Adopt a Bird

Chrysanthemumis a Red Lored Amazon. We have no previous history for her, brought to us by MINAE in 2006, we can only guess at her life. She chatters away and whistles and sings, but she plucks herself a lot and only has yellow down on her chest and few other feathers. We have had her checked by the vets and there is no medical reason for the plucking, so we have her living in the patio, where she is free to come out of her cage and wander around the trees and branches. She has recently made friends with another Red Lored and they were very interested in a nesting box during last year (2007). Her feathers have grown a lot now although not perfectly.

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Mrs. No Wing A Scarlet Macaw - who came to us, via MINAE, back in the 1980's with a severely damaged wing. The wing hung limply by her side and caught on everything. She tended to be a loner and kept to herself. The other birds would pick on her and she was always on her own. We tried all sorts of aviaries and flights for her, but the result was always the same. We were very concerned about her quality of life. It was with trepidation that we decided to operate. The surgery was carried out by Dr. Mauricio Jimenez at the Veterinary School and it took over two hours. The surgery went according to schedule and after one or two heart stopping moments, Mrs. No Wing, came around from the anaesthetic with only 'one wing'. The bruising was extensive and took about two weeks to subside, and then began the recuperation. We were worried about infection, but there was none, the only problem was Mrs. No Wing learning to gain her balance again. She took one or two falls in the Patio and eventually it was decided that she would be safer in a confined aviary until she had mastered her balance. Eventually, we put her into the main flight and she found a boyfriend! She was then placed into the breeding program and has been there happily with her man - ever since where she has produced several youngsters to date (2007).(You can also read her story in the article in Parrot Chronicles - see publications)

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Butthead - A Scarlet Macaw - He came from a very unfortunate situation - a very SMALL cage - and hence his feathers had been unable to grow properly. When this occurs, the feathers tend to grow underneath the skin in the same follicle, and when they finally emerge, you will see several feathers growing from one spot. Attached to the base of the feather are formed cysts, from years of mis growth, and these can grow over the years to huge sizes. Sometimes the cysts can be removed, but inevitably they will re-grow. Care has to be taken to ensure that any feathers picked by the bird or broken by accident do not bleed continuously. He is doing well and lives happily with Leonara a Great Green Macaw.

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Leonora - A Great Green Macaw - Leonora has been with us for many years now. She came via MINAE as a confiscated bird. She was unable to move one of her wings as it had been broken many years before, as had one of her legs. She is not able to move very easily or very far. We provide her with flat tables to sit on, as well as her perching, and this allows her to 'lie' comfortably on her side. We have had various veterinary surgeons look at her but to attempt surgery would probably cause her more distress than necessary and would not necessarily solve the problems as the outcome would be very uncertain.

Piewacket - A Great Green Macaw - Piewacket is a favourite with our visitors. Piewacket was hatched on 19th April 2001 weighting 20grams. She is the baby of a male that came to us via confiscation in 1994 and a female that was breed here in 1996.

In March 2003, she was moved into the NE Flight with the other youngsters as she was becoming abit 'nippy' and she adapted well to her new surroundings.

She has been regularly wormed and sprayed for feather mites. All blood tests taken have shown normal activities. She is healthy and lives happily amongst her companions.

When feeding in the flight now, we often find that she comes to get some attention, however, we still have to take care as she can still give a nasty "nip".

Boo - An Olive Throated Parakeet - Boo was brought to us in 2008 as a very young bird, maybe only 6 months old. He was found by a family holidaying in Costa Rica on the Caribean coast. He was living outside of a very poor local family. He was very dirty, was all hunched up and looking very sorry for himself, with only a banana and a metal perch for company.

The family bartered $3 for him and brough him to us. He is loving all the attention he now gets from all the family and visitors. We let him fly free in the patio, but he "got lost" for a whole day, so he is back in the nursery for a short while until he grows up a little. He shares his lunch with Richard and Margot and helps himself to all the salad on the table - not to mention a tiny bit of cheese if he's very good!

There are more birds to sponsorin this section - if you would like to know more then please email me on richmar@racsa.co.cr

We have choices from the Breeding Centre

Scarlet or Great Green Macaws

"Twiggy"
RM 457 - Scarlet Macaw - (Ara macao)
November 2004

She was "laid" as an egg, on the floor of her parent's aviary. The egg was spotted before it grew cold and was placed into the incubator to be hand reared.

Her parents are a new pair - hence not laying the egg in the nest box. The male was confiscated by MINAE and came to us back in 1996 with no solid history. The female was bred at Amigos de las Aves in 1995. We hope they will do better this coming season.

This baby was hatched on 23rd August 2004 - a very late baby! She weighed 19gms, which is fairly average for a baby scarlet macaw.

Our babies are initially placed into a nursery unit at a temperature of 99 degrees fahrenheit. They are fed a very watery mix of macaw baby formula for the first feed and are then fed nine times a day - until gradually weaned off and onto solids. We started to feed 'Twiggy' on hulled sunflower seeds and small bits of banana and papaya on day 36. This is about average and the extra food is given between formula feeds, which have already begun to be cut down at this stage.

On day 42 Twiggy weighed 801 gms. She was living in the weaning nursery aviary, but was desperate to spread her wings in the juvenile aviary. Baby birds are placed into this aviary to learn how to be macaws, to play, to feed and eat well, to fly and to integrate with other birds of their own species. Twiggy was being a bit difficult to wean. She was eating on her own, but only small amounts. She received a formula feed first thing in the morning and last thing at night - with the amount being lessened as time progresses.

She has had blood taken for DNA analysis and we are awaiting results at the present. Although we do believe that she is female.

She has proved to be quite a star with visiting photographers. However, her destiny is to be released into the wild - where we hope she will have a wonderful life, flying free!

Twiggy was released in 2007 - it will be interesting to follow her progress into the wild.

She has adapted very well to her new environment and has made several friends.

Baby birds

Juveniles birds to be released

A breeding pair

A confiscated bird that will not pair with anyone else.

We have choices from the Release Birds

A bird that is already free
A pair of Macaws that are bonded
A Bird that is due to be released

Or why not sponsor a bird through its whole journey until it is released

To adopt one of these special birds for a year is only $100 paid by cheque

You will receive:

a photo of your bird
a certificate
a history of your bird
a half yearly progress report
a lapel pin
free admission and tour of the breeding facilities within the year

If you would like to make an additional donation to be used at either the refuge or the breeding centre - as you specify - then please email us on: richmar@racsa.co.cr

if you would like to join our adopt a bird program - just email us at: richmar@racsa.co.cr
(Please be aware that the availability of birds in this rogram may be subject to change)

Amigos de las Aves and the official Release Programs of Amigos de las Aves in Costa Rica, www.amigosdelasavescostarica.org and www.hatchedtoflyfree.org are not affiliated or associated with any other company, organisation or association, by name or in any other country.