Jana and Noelle visit Hyacinth Macaw Project
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The Caiman Lodge also participated by offering the hosting. Jana and Noelle, from Texas, were the winners of the silent auction. Jana e Noelle are parrot lovers and are also volunteers in the activity of adoption and care of macaws and parrots rescued in United States. Birds that were sick, mutilated or abandoned by their previous owners for various reasons are donated to one of them. They have parrots Brazilians, Africans and Australians.
According to the description of their daily activity, they are concerned about the physical and psychological welfare of these birds, providing enclosures enriched with toys and adequate food. Jana reported that her hyacinth macaw, Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, belonged to an elderly person for over 30 years and after his death the macaw was donated to her. The Noelle’s stories are widely diversified; she has macaws with no paw, with one leg thrown back and beak formed bent (due to inappropriate food supply by the previous owner). Noelle also showed pictures of birds using the space in your backyard, where there they climb a tree and spend hours of the day free, she also showed pictures of animals bathing in artificial rain and how the birds enjoy this activity.
The period of the Americans in the Hyacinth Macaw Projects activities, during October 19th to 24th, 2009, were done activities as nest monitoring, macaw’s census, talks in the visitor center and one day enjoying the activities of the Blue Fronted Parrot Project, coordinated by Gláucia Seixas and supported by the Hyacinth Macaw Institute. All the activities are described reporting day by day of Jana and Noelle in the Hyacinth Macaw Project field activities.
Jana e Noelle arrived at Campo Grande airport in October 18th at 3pm. Neiva Guedes accompanied by one of the biologists of the project, Juliana Rechetelo, pick them up and took them to the hotel for check in. After accommodate the luggage at the hotel they did a city tour. This day they also visited the Hyacinth Macaw Project’s office and could see some of Joaciley’s paintings (Neiva Guedes’husband). At night all Neiva Guedes family, Juliana, Jana and Noelle had a pleasant dinner at an Italian restaurant celebrating the Americans visitors at the Hyacinth Macaw Project.
The next day, October 19th (Monday), Neiva, Juliana, Jana and Noelle left Campo Grande early morning to the Caiman Ecological Refuge Lodge, around 300km away, where the U.S. visitors will be hosted to participate in field activities of the project. During the trip they asked about the macaws, Pantanal wetlands and made many photos, mainly from Serra Maracaju (group of mountains that surround Pantanal). The arrival was around 12pm and the visitors and the Hyacinth Macaw team had lunch at project’s base. In the afternoon, there was a field activity along with the Blue Fronted Parrot Project, accompanied by the coordinator Gláucia and one field assistant. The Blue Fronted Parrot Project team met us at Hyacinth Macaw visitor center and we left to the field. Three nests of blue-fronted parrot (Amazona aestiva), placed near the Caiman main lodge, were monitored, all of them with three chicks (Figure 3a and 3b). One of the nests were being monitored using micro-camera and the visitors observed the blue-fronted parrot behavior inside of the nests. After monitor the last nest, a strong sand storm covered visitors and biologists of both projects, who at that time watched a couple of hyacinth macaws in an artificial nest located near this blue-fronted parrot nest (Figure 4).
On Tuesday (October 20th) the team started the field work to monitor nests and macaws about 7 o’clock in the morning. This day a total of 10 nests were monitored, two were natural nests and eight artificial nests. Of these nests, both natural nests (N199 and N358) and an artificial nest (N2110) were empty. Regarding the artificial nests monitored, four were being used by other species, two nests with eggs and one with Chopi Blackbird chicks (Gnorimopsar chopi), one nest with two vulture chicks (Coragyps atratus) and one nest with a hawk’s egg (Herpetotheres cachinnans), but the egg was found predated. Three nests were active for hyacinth macaws, one nest had 3 eggs (N2151), the other nest (N2103) had two chicks and the last nest (N2061) had just one chick (Figure 5).
On Wednesday (October 21st) the team started the field work around 7am and monitored a total of nine nests, four were natural nests and five artificial nests. Regarding artificial nests, one nest had a hyacinth macaw chick (N2088), one nest had African bees, two nests were empty and one nest had falcon chicks (2105) (Falco rufigularis) (Figure 6). The female occupying this last nest showed a defensive behavior along all monitoring work, this individual made sweeping flights and banging against the head and body of the researcher who climbed the tree to check the nest. Considering the natural nests monitored, two nests were used by other species, one nest had a blue-fronted parrot chikc (Amazona aestiva) and the other nest was being used by a falcon (Falco rufigularis) and had 3 eggs. A natural nest (N236) was flooded by rainwater and another nest had African bees (Apis melifera) (Figure 6).
On October 22nd (Thursday) was heavy rainy day. At middle of the morning the rain stopped for a few hours and then the team went to the field just to make macaws census. The Hyacinth Macaw Project team and the visitors visited the Retiro Sao Domingos (near Aquidauana river). The local people offered some Brazilian coffee to the visitors, as a traditional habit. The Aquidauana forms the boundary of the Caiman farm with the Saint Sophia farm. Jana and Noelle took the opportunity to photograph some Monk Parakeet, Myopsitta monachus, which nest in a tree near there river (Figure 7). Macaws were not observed in the region. The team and visitors returned for lunch at the Hyacinth Macaw Project. During the night was offered a dinner as a courtesy at Cordillera Lodge.
List of birds and other animals observed by Jana and Noelle during their visit in Hyacinth Macaw Project at Caiman Lodge, Campo Grande, Brazil
At the end of the day, Jana and Noelle went to Aquidauana, where they stayed at Fenix Plaza Hotel, after check in they had a dinner with the Hyacinth Macaw Project team.
On Friday morning, Noelle e Jana visited the Hyacinth Macaw visitor’s center and watched a fast talk about their week’s activities and enjoyed the opportunity to buy unique Hyacinth Macaws Project products at the small shop. They also received a certificate for participation in field activities of the Project and received a small gift, a returnable bag with a customized hyacinth macaw on it. This attitude is done to every visitor in order to encourage the non-use of plastic bags. Jana and Noelle had a free afternoon and while that the Hyacinth Macaw Project team was showing the project’s activities to new visitors. Along this week, Jana and Noelle had lunch with the project team at the base. During the field activities they saw dozens of birds, as well as mammals and reptiles (see list at the end of the document).
On Saturday Morning (October 24th) they traveled to Campo Grande, where Neiva Guedes was waiting for them to have a barbecue, a typical food. After that the American visitors went to the airport and come back to USA.
In these five days that Noelle and Jana participated in field activities, we notice that they were extremely interested in macaw’s conservation, as well as other parrots. Despite the repetitive work, their joy was evident in every monitored nest. The visitors enjoyed every minute of their visit and made a lot of interesting questions. The Hyacinth Macaw Project team gains a lot experience with Jana and Noelle. Their visit did not interrupt, disturbed or caused any change in field activities.
