"Constant Vigilance for the Brazilian Pantanal’s Hyacinth Macaws" by Dr, David Waugh, Correspondent, Loro Parque Fundación published in the February 2025 issue of the Parrot Society Magazine

Why do we have to keep a close eye on the Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) in the wild? It should be simply for the sheer enjoyment of seeing such a magnificent bird, the world’s longest, brightest blue macaw, but regrettably those attributes mean that it is highly susceptible to illegal removal from the wild for clandestine trade. The number of Hyacinth Macaws in the seasonally flooded Brazilian Pantanal biome, where most (77%) of the macaws’ population lives, reached a critically low level in the 1980s, with an estimated excess of 10,000 birds being captured and sold illegally. In the following decade, the situation worsened further with the loss of habitat by deforestation and fires, reducing the size of the population to about 1,500 individuals. However, thanks to the intense effort since the 1990s of the project by the Instituto Arara-Azul (IAA - Blue Macaw Institute), a Brazilian NGO, the decrease of the overall population has slowed and in certain areas has been gradually recovering. Previously classified as "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it now has a current total population of about 6,500 individuals and is now assigned the lower threat level of "Vulnerable"

However, given that it is still a threatened species, the Loro Parque Fundación supports the continuation of the Hyacinth Macaw conservation project of 34 years in the Pantanal, led by Dr Neiva Guedes, the dedicated president of the IAA. The project studies the biology and ecological relationships (basic biology, reproduction, behaviour, habitat requirements) of the Hyacinth Macaw and manages nests and by means of environmental education promotes the conservation of the species in its natural habitat. The main objectives are to maintain viable populations of Hyacinth Macaws in the medium and long term in the wild, and to promote the conservation of biodiversity and the Pantanal as a whole.

Fieldwork in the Pantanal is rewarding but also challenging, because even during the rainy season with the landscape completely flooded, nest monitoring by the project field team is not interrupted. In the winter, temperatures can drop below 7°C and in summer, they can exceed 40°C and one afternoon in October 2023 the field team measured 53°C in the Pantanal. Not only did the team members have to cope with the extreme temperatures, but it also impacts the Hyacinth Macaws inside and outside the nests by promoting an increase in some ectoparasites and causing changes in the behaviour of the birds. The macaws are found mainly on private properties located in the Pantanal and Cerrado biomes (the latter being substantially drier), in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. To achieve the constant monitoring and vigilance, the field team must travel long distances, even up to 400 km, travelling overland and by boat. In the most recent report of the 2023-2024 breeding season, the IAA documents the repeated visits to 33 properties in ten regions. Overall, there were 2,802 visits to nests, 353 nests were closely monitored, and 257 nests were managed for one aspect or another. Additionally, 56 nest-boxes were installed, and in the end 218 nests were occupied by Hyacinth Macaws, mainly in manduvi trees (Sterculia apetala) .

A major locality for breeding is the Caiman Ecological Refuge, which means that the project focuses much attention there. At that site 117 nests were monitored, of which 56 per cent were active nests of Hyacinth Macaws. Of the chicks fledging from the nest, 50 per cent were from artificial nests, highlighting that nest-boxes are extremely important, at least for the current phase of the project. A total of 78 chicks survived to fledge from the nests. The results reinforce the vulnerability of the species and how necessary are the persistent monitoring activities, installation of new nest-boxes and constant management of natural and artificial nests. Over the most recent breeding season the monitoring has been advanced by the installation of camera traps and 30 nests, resulting in 376 hours of video and no less than 13,622 photos.

The value of cameras installed in nests monitored by the project has recently been highlighted with the first video record of free-living Hyacinth Macaw eggs hatching in two artificial nests (de Andrade Ramahlo, Fontoura & Guedes, 2024). The duration of the hatching process was very variable between eggs, with one hatching lasting 18 minutes and another at least 16.5 hours. The male and female macaws assisted the hatchlings during the hatching process, seeming to help the nestling come out of the shell by taking turns to touch gently the crack of the egg with the tip of the beak. Furthermore, by gently using her beak the female helped to remove the eggshell and to pull the nestling out, and thereafter provide the first feeding. Additionally it was possible to hear the vocalizations of the nestlings during the hatching event, even when still inside the egg.

As part of its work, the Hyacinth Macaw project also promotes observation tourism, lectures and workshops, and supports other research and trains people to continue field activities. In 2023-2024 these aspects involved a total of 1,197 people, with 610 received for observation tourism. In addition, many lectures given in the field and at meetings, eleven research partnerships continued, and 38 people were trained. Part of the message and training is the threat of fire and how to mitigate its effects on the Hyacinth Macaws and their habitats. In 2020 , the greatest drought in 60 years happened in the Pantanal and fires affected almost one third of the biome.

The project had to assess the effects of the fires on the Hyacinth Macaws over a huge area and take whatever emergency measures possible to try to alleviate the worst consequences, especially at the most important sites for the species.

Fire, caused mainly by human activities, and its mitigation in the Pantanal have since received widespread attention, and the recent publication of research into the controlled use of fires offers a way to help reduce the threat (Pineda Valles et al. 2023). The researchers conducted experiments in the use of prescribed burning, which is a technique commonly used to reduce accumulated combustible material in fire-prone ecosystems worldwide. The research evaluated the effect of prescribed burnings carried out in the early, mid, and late dry season in 2021 on three important habitats in the Pantanal: 1) flooded natural grassland with a proliferation of bush-willows Combretum spp., 2) natural grassland of seasonal swamps, and 3) flooded natural grassland flooded in which cambará trees (Vochysia divergens) dominated.

The burned area index indicated that fire was more efficient in habitats 1 and 2 because they are natural grasslands, the grass species being reduced by the burnings. Furthermore, if conducted properly, all prescribed burnings in the Pantanal can minimise the impact on tree cover (therefore, especially in habitat 3). Early dry season burnings are the best option to meet management objectives, and mid dry season burnings are also good but require a higher degree of experience on the part of fire-fighters. The results revealed that by implementing prescribed burning it is possible to increase ecological niches by generating heterogeneity within the landscape in fire-adapted ecosystems.

The researchers emphasis that there is no single fire management strategy for the entire Pantanal biome, and that it will vary according to the type of fuel material, plant physiology, climatic conditions, and duration of flooding of the landscape. If done properly, it will be good for Hyacinth Macaws.

References

de Andrade Ramalho, K.R. Fontoura, F.M, & Guedes. N, M.R (2024) First record of free living hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) eggs hatching using camera traps in southern Pantanal, Brazil. Ornithology Research, 33 (1), 6

Pineda Valles, H.E. Nunes, G.M., Berlinck, C.N., Goncalves, L.G., & Ribeiro, G.H.P.D.M. (2023), Use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Multispectral Data to Evaluate the Effects of Prescribed Burnings on ThreeMacrohabitats of Pantanal, Brazil, Remote Sensing , 15(11), 2934.