Nest box project for the El Oro Parakeet (Pyrrhura orcesi) in Buenaventura Reserve, El Oro province, Ecuador

The El Oro Parakeet (Pyrrhura orcesi) was discovered in 1980 is an endangered and endemic species of Ecuador, is found only in the Andes of the provinces of Cañar, Azuay and El Oro. Due to the intensive habitat loss in the region since more than a century ago, as a result of the expansion of the agricultural and livestock frontier, there is currently only 5% of the vegetation cover. For this reason, populations of the species have been reduced to less than 1000 individuals. The Buenaventura Reserve, the only protected area in the region, shelters a population of about 240 individuals, which are monitored annually since 2002. Within the Reserve are located 60 nest boxes that have been used by the El Oro Parakeet during the nesting season between December and April of each year. This artificial nest system has increased the parakeet’s population in the reserve by 30% in the last six years. 2017 was a successful year for the nesting period of the parakeet, with 91 initial eggs and 67 nestlings, of which 50 fledged. Estimating that 93% of the nestlings become fledglings, by 2017 we would have approximately 62 fledglings, and this approximate number exceeds that of the previous three years.