Researchers and conservationists have helped to raise a bumper crop of scarlet macaw fledglings in the forests of Guatemala. Credit: WCS Guatemala Program A record number of scarlet macaw fledglings took flight over the forest canopies of Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve this fall. The 29 brilliantly colored birds fledging is a major conservation victory, say researchers and conservationists who monitored 24 nests. In stark contrast, only one fledgling from 15 monitored nests took flight in 2003. A scarlet macaw adult visits its nest in Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve. Credit: WCS Guatemala ProgramThe biosphere is home to an estimated 95 percent of the country’s 300 macaws. The birds have suffered in Guatemala due to habitat destruction and poaching for the pet trade. Researchers themselves had to take to the air for the monitoring project, often using rappelling lines on their visits to tree cavity nests, some of which are perched 100 feet up. The monitoring...