We will share
our bird passions
with you
The well-being of all birds -- especially parrots -- is
Bird Endowment's passion.
Our daily labor, however, is breaking the extinction vortex
into which the Blue-throated Macaw has been thrust.
In the wild, we support those
in situ Blue-throated Macaw conservation projects
that are planned and executed with stakeholder consensus.
In captivity, our facility,
The
Blues Conservatory ™ empowers Blue-throated Macaw parents
to fledge and wean their offspring in the safety of a protected captive
envirnoment.
Our Saving
the Blues ™ breeding program for parent-rearing
preserves the integrity of the species cultural identity and
provides future breeding birds with the best potential for
hatching and parent-rearing their own offspring.
The Blues Conservatory's™ work well may be the greatest hope for
long-term ex situ perpetuation of the BTM
and the preservation of its species culture.
Our Saving the Blues™ program ensures the survival of
a bird in captivity that is most like those now so
seriously threatened with extinction in their Bolivia habitat.
If Saving the Blues™ is important to you, there's a place for
you in the nonprofit 501 (c) (3) Bird Endowment program.
Your support will
make an important and vital difference.
Blue as blues can be
Like The Blues Brothers on their "Mission from
God", we have a primary "mission" -- the Blue-throated Macaw. But, for the love of music we also are passionate about The Blues.
That's why we decided that one mission -- Saving the Blues -- can
serve two causes. That's why we support
The Blues Foundation.
At Bird Endowment, most of the blue birds have blues names. They're named after
icons of the blues music genre like:
Elwood Blues
Buster and All The Brothers
B.B. King
Buddy Guy
Eric Clapton
T-Bone Walker
Etta James
Sippie Wallace
Bonnie Raitt
Katie Webster
Ruth Brown
Koko Taylor
Janis Joplin
Albert King
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Irma Thomas
Lou Ann Barton
Elmore James
Aretha Franklin
Albert Collins
Francine Reed
Junior Wells
Keb' Mo'
Freddie King
Memphis Minnie
Nido
Adoptivo™ has begun the funding phase of another new breeding season in anticipation of building upon nine consecutive years
of success in Bolivia.
In hopes of surpassing previous levels,
we welcome back our faithful supporters and
call out to new participants to join us in the
2016-17 Nido Adoptivo™
Saving the Blues™ efforts in the
Blue-throated Macaw's home range.
Regarding the overall objectives, the 2014-15 season was our most successful year ever. Ten Blue-throated Macaw chicks fledged out of 4 Nest Boxes. A fifth box was used that did not fledge chicks, but shows promise for the future. The young Blue-throated Macaw pair with leg bands, that investigated a box last year, laid eggs this year. They did not hatch, but the pair is making good progress. The fact that these prospective parents were both raised in our Nest Boxes years ago is certainly encouraging.
This brings the grand total to 56 Blue-throated Macaw chicks produced in our Nido Adoptivo™ Nest Boxes for the past eight breeding seasons.
As a consequence of the program's ongoing successes, we continue to see the population increase in the Southern Zone, with flocks of
Blue-throated Macaws now traveling between
five local private ranches. This was unheard
of in the area five years ago.
Bird Endowment's
Nido Adoptivo™ program
started with a successful 2007 introduction.
For the 08-09 season it was expanded into
a range on the then new Barba Azul Nature Reserve
while still maintaining the existing program
from the previous season.
Acquisition of Barba Azul Nature Reserve has
vastly improved the potential for conservation
of the estimated <>300-bird
BTM population.
This only protected area for critically endangered wild Blue-throated
Macaws began with an 11,555 acre ranch in the then newly discovered
range in
Bolivia. The preserve was acquired by Asociación Armonía and others. This
included the survey area that
greatly
increased the known occurances
of the wild Blue-throated Macaw.
In 2014, another 14,827 acres of Beni savanna and palm forest island habitat was acquired,
more than doubling the size of
Barba Azul Nature Reserve to 27,180 acres.
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