updates

October '10

The young scarlet macaw recovering from gunshot wounds is now taking short flights on its own around
the property and returning to its enclosure. Hopefully, it will not be long before it integrates into the wild
flock of macaws that remains in the area and frequently calls to it. We have two new baby raccoons
(mapaches) that were confiscations from illegal captivity. We did well with our first raccoon, ultimately
releasing it successfully, so this pair should have a bright future. Fall bird migration is really picking up
now, with thousands of birds passing over the property daily on their way to South America. We continue to
receive the interest of people wishing to volunteer here, and we are tremendously grateful to all of you
who have donated time and resources to the cause. We recently received a large box of medical supplies
from Terri and Tom Winters of Beaumont, TX. Thanks to them, we now have a very good inventory of the
types of medical items often needed if an animal comes to us with injuries. We are weathering the heavy
rains here, but the road connecting the property to the highway to Puerto Viejo has been "interesting" at
times! There are exciting funding opportunities on the horizon, and I will have more news about that in the
months to come.

Pura vida,
Kevin

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August '10

We received a young scarlet macaw some weeks ago that had suffered a gunshot wound. We are happy to
report that it is recovering, but slowly. The initial weeks were somewhat uncertain because it had
complications from dehydration, infection and was not feeding well. The prognosis is far better now, and
some birds from the local flocks have been calling to it as it recovers in the large holding cage. Thanks to
Kerstin Walczok for all of the great images in this update! We are have nearly completed the process of
becoming a non-profit association, bringing us closer to our goal of being eligible for larger foundation
grants and donations. If we take in any more birds as large as our scarlet macaw, that funding could not
come too soon, as we do need to expand our holding cage capacity. Macaws and other large birds require
the large amount of space provided by a flight cage which allows recovery of flying skills and endurance.
Tierra Hermosa has been featured in an informational post on the Network of Costa Rican Nature Reserves
Facebook page--check it out at
www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Costarricense-de-Reservas-Naturales/131035396924716?ref=mf

Pura vida,
Kevin

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May '10

When I travelled to the project earlier this month, I was greeted with a great deal of excitement over a
recent discovery near the property--an extremely rare and endangered nocturnal bird known as the great
potoo was found sitting high in the top of a dead tree with its chick. A member of the nightjar family of
birds, great potoos are giants of the group--roughly the size of a barred owl. Their feathers blend perfectly
with tree bark, making the birds extremely hard to spot while inactive during the day. At night they hunt
large flying insects, scooping them up with a wide mouth characteristic of this specialized group of birds.
They require undisturbed rainforest to thrive, and are one of the first species to disappear when trees are
cut. Knowing that these birds are living and reproducing on and near the project property is wonderful
news and a compelling reason to hopefully expand our property holding in this very special area in the
future. Work continues on the guest cabin--the next task is to install rain gutters and start the process of
wiring the building. During my visit, another group of students from the Texas Christian University field
station visited the project, and Alex accompanied them to visit the great green macaw almendro nesting
tree they recently purchased for protection. We continue to enjoy the enthusiastic help of new
volunteers--see the Volunteers and Supporters page for their names. This project would not be where it is
today without this generous support of people's time, energy and donations! The raccoon has been
released, bringing our number of rehabilitating animals down to only four at the moment. We do not want to
get lulled into thinking that we will not need the large flight cage however. It is still a priority for us, and its
completion depends largely on our funding situation; materials will cost approximately U.S. $3,000 with
building labor provided by ourselves and volunteers that may be with us at that point. The tree plantation
is doing great--some of the trees are close to seven meters tall now and some will be flowering for the first
time in the next year or so, providing food for a variety of birds, mammals and insects . The troupe of
white-faced monkeys, one of three monkey species found on the property, has been gradually moving
closer to the buildings, indicating they are becoming more comfortable with our presence. My daughter
Mariana and friend Jake accompanied me on this trip, and much to their delight, we were able to spot both
white-faced and howler monkeys during one afternoon hike on the property, along with the "usual" amazing
number of other species. More news to come!

Pura vida,
Kevin

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March '10

Last month we received an injured aracari that we are happy to report recovered much more quickly than
expected and has been released. Two more confiscated red-lored Amazon parrots have been brought to
us, as well as another spectacled owl with a broken wing. As mentioned earlier, after the Semana Santa
holiday, we expect to receive more birds and other animals that are illegally collected by people on
vacation. This influx could put us at the highest number of animals under care here so far. Some fabulous
news from Puerto Viejo--an active great green macaw nest has been found within the city limits! It has been
several decades since this has happened; another positive sign that local conservation efforts are
beginning to pay off.

Pura vida,
Kevin