The endangered El Oro Parakeet can be found only on the western slope of the Andes in Southern Ecuador. Its habitat is threatened by deforestation for pasturelands and fragmentation for farming and lumber.
ABC Conservation Framework
Efforts to save this species comes under Safeguarding the Rarest within ABC's Conservation Framework
Buenaventura Reserve hosts fourteen globally threatened birds: the El Oro Parakeet, Rufous-headed Chachalaca, Gray-backed Hawk, Ochre-bellied Dove, Gray-cheeked Parakeet, Cloud-forest Pygmy-owl, Little Woodstar, Long-wattled Umbrellabird, Gray-breasted Flycatcher, Ochraceous Attila, Gray-headed Antbird, Ecuadorian Tapaculo, Rufous-necked Foliage-gleaner, and Saffron Siskin. Mammals include puma, ocelot, mantled howler monkey, and two and three-toed sloths.
YouTube - Cloud Forest Pygmy Owl by Luis Uruena - Andrea Borras
Solutions
Ensure the long-term protection of the El Oro Parakeet by protecting land through reserve creation, restoring degraded habitat, and helping the reserve to become self-sustaining.
ABC Results
In 1999, ABC partner Fundación Jocotoco established the Buenaventura Reserve. Now encompassing 3,700 acres, Buenaventura is one of the ornithologically richest sites in Ecuador, with elements of the northern Choco forest and southern Tumbesian region.
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In 2012 with the assistance of ABC, Jocotoco purchased the Dianita property and acquired 318 more acres to expand Buenaventura's borders. It now connects the Reserve patches.
A lodge and trail system have been established at the reserve
A successful artificial nest box program for the El Oro Parakeet has been established, significantly aiding in the species recovery
What Next?
Continue to acquire land to protect the core breeding population and habitat of the El Oro Parakeet around the Buenaventura Reserve.
Reforest purchased land to convert former cattle pasture to parakeet habitat.
Promote greater connectivity between populations of parakeets within and outside the reserve through community outreach, improved land management and habitat restoration.
