Next generation: Red-and-Green Macaw

The story continues. Ra is a father. 

In 2017 I wrote about our extraordinary friendship with a Red-and-Green Macaw. On October 25, 2016 we found a young macaw at the river cabin and he was extremely exhausted and hungry.

This is how we found him. Hungry and scared. But after feeding him and taking care him, he managed to gain his strength back. Strong enough to fly away. But he never left us. 

A year later he met his partner; Lilith. They both started to travel long distances but Ra always came back to see us. Since 2022 they started to look for a place to nest. 

The moment we only saw Ra coming by to fetch some food and leave immediately we knew they were trying to nest. Especially when Lilith did not join Ra to get some food and he came by at least 4 times per day. That is when we knew it was serious business.
Seeing Ra coming by like this felt so amazing to see. A macaw relying on your support to help him start a family. 

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They were nesting in the River cabin park. Ra was always nearby while Lilith never left the nest. He provided her with food so she could concentrate on incubating. 

Both ours and their patience were rewarded on April 26, 2024. When I went back to the river cabin to check on Ra en Lilith, both were taking a break in a Maripa tree but when I looked up I saw a macaw looking outside but it was an unfamiliar face. They finally managed to raise a chick. Now we all waited until it was time for the chick to fly out.

But on May 2, 2024 he fell out of the nest and we were there just in time because this little fellow, Kokomo, was on the ground and a Great Black Hawk tried to take him. Ra and Lilith could only scream and look helpless at their young. We took Kokomo back to the lodge and fed him the same food his father took 8 years ago. 
Since he fell out of the nest a month too early we took care of him until his plumage started to look really nice and his tail and wings were fully grown. 

With a heavy heart we let him go on May 27, 2024. Both Ra and Lilith encouraged Kokomo to fly with them. They were both also very relieved that he was fully recovered too. 
He had a lot to learn, especially with flying and landing. He always crash land in a tree. 

But with the help of his parents he succeeded. Almost 3 months after we let him go, he came back with his parents by his side. They surely never forget that you once helped them when they needed you the most.

Here he looked stronger and you can clearly see that he is also a happy macaw. 

You may also like the following posts of his father's journey:

an extraordinary friendship #3

an extraordinary friendship #2