Associated Press article on the Red Siskin Initiative

On November 1^st 2018, the Associated Press (AP) published an article by Fabiola Sánchez on the Red Siskin Initiative, “Venezuela’s Vanishing Red Bird Gets a Coffee Pick-Me-Up”  (”Esfuerzos titánicos para salvar ave diminuta en Venezuela” in Spanish), which was picked up by international news media including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Fox News, and others. The article celebrated RSI’s work to save the Red Siskin, its habitats and other species that depend on those habitats, with a focus on the success of our Birds and Coffee project, which helps coffee farmers achieve Smithsonian Bird Friendly® (BF) certification, and aims to expand in order to create a wildlife corridor that would connect multiple protected areas in the region. Several RSI members were interviewed for the article, including Mike Braun, co-founder; Miguel Arvelo, Coordinator; Luis Arrieta, Birds and Coffee Project Technician; and Jhonathan Miranda, field ornithologist.

AP also visited the community where the Birds and Coffee project is focused, Piedra de Cachimbo, in Vargas State, as well as Zoológico Leslie Pantin, in Aragua State, where the Red Siskin Conservation Center (RSCC) is located.

We are grateful to the entire AP Team, including Fabiola Sánchez, Ricardo Nuñes, and Fernando Llano, for their interest and for contributing to red siskin conservation by highlighting successes that Venezuelans at home and abroad can all take pride in.