If you’re lucky and hear squawking in the forest island canopies of Bolivia, that might be the Blue-throated Macaw who makes itself at home in the 120.000 square kilometers of Los Llanos de Moxos. This critically endangered bird is well known for its beautiful blue and yellow plumes, making them popular in the pet trade. This threat, in combination with ever-increasing habitat loss, has dwindled their numbers and made them a focal species for the Armonía group.

But the Mouhamed bin Zayed species conservation fund’s journey with the Blue-throated Macaw doesn’t begin in 2025, if fact it begins years before that when Mr Tjalle Boorsma and his team at Armonía applied for a grant to build new breeding boxes on their home reserve, Barba Azul Nature in 2017. Since then, Armonía and the Blue-throated Macaw have become familiar names at the fund. 

In 2025, Mr Tjalle Boorsma and his team at Armonía conducted the second ever systematic population census for the species to compare to the previous result from 2015 to evaluate the effectiveness of past strategies, identify new threats, and refine future conservation actions. In their own words, “Without updated population data and trends, conservation planning is based on guesswork.” 

Ten years of conservation work have shown Armonía’s work to be highly effective. A population once estimated to be between 312-455 individuals has now nearly doubled to 623-785 Blue-throated Macaws. The census also revealed a new roosting site, discovered by Park Ranger Jhulian Machuca, just 5km outside of the Barba Azul boundary where 140 macaws spent the night. Riding the winds of this success, Armonía’s resolve to expand the Barba Azul Nature Reserve is stronger than ever, as two decades of conservation efforts are finally reflected in tangible results.