Conservation
Saffron-cowled blackbird
The Saffron-cowled blackbird (Xanthopsar flavus) is one of the most emblematic birds of our natural grasslands and one of the most endangered species in Argentina, at serious risk of extinction. It is estimated that there are only about 600 individuals left in small populations along the coast of our country (Corrientes and Entre Ríos).
It is a species with a dispersed and fragmented distribution, which inhabits and nests in grasslands and marshes with dense vegetation, forming colonies in different places each year, depending on the food available and the changes in the environment it uses.
In Entre Ríos it has been declared a Natural Monument since 2004, by decree 4952/04 of the General Directorate of Natural Resources, Forestry and Alternative Economies.
Collaborating in its conservation
El Potrero Reserve, being located in one of the few nesting areas of the Saffron- cowled blackbird colonies, joins its efforts every year to help in their conservation, collaborating with monitoring, colony and nest searches, and providing logistical support to researchers working with this species.
For several years, the NGO Aves Argentinas together with CECAL CONICET and local organizations have been carrying out the Yellow Thrush Project with the aim of protecting the last wild populations in the provinces of Corrientes and Entre Ríos in order to save this species categorized as “Endangered” on a global scale.
During the breeding season, the campaign implements a monitoring system through the so-called “Colony Guardians”: volunteers who contribute with time, effort and knowledge to guard from sunrise to sunset the few eggs and chicks produced each year by this species. It has been proven that the possibility of identifying, protecting and monitoring each nest has greatly increased the reproductive success of this bird.
El Potrero Reserve collaborates with these campaigns and provides logistical support to researchers and volunteers.
