Good bird news from Ecuador

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This video says about itself:

Hummingbirds, Ecuador, Bird is the Word

5 Apr 2011

The Violet-tailed Sylph is our Golden Bird for this episode filmed at Tandayapa Lodge in Ecuador with Tropical Birding. We feature hummers from various parts of Ecuador including the bizarre Ecuadorian Hillstar from the Upper Andes. We discuss hummingbird strategies and talk to the owner of the lodge Iain Campbell.

From Wildlife Extra:

A conservation land purchase in Ecuador will help protect rare birds

December 2013: The outlook for at least 15 globally endangered bird species-including the rare El Oro Parakeet-has just gotten brighter, thanks to a land deal engineered by Ecuador’s Fundación Jocotoco, Rainforest Trust, and American Bird Conservancy. The deal expands Ecuador’s renowned Buenaventura Reserve by 600 acres, to a total of 4,600 acres.

The rare birds expected to benefit include many of the world’s last 800 El Oro Parakeets and all of the remaining Ecuadorian (El Oro) Tapaculo, which numbers as few as several dozen individuals.

“We are encouraged that this reserve is now protecting a substantial portion of the global population of the El Oro Parakeet,” said Rocio Merino, Executive Director of Fundación Jocotoco. “We must now ensure the protection of surrounding landscapes that are frequently used by bird species from a unique combination of Chocó, Tumbes, and western Andean regions within the reserve. Working with surrounding communities of El Placer and Moromoro, including private landowners and municipalities, will be key to our long-term success.”

Buenaventura Reserve was established in 1999 to protect the El Oro Parakeet and other endangered wildlife. It is located on the west slope of the Andes in southern Ecuador and represents the sole protected area providing habitat for the parakeet, which was only discovered in 1980.

The reserve protects the largest remnant patch of a unique ecosystem that combines elements of tropical wet and dry forests. As little as five percent of this forest, which once spanned northern Peru and parts of the Ecuadorian coast, may now remain. More than 330 species of birds have been recorded at Buenaventura, with 34 species described as local endemics.

“Expanding the Buenaventura Reserve is an urgent conservation priority as the future of the El Oro Parakeet and the Ecuadorian Tapaculo depend tremendously upon the existence of the reserve and the forests it protects,” said Paul Salaman, CEO of Rainforest Trust. “This significant expansion of the reserve is a great conservation victory that’s going to result in a stronger, more effective sanctuary for wildlife in Ecuador.”

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