A friend took us to see the Scarlet Macaws last week. They are only 15 minutes away from our house, and they’re living wild! I couldn’t believe that Scarlet Macaws live so close to us. God has blessed us!
Watch our video with the Scarlet Macaws here: http://youtu.be/brjSm78_OW8
You can find them in Mexico, Peru in the Amazon, Bolivia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Brazil, and last, but definitely not least, Panama! There were nine Scarlet Macaws: 7 adults, and 2 babies.
Eli, Carly, & Jude feeding the Scarlet Macaw in Alanje
The Scarlet Macaw is the most beautiful wildlife that I have seen so far. Their body is mostly scarlet, but their wings are blue, green, and yellow as well. Their faces are white with a black ring circling each eye, and their beaks are creamy colored, like an off-white.
Scarlet Macaw perched in a tree in Panama
I thought that they were the biggest birds, other than the ostrich, that I have ever seen. From the tippy-top of their heads to the end of their tails, the Macaws are almost three feet long.
Scarlet Macaw can’t get enough vanilla wafers!
Francie, the Gilbert kids, the farmer, and the Scarlet Macaws
I thought that the Scarlet Macaws had a weird screamy/skwawky tone to their voice. I can’t describe it, but their voices are really distinctive. Scarlet Macaws mate for life. Female Macaws are called hens. The hen has to keep her eggs warm for five weeks, until they hatch. The younglings stay in their nesting place, which is usually a hollow tree, for 90 days.
Baby Scarlet Macaw watching from above in Alanje, Panama
The little chicks grow and grow, until they are a year old and leave their parents. At five years old, the little chick is all grown up, and is now finding a mate of his own to start the process all over again.
The baby Scarlet Macaw that we saw was no older than 90 days, because he was still in his hollow-tree hideout. We only saw one of the babies poking his little head out, but the farmer told us that there was another one up there, too.
Scarlet Macaws’ basic diet is seeds, fruit, and nuts. We fed the Macaws vanilla wafers. They sure got their treat that day!
John Thomas awaits the Scarlet Macaw with another snack in Alanje, Panama
Scarlet Macaws wild & free
Scarlet Macaws enjoying sunflower seeds in Alanje, Panama
Scarlet Macaws in the wild at Alanje, Panama
Scarlet Macaw eagerly awaits his present
Francie and Isaac make a Scarlet Macaw very happy
Our neighbor, Francie, told us about this place. She is a sweet lady, and she knows her stuff. If it wasn’t for her, I would not be writing about the Macaws right now. Thank you, Francie, for giving me the opportunity to tell about another wonder of Panama! Most people, including Panamanians, don’t really know that the Macaws roost here in Panama, because usually they live in more remote places.
Now, I’d like to tell you about some other animals that I’ve seen in Panama. You’ve already seen the squirrel monkeys on John Thomas’ post, “You can monkey around at Mono Feliz”, but I have to include them because they’re awesomely cool! Squirrel monkeys have orange bodies, black on their legs and faces, and white around their eyes, nose, and mouth. Somebody that lives with the monkeys says that he has never witnessed them miss a branch while jumping from tree to tree.
Watch our video with the monkeys at Mono Feliz Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNK-MxV5BMM
Can you imagine swinging through the jungle? I think that would be awesome! I thought that the squirrel monkeys were cool, and interesting, and I enjoyed feeding them.
Carly feeding the monkeys at Mono Feliz!
Nita Gilbert after feeding the monkeys at Mono Feliz!
Squirrel monkeys are cute!
Howler monkeys are big, not gentle, and all black. We didn’t get a good look at them because they didn’t come down from the tree tops. I thought they were about the size of a golden retriever. We saw one family way up in the tree with babies hanging onto the mom’s back. Did you know that people will actually kill the mother so that they can sell the babies? I think that’s awful, and I’m glad that it’s against the law here.
We also saw the Capuchin monkeys, but we didn’t get a good look at these either. They were in the tree tops as we were passing by, and we didn’t get any pictures of them. I know that they are about the same size, and probably smaller than, the squirrel monkey, which is pretty small. They’re all black, except their faces, which are all white. I wish that we would have snapped a couple of pictures for you, but we missed them.
We have seen Bobby the Toucan four times since we’ve been here. He lives in a cage at Jewel Berries, a frozen yogurt shop.
Bobby the Toucan hanging out in David, Panama
He has a bright, rainbow-colored beak. His belly is bright white, compared to his all-black body. He’s about as big as a regular sized book.
Bobby the Toucan has his eye on you!
When you call his name, he will come right down to you. He is beautiful, and very social. Bobby was bottle-fed by his owners since he was a baby, but they are native to the jungles of Panama.
Bobby the Toucan & Isaac the Monkey… which one is in a cage?
Eli, Jude, & Dad checking out Bobby the Toucan in Alanje, Panama
We see Iguanas on the sides of the road as we’re driving all of the time. The babies are about as long as a cereal box, when you include their tail. They usually have green or yellow/brown scaly skin. They’re not really scaly, but their skin looks like it. They look like overgrown geckos. I got to hold an Iguana here. They are harmless, and run away from you as soon as they spot you. The Panamanians call them tree chickens, because they eat them, well, at least the green ones. They won’t eat the brown ones!
We have little, tiny lizards, called geckos, that get in our house from time to time. They’re harmless, and you can pick them up if you can catch them. Just don’t catch them by their tails, because their tails will pop off of their body and they’ll run away from their tail. The nerves in their tail will wiggle-wiggle-wiggle for several minutes until they’re all wiggled out after they pop off. You can get all the information you want on these little guys on Eli’s earlier blog, “The House Gecko: Friend of Foe?”
Sting rays are all different shapes, sizes, and colors. I see sting rays just about every time we go out and play in the ocean. The last time that I saw one, it jumped about five feet in the air just as the wave crashed with all of its might. I’m afraid that, one of these days, I’m going to step on one. That would be bad. But they’re pretty graceful swimmers so that probably won’t happen!
Dolphins are the smartest animals in the ocean! They are a blue-y/gray color. They are probably about as tall as my dad, and he’s 5’8”. Some are probably bigger! They make whistle-like vibrations in the water to tell other dolphins that there is danger, or if they’re just horsing around, which they love to do. Dolphins are probably my most-favorite underwater animal ever! I think that they’re just really cool-looking!
Sorry I haven’t been posting lately, but I promise to try to stay on it. Hope to talk to y’all soon!
Carly 
Carly at Jewelberries in David, Panama
To read more of Carly’s blog posts, visit the following pages:
http://thegilbertadventure.com/2014/02/23/panama-fruit-vegetables/
http://thegilbertadventure.com/2014/01/29/starting-the-week-out-right/
http://thegilbertadventure.com/2014/01/28/1st-sunday-panama/
http://thegilbertadventure.com/2014/01/22/fun-in-boquete/
http://thegilbertadventure.com/2014/01/11/1st-day-at-la-playa-casa/
http://thegilbertadventure.com/2014/01/05/whew/
http://thegilbertadventure.com/2013/12/29/hi-there/
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