So a little about the Conservation Centre, which I am gradually beginning to learn more about. The land is owned by an local man with an interest in ecology. our neighbour works for him and looks after the cows and calves, plus 3 horses (future riding opportunity?. So during the day the calves and horses wander around our cabins and the 4 man made ponds, some of which contain fish, and one we are able to swim in (the horses do too!!). They also have children and 2 dogs which all appear from time to time.
There are 2 aviaries with 4 male macaws in one, and a pair in the other. Volunteer 1's main task is to feed them twice a day, check their health, and collect food from the forest for them - motacu nuts from a local palm tree mainly at present. They also have sliced banana and ready shelled Brazils. Guano (poo) are checked regularly for signs of parasites or disease. We also collect branches for enrichment of their surroundings so they have plenty to chew and generally destroy. They love removing their food trays from their shelf and distributing them around the aviary! They are very vociferous and loudly so!
One of the research projects we are doing involves checking the nests of any macaws of different species in the locality, and the progress of eggs/chicks in them. Since mostly they nest in dead hollow palm trees it is not too difficult to access the nests. Some are close enough to walk or cycle to, with the camera on a stick, plus remote control to view and photograph inside the nest. My first experience with Sophie used this technique, showing 2 eggs. The mosquitoes appear in droves in the forest so it's long trousers, long sleeves and lots of repellent! We wear wellingtons as the whole area is wetland, and as it is the wet season here they are very necessary. It also protects against creatures such as snakes, scorpions and poisonous spiders to some extent.
There are blue and yellow macaws (Ara ararauna), and chestnut fronted macaws (Ara Severus) nests mainly and often the parents are circling around nearby, sometimes quite disturbed by our approach. If there are chicks, they get weighed weekly, and at some point a blood sample taken for ID. Unfortunately there is quite a high rate of predation, both natural, and by humans taking chicks for pets, or killing parents for their feathers. As macaws are generally easily disturbed they are among the first species to disappear or become rare when pressure on the environment increases. The blue throated macaw (Ara glaucogularis) that is most at risk has a very small range, endemic only in the Beni department of Bolivia. Here more land is being cleared for cattle, the main livelihood. Also many dead trees are removed, reducing nest sites. Education can help to reverse this to some extent, and Bolivia has asked the world for help to prevent further destruction of the Amazon rain forest, but it seems the rest of the world is deaf......
I have also spotted scarlet macaws and green winged macaw's, along with many different parakeets and other bird species. The frog chorus in the evenings is almost as loud as at home, and frogs appear in the toilet (tiny ones) in the shower (big ones) and one in amongst the kitchen tools hanging on their rack. So far 2 bats in the dormitory, a wasp's nest on the terrace that needs dealing with but nothing too scary.
On 3/5 we visited a series of nests by car - the centre has 4 wheel drive vehicle, which has just been repaired so hopefully will not break down. I climbed the ladder to see the chick in one nest which we removed and weighed and generally checked. It was just getting some colour on its first feathers, so was quite sweet. Let's hope it fledges without any problem.
Volunteer 2 has cleaning duties, different each day. We have a rota, with 1 day off each week. Spare time is taken up with other projects, scientific paper translation, research etc, and of course making lots of fruit smoothies, cooking meals and doing your own washing. Wed is the best day to get fresh produce from the markets in Trinidad, so that is the weekly shopping day. As I speak Spanish well enough that is likely to be one of my tasks in future.
More later -must go and collect all the bird's dishes and clean them before it gets dark. Then dinner...
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