an empty nest.. almost.

There were several releases this week! First, the Chachalaca... you know, the one that arrived as a hatching egg back in May. She was released on Tuesday. The Golden-fronted Woodpeckers were released yesterday and the White-tipped Dove was released today. Unfortunately, the Chachalaca and the Woodpeckers found their way back to the aviaries... I'm really hoping that their instincts kick in soon and they take off. In the meantime, they're receiving food supplements until they're completely foraging on their own. The flock of Chachalacas have been calling in the morning. I exposed the Chachalaca to vocalizations when she was younger but so far she doesn't seem to recognize them. This is the problem with raising a hatchling on it's own - no matter how hard you try to make them realize what species they are, the outcome isn't generally ideal.

On Friday, I received a Yucatan Squirrel baby. It was found on the road with a broken tail. He's definitely not a bird, but who can say no to this face?! (Yes, the internet is crap again). Being in Belize, I don't have the ideal formula for raising a baby squirrel so he's really a test subject. He's had his up and downs but he's currently he's doing well. Once again I'm stuck with a single individual BUT he will be releasable! No negative thoughts allowed. None.

Tomorrow for my day off, vehicle dependent, I'll be going to the gym and the Cahal Pech pool. I can't wander too far since I have the squirrel to feed every four or so hours... but at least I'll be getting rid of my awesome farmer's tan.

Can you tell when I don't start working on my blog days in advance? The only other news I have is that I bought my plane ticket back to South Carolina. I'll be returning three weeks early on December 19th. I had the ability to be in town for the holidays so I jumped on it. It was bittersweet purchasing my ticket. I will definitely miss this place, the work, and the people but I'm also excited to be back in America and see everybody. I'm still four months out though so I'm probably getting ahead of myself.

My non-CASA life was a bit crazy this week which took away from an intriguing blog post. Next week will be filled with fun and exciting things! I think.

the end of baby season... sike!

CASA's 100th patient arrived on Friday (never a real day off, right?). He's a Red-lored Amazon parrot who was a previous release from Belize Bird Rescue. Poor kid is a possible victim of a slingshot attack. Slingshots are pretty popular around here with bored kids and they typically take to using our feathered friends as target practice. There's more to the story with the Red-lored, but... we'll just leave it at possible slingshot attack. This picture is from the day after intake. You can see his left eye is pretty swollen. Unfortunately, it appears that he may have lost the eye. However, if he can adapt to having only one eye, I think he'll do perfectly fine in the wild. He'll be much better off instead of being in captivity. I'm not a fan of wildlife being in captivity. And now, I will not elaborate as it will turn into a rant.

The Yellow-green Vireo kid was released on Saturday.. he took off. It's always nice when they're so obviously completely finished with you. The Aracari is all set to be released... if only it would stop raining and the wild flock would return.

I got ahead of myself and started thinking about the end of August and how I'll have several releases and, consequently, some real free time. Ha! I never learn. Wednesday brought me two Clay-colored Robin fledglings. They had been found three days prior and fed bread and water (why, oh why?). Do you see Robins eating prison food in the wild? Hm... didn't think so. Anyway, apparently the nest fell and a dog scared away the mother who never returned. One of the kids didn't make it through the night, unfortunately... but not surprising after 3 days of just bread and water. The other kid is feisty and starting to pick up food on his own. Ahh, not-so-needy birds are fantastic. Can you tell I'm burned out? Eh.

To help with the burn out, frustration, depression, the huge quantities of food that Gracie has forced upon me, and my energy level, I decided to join a gym (only $50/BZD a month - thanks Grandma!). It's located in town in the top of the JNC mall which is a much smaller version of shopping malls in the States. It's all open air; I prefer working out in the evening so the heat isn't too bad, the humidity is another story though. Lack of windows allows for a beautiful view - surrounded by the hills of San Ignacio and Santa Elena. The owner(s) are excellent and helpful. They got me started on a circuit the first day and yesterday they had made me a new workout before I came in! I've never had a personal trainer before... I may be ruined for life when it comes to working out.

My presentation on Wednesday for the Forest Department ended up being cancelled but it will be rescheduled eventually. I was really looking forward to getting away for a few hours, too! The plan was to stop by the Barn and Grill restaurant in Tea Kettle afterwards. It's really a steakhouse but there are some veggie options. It's delicious and owned by some friends so make sure to check it out if you're in Belize. Mile 53.5 on the Western Highway! :)

Friday was pretty amazing. I finally ended up going to Guanacaste National Park which is right outside of Belmopan on the Western Highway. I got a bit of a late start so birding was not optimal... plus somebody forgot their bins. Not that it really mattered anyway since the mosquitoes were out of control so I had to keep moving to keep from being swarmed. There are three trails in the park. The first trail that I took was supposed to take 45 minutes. I got distracted several times though so it took me about 2 hours. I had lunch in the random limestone area (so much limestone in Belize) so I could escape from the mosquitoes. I have come to find out that if there's a (clean) stream, I usually have to go wading in it. After wading around for a bit, I decided that I should check out the waterfall. At the bottom there was a little swimming area, so, of course, I had to slowly make my way down the waterfall in order to go for a swim. It was slippery and almost disastrous but I survived. For some reason, the fish decided to nibble on me whilst I was swimming. At first it tickled but some of them had larger mouths than others and then I got creeped out. Some even larger bit my toe and I decided it was time to get out. I'm still alive so I'm assuming whatever tried to take a chunk out of my toe wasn't poisonous. Good times? I finished hiking around for a bit and headed back to Cayo. It was a good day and definitely what I needed!

Tomorrow isn't going to be too exciting. I plan on spending most of the day in town and then the veterinarian is coming to check the Red-lored. After that, some beers and then some hang out time with a friend. Maybe.

patients, etc.

The Yellow-green Vireo had a major break through today - he actually started eating on his own! Soon I'll be able to kick his little self out so that he can start his real life. The Collared Aracari fledgling is doing so very well. I introduced her to Elmo outside of the carrier earlier this week. They're getting along great - Elmo will even feed her when she begs! The wild flock of Aracari have been visiting more often than usual. The fledge is getting along great with them as well. A couple more weeks and I plan to release her into this flock since they appear to have already accepted her. It's nice when it all works out how you hope it will.

The woodpeckers are in an aviary now and they've started eating on their own. It's strange how fast these guys are progressing compared to the other pair I had earlier in the season. They will probably be ready to go within the next couple of weeks as well. Hopefully I'll have quite a few releases before the month of August is over!

I haven't received any new patients recently but the next will be patient number 100! Maybe it'll be something amazing like a Harpy Eagle or a Orange-breasted Falcon... but probably not sense they're almost impossible to find. If it's another Yellow-green Vireo chick, I might cry. (Please google Harpy Eagles... they're so big and they often eat monkeys. I'm pretty sure I would not survive handling one of those).

My down time this week has consisted of going over numerous job postings. So far I've only applied to one. It's a start, right? If anybody has any job opportunities out there for me... just let me know. Job applications and cover letters are undoubtedly the worst. They're right up there with public speaking for me. Speaking of which, I've been asked to do a presentation for the Forest Department next week. Oh nerves, please behave and don't turn me into a nervy spaz.

Last Friday I decided to sleep.. and sleep.. and sleep some more. Throw in reading a book and watching some Dexter and that was my day off. I guess I had a month and a half of craziness to recuperate from though. That's my excuse, anyway. At least I made it out to Greedy's in the evening though for some socialization. But (!) I have another day off tomorrow! It's amazing! I'm really planning on going to Guanacaste National Park tomorrow. There won't be a repeat of last Friday since I really, really need to get out and do something in nature. My sanity has waned every since I've been on my own again here and hiking always helps balance me. By the way, thanks to all of you who showed support during my breakdown this weekend! :)

rain, a broken bird, and trail rides

Blog overhaul! I am a fan.

The rains are definitely here. It's been raining every day for... who knows how long. It's been a while since there was a day without any rain. I hope it doesn't stop because as soon as it does, the mosquitoes are going to be out of control. Speaking of pests, the army ants were out almost every day last week. Baby powder works wonders as a deterrent - just in case any of you have to battle the secal. Sometimes I feel as if I'm repeating myself in this blog... apologies if I am.

All the kids are doing well. The Woodpeckers are getting ready to fledge and the Aracari kid loves flying around in the evenings when her cage is cleaned. She was introduced to Elmo today. There were a ton of vocalizations and posturing and no aggression. After a couple of days I'll release her from the carrier and let them have actual contact. They're extremely social birds so the company is good for them both. The Vireo is still not eating on his own nor is he showing any interest to do so (arrgg!). The released Boat-tailed Grackle disappeared for a few days but may an appearance today. She's no longer begging and actually runs from me. Excellent.

Monday consisted of a quick run to Benque Road in search of an "injured parrot". We couldn't find the bird or the people who were supposed to be standing around it, mostly because I apparently am no good at taking directions. Thankfully he got a ride to the clinic but unfortunately, the Olive-throated Parakeet had a severely broken wing. The shoulder, the humerus, the elbow, and the radius / ulna were all broken. No hope of recovering. This job sucks sometimes.

Other than the depressing Parakeet, there's no other news to report. Oh, except that the "seed-eating" White-tipped Dove keeps stuffing himself full of the Chachalaca's diet of fruit. Weird and also unexpected. Seed-eater? What does that mean?

Friday was a real day off and pretty amazing. After an early start, we were on our way to a friend's house in the village of Tea Kettle. It has a beautiful view with a ton of birds, but sadly it was pouring so we didn't get to see much of anything. It eventually cleared up and after a few errands, we headed to Blue Hole National Park. We swam for a bit and saw some excellent birds... no cave spelunking though. One of these days I will see the cave there. We headed back to Tea Kettle and I finally got to ride a horse for the first time ever! We did a trail ride through the jungle and saw / heard so many Mealy parrots. These guys are massive! They're the largest parrot species in Belize. After a fairly good Chinese dinner in Belmopan full of meaty spring rolls (blech) and a few drinks at La Cabana (insert a tilde over the n), we decided to stay in Tea Kettle for the night. I ended up being pretty spoiled with air conditioning, a comfortable bed (my current one is a killer on my back), no mosquito netting, and no various creatures / debris falling on me in the middle of night. There were quite a few Mealy parrots flying about in the morning as well as some Keel-billed Toucans and other miscellaneous passerines. It's hard to return to the confinement that is CASA after experiencing how amazing Belize can be.

Alison left on Wednesday. We were all unsuccessful in convincing her to stay even longer but hopefully she'll be back in a couple of months! (hint hint) I had gotten used to having her here... now it's a lonely and boring.

Perhaps I'll have another real day off tomorrow... now just to find something to do that doesn't take 5 hours to get to by bus or cost a ton of money. Hmmm. Guanacaste National Park, perhaps? Or maybe I'll just lay in my bed all day if the tropical storm / wave decides to make an appearance.