Sweet success!  Some great new shots from Alex of our rehabilitated birds "Perro", a scarlet macaw now with a mate, and "Paolo", a great green macaw.  These birds have been flying free for many months now, but occasionally return to Tierra Hermosa, sometimes interacting with birds that are currently rehabilitating in the flight cage.

Pura vida,

Kevin

Some great macaw news...our scarlet macaw "Perro", who had been with us about a year after recovering from malnutrition in illegal captivity, finally went fully wild and hadn't been seen for months.  In late April, he reappeared at Tierra Hermosa with a mate and two young!  The bird has some identifying characteristics, and wild macaws stay high in the trees when they visit the property.  These birds came in much closer and Alex was able to recognize "Perro."  These are the kinds of successes that keep us going.  Our great green Macaw is close to going fully wild now as well, flying free 100% of the time and making occasional visits to the property.  With any luck, we will see the same with him in a few months!  Other news:  A juvenile howler monkey was found abandoned in the forest and brought to us.  It was weak and appeared malnourished.  He was given a careful recovery diet, gained back his strength and recently released.  Volunteer Matt Thomson visited again with friends and helped with a number of tasks, including setting up a wild almond (almendro) tree nursery.  Almendros are very important trees to macaws and many other forms of wildlife as a food source and shelter.  In return, the trees rely on macaws and other species to distribute their seeds.  Some of the trees will be planted on the property and others may be sold to encourage replanting in other areas where the trees once stood.

More news to come!
Pura Vida,
Kevin

"Perro" interacting with our recovered great green macaw (image by Heike Andreas).

Almendro seedlings waiting for planting (image by Alex Martinez).

Some long overdue updates...

I have been very busy these last months, and have finally gotten around to posting some Tierra Hermosa updates.

Two of our macaws, a scarlet nicknamed "Perro"and a great green we called "Paolo", are at the completion stages of returning to the wild after rehabilitation here.  The scarlet macaw stayed around the property for about a year, coming and going at will.  He was seen in the company of another macaw, which may have been his new mate.  He has been gone for several months now, indicating he has most likely joined a wild flock.  The great green macaw, while still returning to the property, is staying away for longer periods and will most likely permanently join a wild flock very soon.  This is a particularly happy ending, as this bird was in very bad shape when we received him, suffering from extreme malnutrition and having had his feathers severely cut to prevent flight.

An attempt to introduce our long-term resident white-faced monkey to the local troupe on the property was met with disappointing results.  The alpha male of the local troupe was extremely aggressive toward him, chasing him back to the compound.  Monkeys are particularly difficult to return to the wild because of this territoriality, but it was worth the attempt.  So for now he remains with us in a semi-captive situation.  We also recently received a spider monkey through a confiscation.

We are grateful to some recent new donors who have helped out with expenses here--check out our Volunteers and Donors page!

Long-time Canadian supporter Matt Thomson will be visiting Tierra Hermosa in April, and I am planning to return in May, once I have completed some very late-in-life college coursework!

Pura Vida,
Kevin 

As promised, here are some of the great images taken by volunteer Heike Andreas during her five week stay at Tierra Hermosa.  

 Alex opening an access panel in the flight cage.

 Having a serious conversation with "Paolo", a nearly-recovered green macaw.

 Young green macaws on their way to a fresh start and freedom.

 An aracari, a toucan relative, in our forest.

 The guest cabin just gets more and more comfortable!  Muchas gracias to Heike for donating the new mattress and mosquito net!

 A new guest reception area/"cafe shop" in development.

 Volunteer Heike Andreas with an olive-throated parakeet.

 A curious member of our local howler monkey troupe.

 One of our olive-throated parakeets "chowing down."

 Orange-chinned parakeet released and feeding naturally.

 Our green macaw "Paolo" out and about, feeding in the forest. It's hard to believe now what bad condition this bird was in when it was brought to us last year!

 A view of the flight cage with released scarlet macaw "Perro" paying a visit.

 Some volunteers hard at work.

 Harvesting pejivalle fruit--a nutritious gift from the old plantation trees on the property.

 "Paolo" and "Perro" enjoying freedom and each other's company.

Our long-term young male white-faced monkey continues to do well and enjoys periodic forays into the nearby forest.  More images and updates on animals that have been released or transferred to other facilities (a white-faced monkey and sloth) to follow.  

Pura Vida,

Kevin

Check out this awesome video made by recent volunteer Heike Andreas of two of our recovering macaws interacting in the new flight cage!  Heike has just completed a great five week stay at Tierra Hermosa and has been an enormous help with all aspects of operations at the project.  She will be providing more images from her stay shortly, and there will be a lot of news to share as well.  Watch for an exciting new update soon!

Pura Vida,
Kevin  

The flight cage is completed!  Shown here are Alex with major donors Hanne and Klaus Lange from Berlin, Germany. Without their vision and generosity, Alex's tireless work and the help of those who assisted him, this dream would have taken much longer to come true, if ever.  We now have the capacity to house several large birds or many smaller ones during the long-term recovery periods often needed for them to regain their flight capabilities.   Interest and offers to assist the project have been increasing dramatically recently--like so many birds and other animals that have come to stay here and been released back into the wild, it appears that Tierra Hermosa too is finally taking off!


Pura Vida,
Kevin

Another great green macaw has been confiscated by local MINAET (Ministry of Environment, Energy and Technology) wildlife wardens and turned over to us, bringing the total number of great green macaws under our care to three.  In the past, this would have been something of a crisis situation due to inadequate cage space, but with the new flight cage complete, the birds will be enjoying plenty of room while still secure from predators. More details will follow regarding the story of these birds.  A celebration is planned for this week to mark putting the flight cage into service--having three of these large birds here for the occasion truly underscores the importance of this great new addition to Tierra Hermosa!

Pura Vida,

Kevin

MINAET wardens and Alex with a confiscated great green macaw.

Great green macaws, including a very young specimen, recently brought to Tierra Hermosa.