psittacines, the squirrel, and independence month

Since I couldn't do anything else for the essentially one-eyed Red-lored Parrot, he was transferred back to Belize Bird Rescue on Monday. Good luck, kiddo! You'll be much happier over there AND you won't have to be subjected to my man-handling any longer. In exchange for the Red-lored, BBR brought me a juvenile Olive-throated Parakeet. I've gotten in two of them previously and neither of them have been able to be fixed... this one will hopefully be a different story. He was kidnapped a couple of weeks ago and had his wing and tail feathers clipped. Thankfully, they handed him over to BBR. He wasn't eating and is ridiculously skinny so he was sent here for some extra love and weight gain. So far so good.. he's definitely a fan of plantains, pitahaya, and egg. Yum.

I totally forgot to mention that I released the Aracari! She was released about two weeks ago on-site into the wild flock. She hung around for a few days with one of the wild individuals and then disappeared for a week or so. She stopped by on Tuesday to spend some time with Elmo. She's getting so big and her bill is starting to get the adult coloration. What a little dinosaur. I still haven't gotten used to the fact that my patients are basically all species I've never even seen in the wild before I came here.

The Woodpeckers are refusing to move on. Really, their instincts have to kick in soon... right? I have no idea of what to do with them if they don't stop begging and being a nuisance. Ideas? Anybody? Sigh. They're stressing me out. A lot.

In non-avian news, the little Yucatan squirrel is somehow almost thriving. My impromptu formula appears to be working so far... I'm always paranoid about MBD with babies though. MBD is Metabolic Bone Disease which is when the bones are weakened due to incorrect nutrition while they're growing. I've seen it happen with squirrels before. They can look completely healthy but then they jump and severely fracture bones. Only time will tell, I guess. Poor little experimental squirrel.

My excitement this week consisted of a completely random Tuesday night. My nights are pretty slow as of late; I typically take my computer to Greedy's so I at least have a little bit of social interaction. Just as I was leaving on Tuesday, I got sidetracked by the offer of some free beer and conversation. This somehow led to me spending the night "hunting" for tarantulas in a tour guide's yard with a bunch of American tourists from California, Florida, and New York. Hooray for spontaneity? And also tarantulas.

Belize's Independence Day is September 21st. Since Belizeans love to celebrate, September is basically Independence Month. Belizean flags are showing up all the over the place - on cars, buses, houses, buildings, etc. There are supposed to be a lot of festivities and parades coming up soon and I'm hoping I'll get to help celebrate! ... whatever that means.

A constant gnawing of homesickness has taken up residence as of late. It's hard to shake it since I'm generally by myself and don't have very many distractions. Tonight was the first University of South Carolina football game of the season and I have to admit, I actually miss all the Gamecock craziness. We're about to kill Southern Miss though... Go Gamecocks! Oh America, I will see you in 15 and a half weeks.

Last Friday I didn't actually do anything except go into town for a bit. Maybe tomorrow I'll walk up to Cahal Pech. It's been so hot though I'm not entirely sure I would survive the trek or make it back in time to feed the squirrel. Life would be less frustrating if I had an actual vehicle. Multiple days off are coming up SOON though.. I'm excited to explore outside of Cayo!