Team Bio

The Tambopata Macaw Project is a long term research project on macaw and parrot conservation and ecology in the lowlands of southeastern Peru. It was founded by Eduardo Nycander of Rainforest Expeditions in 1989 and directed by Dr. Donald Brightsmith since 1999. Its work with parrots and macaws, local communities, and government agencies has provided many insights into various aspects of these wonderful macaw and parrot species in the wild.

Shannan Courtenay

I was lucky to grow up spending much of my time outdoors in New Zealand and developed a love for animals and the natural world at a very young age. This grew into a strong drive to conserve biodiversity and whole ecosystems. I believe we have a responsibility to protect the environment and the entirety of the life within it.

After I received my wildlife biology and conservation ecology degree at La Trobe University in Australia, I was drawn to the lowland jungles of Peru because of their high biodiversity. Since then, I have been volunteering for The Tambopata Macaw Project because I believe this work is so valuable to the long-term conservation of parrots and macaws, which has a positive impact on whole ecosystems throughout Latin America.

The people involved in this project are experts in their field and work extremely hard to gather reliable scientific data which can be used to help parrots worldwide. I know that they truly appreciate every single cent given and will ensure it goes a long way to helping these species.

Janice Boyd

Dr Janice Boyd is a researcher on parrot conservation and parrot genetics issues at the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center at the Texas A&M Veterinary School. She also is president of the nonprofit 501(c)(3) Amigos de las Aves USA, also known as simply the Parrot Fund, that supports projects on wild and ex-situ parrot conservation and health, particularly in the Neotropics. She has been a key collaborator of the Tambopata Macaw Project since 2000.

Gabriela Vigo Trauco

I consider myself a parrot lover and wild psittacine researcher. I have been around parrots since I was 5 years old and I have been working with them in the wild, as part of the Tambopata Macaw Project, since 2003. I have also worked with parrots and macaws in captivity.

For the last 12 years, I have dedicated myself to the study of Scarlet Macaws in the wild in my native Peru, to try understand their breeding strategies and breeding behavior. Through all these years of hard field work, we have gathered unique scientific information that we are now using to design management strategies to help wild populations of Scarlet Macaws increase in numbers.

I am very excited that we have the chance to apply all the knowledge we have about this macaws to have a real impact in wild populations that are in trouble. I truly believe we have the knowledge to help them.

Donald J. Brightsmith

I am a tropical ecologist and conservation biologist who works on a variety of topics in parrot conservation, health and welfare. Back in the early 90's I read a book called "Neotropical Parrots in Crisis" and I realized that this family of beautiful, smart and charismatic birds were in great danger of extinction but we knew very little about them. So, I decided to dedicate my career and my life to study them in the wild and captivity and to promote their conservation. Since 1999, I have directed the Tambopata Macaw Project in the Amazon rainforest of Peru. There, after decades of hard work in the field, we have discovered many interesting aspects of macaw and parrot natural history. We are eager to use this information to implement management techniques to increase macaw and parrot populations that are declining throughout the Americas. Many colleagues are interested in using this information as well. We have the science, we know what to do, now we need your help to make it happen.