Scarlet Macaws

 We hoped to see quite a few parrots, parakeets, and macaws in Costa Rica, but nothing quite prepared us for how many Scarlet Macaws there were to see in Corcovado. The picture below was taken from the roadside on the drive to our lodge. We had already seen quite a few caracaras, owls, toucans, and other birds on the way up and were all scanning for other neat sightings. I looked out across a field and my brain couldn't really reconcile all the red shapes in the green trees, but was able to process the statement "Are all of those Macaws? Can we stop?" This picture doesn't even capture them all as there were at least 2 dozen in the area.

 They are stunning birds up close, and in Corcovado they are entirely fearless of people so we were able to walk right under some of the trees they were sitting in and take incredible pictures and portraits of their features and feathers. Costa Rica is so lush and green in every direction that a bird this red just leaps out at you and is even more stunning than you would expect. While most of us have seen unfortunate captive birds, nothing can prepare you for how gorgeous they are in the wild.

 Far from being an isolate incident, we saw dozens and dozens of macaws in Corcovado at all times of the day. Frequently when we were hiking along a pair of them would flash overhead in a flurry of all the colours of the rainbow. We never once got tired of seeing them or felt that we had enough pictures...