News
Guyana: Off the Beaten Path
March 17, 2009, 6:41PM MT
By Jennifer S Hayes
Life changing moments from an eco-tourist trip to Guyana
Life changing moments from an eco-tourist trip to Guyana
By Suzanne Cordrey, Best Friends Network Guest Writer
When I first heard that there was a bird watching trip of parrot folks going to Guyana, I had to admit I wasn't sure which continent that was on! Guyana, not British Guiana, is a small country at the top of South America, next to Venezuela and Brazil. Suriname is on the east side of Guyana. What I also did not know about Guyana, is that the people have kept their rainforests pristine and they have a well organized eco-tourism industry, ready and willing to guide you deep into the enchanting rainforests to see the treasures that abound there.
I was invited to travel along with Marc Johnson and Karen Windsor, the founders of Foster Parrots, Ltd., a parrot sanctuary in Rhode Island. Marc and Karen have been traveling down to Guyana for several years now, encouraging the local Amerindians to protect their wildlife and birds from the old tradition of trapping and selling them on the black market. It is a lucrative business, and one that leads the wildlife into a life of quiet desperation locked up in a cage somewhere, if they live through the trauma of relocation.
It is a very noble calling to take on the responsibility of educating the people to change their perspective on how they see the animals they live with and inspire them to honor these jungle residents; therefore making their living guiding tourists into the forests to view these magnificent beings. Marc and Karen have watched the 400+ parrots that they have rescued struggle to adjust to a compromised life in cages in homes or aviaries with other birds they may not like. There is no home or aviary large enough to keep a parrot who was destined to live a life free and wild.
Karen and Marc are very familiar with the areas in the Guyana rainforest that house a variety of species of parrots, including orange-winged Amazons, hawk-headed parrots, scarlet macaws, green-winged macaws, blue and gold macaws, dusky parrots and a number of conure species.
And the brightly colored residents did not disappoint. They would fly around the camps chatting noisily, filling the air with their joyful calls, always busy being busy, as parrots in the wild behave. It made my heart sing to watch them soaring with their mate and their families across the open spaces in the forest where we occupied a small space of ground with thatched huts and trails leading into the dense rainforest. The parrots would dive into a thicket of green trees, immediately disappearing from view as their green feathers blended into the leafy scenery. But we could hear them, loud and clear! We would line up with binoculars at the ready to catch a glimpse of their happy little faces.
And it was not just the parrots that live there. Troops of capuchins swung through the treetops, stopping by our camp to feast on the palm nuts in the yard. Cautious and wary, they would watch our every move as they scampered down the palm tree, filled their cheeks and their hands with nuts and scurried quickly up and out of sight. High above us, we could see them chowing down, and then we could hear the "thunk" as the fleshless nut hit the ground. With endless fascination we watched them, giddy with joy to realize that there are still capuchins in the wild, living their lives free and as nature intended. If only I could take that feeling back to the masses of captive primates living in the United States and elsewhere.
On a quiet afternoon, I walked from the camp, down to the edge of the Rewa River and soon became the observer of a family of river otters swimming upstream, twisting and popping their heads up out of the water. They were bigger than I thought and I understand that they have no fear of the caimans, the local alligators who also inhabit the waters of the rainforest. The otters fished as they swam, and soon disappeared under the brush that hung out over the river's edge. There is a river otter conservation lodge in Guyana, and a woman who has been studying them there for years. I make a mental note for a future visit to Guyana. There is so much more to see.
A view to treasure
A well planned trip takes us several hours away and an overnight (in a hammock in the open jungle). This is a special trip, several hours hike into the base of a mountain range to a harpy eagle's nest in the rare hope of viewing the majestic bird. Harpy eagles live only in the 150 foot silk cotton trees, because their large branches spread out at a 90 degree angle and allow for the large nests the eagles build. Our guides lead us across the forest floor, mindfully looking for snakes and clearing brush with machetes as we go. They cut walking sticks for us and helped us wade through the streams as we made our way toward the nest.
At one point, Roven, the head guide, swung around and put his finger to his lips. Quiet. We were close. We walked on silently, all senses keenly aware of the sounds of the jungle. Then Roven had us stand dead still. He walked forward and took Marc with him. I focused on Marc's face, knowing that if I saw his jaw drop, we had an eagle in the nest. We waited. They delicately tiptoed around the massive tree trunk, and located the nest high above. Then I saw it - Marc's jaw hit the ground! Chills ran up my spine. An eagle looked down and spied us, so he moved up to a branch away from the nest.
Then, what is this? A second eagle joined the first one on the branch! Two harpy eagles, count them, TWO, sitting right there in front of us - well, 50 to 75 feet above us - staring at us staring at them!
They were beautiful, with gray faces and gray wings. Their defining crest of feathers flapped up in the breeze, framing their faces. Their tails had wide gray and black stripes, indicating that they were adults. But one was not bigger than the other, which we would have expected as the females are larger.
Staying only long enough to snap a few photos, Roven guided us quickly away. We were so absorbed in our joyful encounter that we needed him to say that we must move on and leave the eagles to their magical, unfettered wildness. Not that we didn't know that, but we were beside ourselves with joy and captivated by their beauty. And to think that there were only a handful of humans who have been to that nest ever! What an awesome sight.
I was overwhelmed with gratitude that I had been given the opportunity to be there, at that moment, on that day, when both eagles were there and I got to look into their eyes. I had one of those “ah-ha” moments that will be with me forever.
There is a quote by Alan Watts that goes:
"Through our eyes the Universe is perceiving itself
Through our ears the Universe is listening to its cosmic harmonies
We are the Witness to which the Universe becomes conscious of its own Magnificence."
I have never felt so at “one” with all that is as I did at that moment with those harpy eagles.
I would like to say that I floated out of the jungle that day, but it was a long 3 1/2 hour hike out and my feet had had enough of tripping over roots and vines and slippery leaf litter. But after a rum and fresh fruit juice and a tasty meal, curling up in the hammock seemed a fitting ending to a very special day.
There were other hikes to other magical destinations with outrageous sightings of parrots and birds, large fish and caimans, waterfalls and the rare cock-of-the-rock! Each camp had its own character that endeared me to the place, wishing to return someday to recapture the feelings of connection with the forest and the people I met. My heart opens and I literally fall in love with nature when I visit the rainforest. It is the "mothership" of life. My hope is that everyone that has a desire to visit the Amazon will get the chance. If you do, promise me you will not pass it up.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
? Support the lifesaving efforts of Foster Parrots, Ltd.
? Learn more about Project Guyana, where the Foster Parrot organization encourages the native Amerindians to protect their wildlife and birds
? Join the Parrot Garden community on the Best Friends Network
Photos credits:
• Lead image of scarlet macaw by Xavier Marchant as seen on Wikimedia.org
• Blue and gold macaw by Lauri Väin as seen on Wikimedia.org
• Orange-winged Amazon by Philipp Weigell as seen on Wikimedia.org
• Capuchin by David M. Jensen as seen on Wikimedia.org
• Caiman from the trip by Sharon Malley
• Harpy eagle by Glen Smart as seen on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Cock-of-the-rock by Jerry Thompson as seen on Wikimedia.org
Posted by Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends staff