Harpy Eagle Nest, Colombia.

On December 13, 2025, a chick named "Diciembre" hatched — the second chick recorded since we began monitoring this nest in San Juan de Arama, Meta, Colombia. Today, December is three and a half months old, growing quickly under the watchful care of its parents.

The nest sits in the Serranía de la Macarena, a Colombian mountain range in Meta at the Andean foothills where the Amazonian forest begins. This unique meeting point of Andean, Amazonian, Orinoco, and Guiana ecosystems supports an extraordinary diversity of plants and animals, making it a biodiversity hotspot and a vital habitat for species such as the Harpy Eagle.

Don Jairo, a farmer in the Serranía de la Macarena, has cultivated cacao since 2016, when the Colombian government, under the Santos administration, launched a peace‑time program offering farmers substitutes for coca crops. As part of the policy, Don Jairo replaced his coca fields with cacao plantations, receiving technical support, seeds, and training to ensure the transition was viable.

Over time, the family built their livelihoods on sustainable cacao. They gained stable income and legal market access. Their relationship with the land deepened. Conservation became integral to their farming. The community protected forest patches that host the Harpy Eagle. Don Jairo’s family also benefited from ecotourism and conservation payments for safeguarding the nest on their land.

Today, the family relies entirely on income from cultivating cacao and from participating in programs that reward the protection of the Harpy Eagle's nest. Their journey from cultivating illicit crops to practicing sustainable agriculture demonstrates the positive impact of peace‑era policies, strong community involvement, and wildlife conservation. These factors have enabled the family to achieve stable livelihoods while contributing to both economic development and environmental preservation.