Macaw Mountain

There are two places in Copan I would say everyone should visit. The first, of course, are the Ruins. The second is the Macaw Mountain Bird Sanctuary. It is about 2 km from the city, up in the mountains and surrounded by forest. The small park is split in half by a large stream. They have a large selection of parrots and other birds native to Central America. All the birds they have are rescued or donated from people who could no longer keep them as pets. Many of them are there because they would not survive in the wild. They also have a breeding program for the Scarlet Macaw and have raised and released most of the ones that I saw at the Ruins.

Emerald Toucanet. He was my favorite bird of the trip and I had a hard time getting a photograph of him--he was too interested in trying to take a bite out of my camera!

Keel-billed Toucan. A beautiful bird who also happened to be pretty interested in my camera.

Olive-throated Parakeet. These guys loved to chat with me through whistles and squeaks. 

I kept trying to get a group shot of the Scarlet Macaws, but someone was always moving around and my camera was not cooperation in capturing the action--this is the best I got!

Group shots might have been out, but on the feeding station they were very photogenic.

River running through the park. There was a swimming hole just behind this but that water was COLD and it was not a hot day. I decided to pass on the swim.

Birds weren't the only cool animals around. I'm not sure what this is, but my best guess is a type of Scorpionfly. 

White-fronted Amazon.

I am back in Tegus now and we'll be headed to Punta Raton in the morning. There I'll be working under Noemi, who is working on her PhD. We'll be doing some cool stuff with Olive Ridley Sea Turtles--particularly with darling little hatchlings again!