This subject is indeed fascinating.  Not just the subject, but the fact that the internet allows communication between the scientists directly involved with these programs and the members of the World Parrot Trust who are funding these endeavors, at least, in part.  I am a parrot enthusiast, I have 18 parrots, mostly adopted.  I adopted to help pre-owned parrots who otherwise would be in shelters still.  What a life for a bird; to be thrust into a tiny cage to live out their existence when they should be in a forest somewhere living as God intended.  But even living in that manner is disappearing nowadays.  Hence, the World Parrot Trust, and other conservation groups. 

Thank you, all you biologists, zoologists, etc., out there in the field for talking with us and letting us know what our funds are doing to help the parrots in the wild.  It stimulates us further to want to help even more.  It fascinates us and makes us feel good that mankind is trying to undo some of the harm he has already done.

Firstly, thank you to Ryan Watson for being such an excellent host and guide when we were fortunate enough to visit Al Wabra last month.  Their facility is first class and I have no doubt they are taking all precautions to ensure they have enough breeding birds to be the parents of the birds who will be released.  There is a lot of preparation to make sure the released birds will survive and breed and replenish the population and the area needs to be completely secured from poachers as well.  These birds have gotten a lot of publicity in Brazil so people know what they are, but it also means the poachers know more of their true value and they would be a tempting target.  I hope that when they are released, there is an eco-tourism lodge so we can enjoy these beautiful birds in the wild and provide jobs for the locals so they will want to protect the birds.  I know the Projeto Arara Azul has done a lot for the Hyacinth Macaw in the Pantanal and a couple years ago this lead to a Hy being rescued by a cowboy from a caiman in a river and turned into the project.  Before, they might have sold her on the black market.  The macaw named Kris was rehabbed and released about a week after we were there and Neiva Guedes told me she has been seen flying around the area with a mate.  A lot of work needs to be done to make people resident in these areas realize how important these birds are.