor their development.

3 responses so far

Category: Nestlings, Pantanal, illegal wildlife trade | Date: Oct 06 2008 | By: Blue-fronted Amazon

Other 225 nestling parrots were seized last week by the Military Police at Mato Grosso do Sul state!!! Now they sum 600 blue-fronted parrots and 16 yellow-faced parrots, taken from their nests to supply the (national and international) illegal animal trade – only on this reproductive season!!! These animals are now receiving health care at the Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center (CRAS) at Campo Grande. Since it was created 20 years ago, the CRAS has received thousands and thousands of blue-fronted parrot nestlings. Most of them captured on the board of Sao Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul states. The smugglers know this area pretty well, and sometimes stairs are left year-round at the nest-threes to facilitate the capture on the following reproductive season!  This year the illegal capture of these animals was unquestionably very intense; however, it will take three to four years for this huge decrease of recruitment to affect the wild population of parrots – about when the parrots would start their reproduction. The Blue-fronted Parrot Project aims to raise public awareness about the consequences of this uncontrolled illegal capture of the parrots. For the part decade we have been trying to instruct public not to acquire/buy those animals for pets – no consumers/buyers, no reason for the smugglers to capture them.We hope to come back with some better news next time.

8 responses so far

Category: Education, Nestlings, Pantanal, illegal wildlife trade | Date: Oct 01 2008 | By: Blue-fronted Amazon

On Sept 19^th, after receiving an anonymous call, the Environmental Military Police made the seizure of 377 offspring of parrots - the largest ever held in Mato Grosso do Sul. Fifty-three, out of the 377 nestlings, died. Fifteen were yellow-faced parrots (Amazona xanthops), and the rest were blue-fronted parrots (A. aestiva). The parrots were being transported in boxes of vegetables and came from Ivinhema (approximately 290 km from Campo Grande) and the smugglers were using kids to collect the nestlings and eggs from the nests. The animals were brought to the Center for Rehabilitation of Wild Animals (CRAS) in Campo Grande, where they are receiving health care from the CRAS personnel, under the coordination of Vinicius Andrade Lopes. Sadly, the blue-fronted amazon parrot is still illegally collected in Brazil. It is a very popular parrot, due its ability to mimic sounds – being able to imitate words and phrases. This illegal capture directly decreases the recruitment of this species, and compromises its ability for further reproduction, as most of the nest-cavities are destroyed by the smugglers in order to gain access to the nests. These animals will stay at least for one year at CRAS and might be released after that. I met with Vinicius to discuss the necessary strategies in order to prevent the illegal wildlife trade, as raise public awareness and monitoring. It is very sad for us to see all these animals, knowing that they are only a small fraction of all the animals captured every year. But we will keep fighting for them and their environment. We will use all our efforts to fight against the illegal wildlife trade, and aware public about the importance of this and all the other wildlife species in Pantanal. We won’t give up. We will never give up.

Tags: Illegal Animal Trade, Nestlings, Pantanal

2 responses so far

Category: Education, Nestlings, Pantanal | Date: Sep 22 2008 | By: Blue-fronted Amazon

We are still at the field, working with the activities of the thematic month. The guests who are visiting the Refugio Ecologico Caiman (www.caiman.com.br) are having so much fun! Our externs (Lorena, Diana and Veronica) lecture to the guests, with the help of Caiman guides (Fábio, Helder, Leonardo, Vitinho and Daiana).      When checking the nests, the guest had the chance to see 3 little cute nestlings, with about 10-15 days old!!Besides visiting the collective roosting site of the parrots, they could enjoy a wonderful sunset, characteristic of the Pantanal.     When not with the guest, we monitor nests, eggs, and offspring of this reproductive season.And, on the spare times… Vandir teaches rappel to the externs – technique used to gain access to unreachable nests on the top of trees.Please stay connected! More news coming soon!   

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Category: Education, Nestlings, Pantanal, Partners | Date: Sep 11 2008 | By: Blue-fronted Amazon

During September 2008, we presented our research activities to the guests at the Refúgio Ecológico Caiman (www.caiman.com.br). This activity is called “Mês temático do Projeto Papagaio-verdadeiro” [Blue-fronted Amazon Parrot thematic month] and has as objective to provide the guests a better interactivity with the Project, the environment, and the local culture. After being introduced to the Project by a presentation, the guests of the Refúgio Ecológico Caiman have the opportunity to visit nests of blue-fronted Amazon parrots (with eggs and/or nestlings) and one roosting site. At the first week of this month, the guests had a chance to visit two parrot’s nests with 2 and 4 eggs, and a roosting site, with about 500 parrots!!!  Being able to have this unique experience will certainly approximate the guests with nature conservation, the parrots, and its environment. For us, this is a great opportunity to aware people about the importance of conservation and to divulge the Project.Our sincere thanks to Dr. Roberto Klabin and the Caiman team for this opportunity and great results! :0) 

2 responses so far

Category: Nestlings, Pantanal, Setbacks | Date: Feb 06 2008 | By: admin

We have just gotten back from the Pantanal, after a field trip full of exciting findings and setbacks to our research. The exciting findings from this trip were mostly related to the rainy season in Pantanal, which is when farms become flooded and the wild life rejuvenates with the return of the rains.

A tipical “Pantaneiro” and his horse, during the rainy season in the Pantanal

Also, the beautiful nestlings of black-hooded parakeet (Nandayus nenday), sharp-tailed conure (Aratinga acuticaudata), and white-eyed conure (Aratinga leucophthalma) that were monitored were beneficial to our research as well.

A black-hooded parakeet mom with its nestling and one egg.

Glaucia holds 2 young white-eyed conures

Vandir holds a young sharp-tailed conure

However, during this trip (and the past two), we experienced several setbacks to our research…The worst of all was the loss of ALL our biometry and banding materials and equipment. This equipment and materials are valued at US$600 all together. The scale (worth US$200), leg bands and pliers (worth US$300), and caliper (worth US$100) were all lost. The loss of this equipment was due to another problem with our car – a broken trunk door, which opened during the trip, allowing the bag with the equipment to fall off!!! We only realized that this equipment had been lost during our travels the following day, when we were about to start measuring the nestlings! We retraced our route along the road in an attempt to find our equipment, but we were unsuccessful…:-(

Besides all the equipment that was lost, we are in desperate need of a new vehicle that costs about UD$50,000, because our current vehicle is too old (too old means 14 years old) to perform field work, and is in need of being replaced. We are spending lots of money on maintaining this car, and it is cheaper to buy a new one than to keep paying to maintain the old one…and buy new equipment that falls out of the back door!

Our actual vehicle, crossing a flood area

3 responses so far

Category: Nestlings, Pantanal | Date: Nov 20 2007 | By: admin

Since 2005 the Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot Project is also monitoring other Psittacine species at South of Pantanal – Brazil. Our studies are generating data about their diary activity, grouping pattern and habitat use for reproduction, feeding and rest.
Among the species that we are studying, we can highlight: peach-fronted conure (Aratinga aurea), black-hooded parakeet (Nandayus nenday), blue crown conures (Aratinga acuticaudata), white-eyed parakeet (Aratinga leucophthalma), golden-collared macaw (Primolius auricollis), blaze-winged parakeet (Pyrrhura devillei), monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus), yellow-chevroned parakeet (Brotogeris chiriri), yellow-faced parrot (Alipiopsitta xanthops), orange-winged amazons (Amazona amazonica) and maximillian pionus (Pionus maximiliani).

Veronica holds 3 nestlings of peach-fronted conure (Aratinga aurea).

Nestlings of black-hooded parakeet (Nandayus nenday).

Nestlings of yellow-faced parrot (Alipiopsitta xanthops).

Glaucia and nestlings of maximillian pionus (Pionus maximiliani).

Six nestlings of yellow-chevroned parakeet (Brotogeris chiriri).

With the end of the reproductive season of the blue fronted parrot, our research focuses on these species. Several of those start their reproductive season in November and for the next three months we are going to localize nests and start monitoring eggs and nestlings.

Little is known about the ecologic aspects of these Psittacine species at Pantanal and we are willing to contribute for their conservation. ?

2 responses so far

Category: Field Work, Nestlings, Pantanal | Date: Nov 20 2007 | By: admin

The end of the reproductive season of the Blue Fronted Parrot is approaching at Pantanal, MS – Brazil. Many nestlings have already done their first flight, while others are still in the nests and should be flying on the next couple of weeks. We (Glaucia, Vandir and the extern Jackson) are still in Pantanal. We have started filming the behavior of the nestlings, besides doing the biometry to verify their development.

Vandir and a nestling almost ready to do its first flight.

Glaucia is filming the behavior of the nestlings.

Glaucia doing biometry in a nestling.

These three guys are getting ready for their first flight.

We have also installed a radio transmitter in some nestlings to accompany their dislodgement and survival after the flight.

Glaucia and a parrot with radio transmitter.

Nestling with radio transmitter.

This one had already done its first flight and has a radio transmitter.

Glaucia doing census of parrot population. Soon it will be completely flood!

This is also the month when start raining, and Pantanal begins to flood. It is also the period when our field work starts to get harder, because we can only travel with a 4×4 car. But it is also a wonderful period for Pantanal and the animals that live here, because the drought of the last months also brought the wildfires.
This way, we keep doing our work, hoping that the date that we are creating could contribute for the Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot and Pantanal’s conservation.

3 responses so far

Category: Nestlings | Date: Oct 18 2007 | By: admin

Until October 19th, Glaucia, Vandir and the externs Veronica and Andrea, will be monitoring the growth of Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot nestlings using biometry and checking the development stage. All the eggs have already hatched out and the litters vary from 1 to 3 baby parrots. Most of them have started the feathering. The adults’ behavior taking care of the nestlings is monitored by camera trap installed by Vandir at the nest entrance. Besides that, the nestlings are marked with a ring and samples for research are collected.

This is Vandir installing the camera trap.

Two nestlings

Two nestlings from the same nest.

Here Glaucia and Vandir are collecting samples for a research.

Monitoring a nest.

Glaucia and Veronica are doing the biometry in the nestling.

The nestling receives an identification ring.

Take a look at the feathering baby!

This one has 3 baby parrots!

This is a couple checking its nest.

The researches that are going on are: genetic study - Dr. Renato Caparroz/UCB; entomofauna study - Dr. Gustavo Graciolli/UFMS; Chlamydophila research - Dr. Tania Raso/USP; herpesvirus research of - Mariangela da Costa Allgayer/ULBRA; Escherichia coli research - Master student Andre B. S. Saindenberg/USP; and the intestinal microbiota research - Master student Luciana Allegretti.
We are glad with all these research going on with our project!
The field trip is not finished yet!! We will be back soon with more pics! ?

2 responses so far

Category: Nestlings, Pantanal | Date: Oct 07 2007 | By: admin

Glaucia and Vandir are in the south of Pantanal, investigating a little more about the reproductive biology of the Blue Fronted Parrot. The reproductive season initiates in July, when the couples begin to look for cavities that work as nests; the posture and egg incubation starts in August; the hatching occurs in September, and the nestlings leave their nests in November.
During this period, the Project team stays 15 days per month in the field, monitoring the nestlings with a camera inside the nest, registering their hatch and doing their biometry.

We will come back soon from this field trip with more new and pictures!!

Nest of Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot.

These are cute baby parrots!

This is the extern Veronica, monitoring a nest with a video camera.

Here Glaucia is doing biometry in one nestling.

Glaucia and Vandir monitoring a nest.

Glaucia is monitoring a nest where and adult Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot was predated.

An adult Parrot checking if this cavity would be a good nest!

This couple have found a cavity to initiate their posture.

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