Many parrot species are struggling with the effects of human impacts. Counting parrots allows WPT researchers to understand how vulnerable parrot populations are doing, where conservation efforts should be focused, and measures their impacts.

Parrots coming together to roost at night in groups can present a good opportunity to determine numbers. However, counting parrots arriving or leaving a roost can be difficult, as often parrots move back and forth repeatedly and only settle after dark.

WPT’s Nigeria Coordinator Ifeanyi Ezenwa decided to use night vision technology to help count Grey Parrots in Nigeria with funding from WPT and the Conservation Leadership Programme. His team used a tripod-mounted night-vision camera to take multiple photos of a roost tree. The photos were then stitched together and the parrots counted using wildlife counting software. The method resulted in a dramatic increase in the consistency of population estimates between people doing the counting and has since been published in the Journal of Ornithology.