Registration Great Green Macaw watching in the Bosque Protector Cerro Blanco, Guayaquil - Ecuador

On July 8, 2015, the rangers  Armando Manzaba (Keeper of the wild) and Benito Choez reported the presence of six Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus guayaquilensis) near the Jaguar station guard, located in the Northwest part of the Cerro Blanco Protected Forest.

The Great Green Macaw arrived around 6:30 am and stayed for a period of approximately two hours, after which they flew in the same direction from which they came (northwest), this area is characterized by a forest of Pigio trees (Cavanillesia platanifolia). During the time the birds remained close to the guard station, they were perched on a Pigio tree.

Subsequently, on July 16, 2015, six macaws were seen in the same area. Like the previous occasion, the birds arrived at about 6:30 remaining in place for two hours, then they flew in a northwesterly direction.

The arrival of the birds, is perhaps due to the presence of 5 Great Green Macaw in a flight rage as part of a program to release captive macaws bred to help bolster the local population.  The Great Green Macaw is listed as critically endangered in Ecuador with an estimated population of between 60 and 80 individuals remaining in the wild. 

During the time that the macaws were in the field, they were constantly vocalizing which were answered by the birds in the flight cage.

It is important to note that during the months of June to October macaws area present in the Cerro Blanco Protected Forest in search of nesting areas in forest dominated by Pigios.  Later, when the eggs hatch and the young fled the Great Greens leave these areas.