Macaw Mountain

I spent the morning of my last day in Honduras at the Macaw Mountain Bird Park & Nature Reserve.

It is a tropical bird reserve in western Honduras, just outside Copan Runias, that cares for rescued and endangered birds of the American tropics.

A little grooming.

Their birds are rescued or donated by individuals concerned for their condition or unable to care for them long-term. Many people acquire a tropical bird without realizing that Amazon parrots may live for 50 to 60 years and the larger macaws may surpass 100.

People acquire these birds without understanding how much attention these intelligent creatures demand and just how long the relationship may last.

Macaw mountain was amazing and full of the coolest birds I've ever seen. They even have a large open area with lots of tame birds that you can hold. There was a cute little parrot in by the ticket/entrance area that talked and was really social.

I went up there with Fiona and Ash, a couple I met yesterday. When we were able to hold the birds for photos Ash went first and the macaw immediately began chewing large holes in the sleeve of his shirt (that beak is like scissors!) then Fiona went next with the same shirt destruction so before it was my turn I took off my shirt and prayed he didn't like human flesh!

Thankfully, the bird, with the absence of a shirt to destroy, just sat politely on my shoulder.

Fun Facts about Macaws

• Macaws are the largest parrots in the world: the body of the scarlet macaw from beak to tail can be as long as 33 inches. It was super cool when they would soar with their wings spread over your head.

• Scarlet macaws mate for life and have a very close relationship with their partner called a “pair bond.”

• Adult Macaws males and female look identical and the only way to determine their sex is to do a DNA test.

• The primary threats to the scarlet macaw are habitat loss from rainforest destruction and heavy exploitation for pet trading. These birds are frequently stolen from their nests, can be sold on the black market. In the United States, baby birds smuggled into the country can be sold for as much as $4000.

• The males will offer a variety of calls and ritual dances to the females in order to get them to consent to mating. Once mating has occurred there is the process of creating a nest to place the eggs into. Both parents work hard to offer a nest for 2 or 4 eggs. They take turns with incubating them as well.

• It takes about 25 days after the eggs are placed into the nest for the chick to emerge. They depend on both parents to offer them protection and to bring them food. When they are about 3 months old they will be able to fly and help get their own food. They will remain with their parents for up to 1 year.

• In the wild the average lifespan is from 30 to 40 years. In captivity though they have been able to live up to 50 years.

• Scarlet macaws strong wings let them reach speeds of 35 miles per hour

• Like other parrots, Scarlet macaws are left-handed. They use their left foot to handle food and grasp things while their right supports their body.

Well, my trip has come to an end...

This afternoon I head back into Guatemala (another 6 hour bus ride) and will stay in Antigua again. Tomorrow morning at 8:30am I will head into Guatemala City for my flight home.

It's been a fantastic trip. Central america is super cheap to travel through and full of an endless array of things to see and do. My Spanish has improved immeasurably while I've been here too.

In Costa Rica pretty much everyone spoke English but in Guatemala and Honduras almost no one does, not even the hotel staff, so I was thrown in and forced to speak Spanish daily to communicate...the best way to learn without a doubt. I feel like my brain doubled in size! Haha..

Thanks for reading! In April 2014 I'm heading to Argentina and Uruguay so gratefully, I won't have a chance to completely forget my Spanish!

Copan

I'm in Honduras in the most charming town called Copan Runias. I seriously love this town...it's just little but beautiful/really clean with cobblestone roads. It sits in a valley with a river flowing through and hills surrounding it. It's about 6km past the Guatemalan border and right outside the Mayan Copan ruins.

While a tourist destination, it doesn't feel tousity...no rows of stores selling the same crap. Lots of locals just going about their day. In the evenings everyone is out on the streets just hanging out/chatting. It feels very safe here too.

It's amazing how by driving just 5 hours from Guatemala the weather can be so different! Guatemala was warm in the day but really cool at night (I was bundling up to leave for dinner every night and sleeping in my winter toque and every pair of socks I own on my feet) but last night here I was still in shorts and a tank top all evening and it was gorgeous out.



My hotel, what a view!



My hotel



Hammocks for each room!

The Mayan site of Copan, discovered in 1570, is one of the most important sites of the Mayan civilization.

Inside the site they have a breeding program for the scarlet macaw, the countries official bird. There are dozens of gorgeous macaws soaring over/dive bombing your head and making a cacophony of noise in the trees. It was amazing site to walk into.

The Maya leader Yax Kuk Mo, coming from the area of Tikal, arrived in the Copan Valley in 427 A.D., and started a dynasty of 16 rulers that transformed Copan into one of the greatest Maya cities during the Classic Maya Period.
 

The great period of Copán, paralleling that of other major Mayan cities, occurred from AD 300-900. 

 

Major cultural developments took place with significant achievements in mathematics, astronomy and hieroglyphic writing.

The archaeological remains and public squares reveal the three main stages of development, during which evolved the temples, plazas, altar complexes and ball courts that can be seen today, before the city was abandoned in the early 10th century.

My guide at the Tikal ruins told me that the game they played at the ball courts involve a sacrificial killing of the loser!
 

On the risers on a 100 m wide stairway on one of the large temples are more than 1,800 individual heiroglyphs which are the longest known Mayan inscription. They are still working on translating the whole thing as it's a bit of a jigsaw puzzle and some pieces are missing.

Hieroglyphic stairway.

Hieroglyphic stairway.

Hieroglyphic stairway.

During the period when Mayan civilization spread across Central America, Copán was the largest and most influential city in the south-eastern sector.

After a few hours in the park, I went back to my hotel, ordered a papaya smoothie and sat in the sun on my hammock.

The sun sets right behind the hills in front of my hotel so I got a great view. The staff here are super sweet...they speak about as much English as I speak Spanish but are really patient and speak slowly so I can understand....they also don't laugh at my abysmal Spanish!

When I went into town for dinner, I ran into a couple from New Zealand that were on my morning shuttle into Copan.  I joined then for happy hours drinks and a really nice dinner in a nice little rooftop restaurant.

We both had plans to go to the macaw bird sanctuary today so are going to meet up at 10am and share a tuk tuk.