When the macaws visited me in Caracas / Cuando las guacamayas me visitaron en Caracas

Greetings to the entire Feathered Friends community! It's the first time that I post here and I do it to tell you about an encounter I had a while ago with one of the most colorful and noisy inhabitants of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. It's about the macaw, a bird that lives freely in this city and often interacts with us humans.

¡Saludos a toda la comunidad de Feathered Friends! Es la primera vez que publico aquí y lo hago para contarles de un encuentro que tuve hace un tiempo con uno de los habitantes más coloridos y ruidosos de Caracas, la capital de Venezuela. Se trata de la guacamaya, un ave que hace vida libremente en esta ciudad y muchas veces interactúa con nosotros los humanos.

Although I always saw them cross the skies and emit their characteristic sound, they had never visited me. The Caracas macaws are famous, the media have dedicated several articles to them because many people who received them in their homes, windows and balconies daily told their stories on social networks.

Aunque siempre las veía cruzar los cielos y emitir su característico sonido, jamás me habían visitado. Las guacamayas caraqueñas son famosas, los medios de comunicación les han dedicado varios artículos porque muchas personas que las recibían en sus casas, ventanas y balcones a diario contaban sus historias en redes sociales.

My encounter with these birds happened unexpectedly. It was almost 6:30 in the morning and I was about to leave the house to go to work, which I entered at 7:00 am. I went to my room to get my bag and suddenly I heard a noise and saw a macaw standing in the window. I got really excited! And I ran to look for a banana, I wanted to give it something, and I also looked for my cell phone to take some photos.

Mi encuentro con estas aves sucedió de manera inesperada. Eran casi las 6:30 de la mañana y yo estaba a punto de salir de casa para ir al trabajo, en el que entraba a las 7:00 am. Fui a mi cuarto a buscar mi bolso y de repente escuché un ruido y vi a una guacamaya parada en la ventana. ¡Me emocioné mucho! Y corrí a buscar un cambur (banana), quería darle algo, y también busqué mi celular para hacerle unas fotos.

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When I got closer, I saw that there were two of them, so I tried to get them both to eat something, one of them took the banana with its foot and pick and began to eat, the other waited and then ate too.

Cuando me acerqué vi que eran dos, entonces procuré que ambas comieran algo, una de ellas tomó con su pata y pico el cambur y comenzó a comer, la otra esperó y luego comió también.

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As you can see, these blue and yellow macaws, scientifically known as Ara ararauna, don't fear people, they're used to being fed and this has several explanations according to experts.

Como ven, estas guacamayas de color azul y amarillo, conocidas científicamente como Ara ararauna, no temen a las personas, están acostumbradas a que les den alimento y esto tiene varias explicaciones según los expertos.

I did some research and read that it's not known exactly when they were introduced in Caracas, it is believed that it was about 40 years ago, although the purpose of this is not known either.

Investigué un poco y leí que no se sabe exactamente cuándo fueron introducidas en Caracas, se cree que fue hace como 40 años aunque tampoco se conoce el propósito de esto.

Their natural habitat in Venezuela is quite far from the capital, in Monagas, Delta Amacuro and Amazonas states, however, since Caracas is a very green city, it seems that they adapted very well. In the city you can see more than all the blue and yellow (Ara araurana), the yellow, blue and red (Ara macao), the red and green (Ara chloropterus) and also one that is smaller, the Ara severus, body green with blue and red hues on the wings.

Su hábitat natural en Venezuela está bastante lejos de la capital, en los estados Monagas, Delta Amacuro y Amazonas, sin embargo al ser Caracas una ciudad muy verde, parece que se adaptaron muy bien. En la urbe se pueden ver más que todo la azul y amarilla (Ara araurana), la amarilla, azul y roja (Ara macao), la roja y verde (Ara chloropterus) y también una que es más pequeña, la Ara severus, cuerpo verde con tonos azules y rojos en las alas.

The visit of the macaws became more numerous and suddenly I already had three in my window, and is that these birds never walk alone, they go in pairs or in groups.

La visita de las guacamayas se volvió más numerosa y de repente ya tenía tres en mi ventana, y es que estas aves jamás andan solas, van en pareja o en grupo.

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As I mentioned before, it's not clear how they appeared in the city, another theory is that sadly they arrived as a result of illegal traffic or were brought by individuals to have them as pets, then some were released or escaped, that would explain why they know how to interact with people, asking for food, then reproduced and increased the population.

Como mencioné antes, no está claro cómo aparecieron en la ciudad, otra teoría es que tristemente llegaron producto del tráfico ilegal o fueron traídas por particulares para tenerlas como mascotas, entonces a algunas las soltaron o se escaparon, eso explicaría el por qué saben interactuar con las personas, pedirles alimento, luego se reprodujeron y aumentó la población.

It's also not known how many specimens there could be of these exotic birds that live between 30 and 50 years, if they have impacted in any way the indigenous fauna of Caracas (more than 270 species of birds) or the problems they are having to live, for example if they find suitable places to reproduce or if they get food that meets their nutritional needs apart from what humans give them when they visit them.

Tampoco se sabe cuántos ejemplares podría haber de estas aves exóticas que viven entre 30 y 50 años, si han impactado de alguna manera a la fauna autóctona de Caracas (más de 270 especies de aves) ni los problemas que estén teniendo para vivir, por ejemplo si encuentran lugares aptos para reproducirse o si consiguen comida que cubra sus necesidades nutricionales aparte de la que les dan los humanos cuando los visitan.

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And at this point another problem arises, if people don't know, they may be contributing to the deterioration of the health of these birds. They shouldn't be given processed foods (cookies, bread, arepa -a kind of corn bread-, etc.) but rather fruits such as banana, mango, guava, melon, papaya, among others, and vegetables such as watercress, cucumber, lettuce and some seeds like sunflower.

Y en este punto surge otro problema, si las personas no saben, pueden estar contribuyendo al deterioro de la salud de estas aves. No hay que darles alimentos procesados (galletas, pan, arepa, etc) sino frutas como el cambur (banana), el mango, la guayaba, melón, lechoza (papaya), entre otros, y vegetales como berros, pepino, lechuga y algunas semillas como el girasol.

I don't know how many minutes the visit lasted, the truth is that I was a little late for work that day hahaha, nature does not always appear in this way in your window when you live in the city, you have to enjoy it! Without a doubt, this event made my day and also prompted me to investigate a little more about them, about their history in the city.

No sé cuántos minutos duró la visita, lo cierto es que llegué un poco tarde al trabajo ese día jajaja, no siempre la naturaleza aparece de esta manera en tu ventana cuando vives en la ciudad, ¡hay que disfrutarlo! Sin duda este acontecimiento me alegró el día y también me impulsó a investigar un poco más sobre ellas, de su historia en la urbe.

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When I was a child we had budgies in cage for a while, then they died and I have never wanted to have birds in captivity again, I think that all of them deserve to live and sing in freedom.

Cuando era niña tuvimos periquitos en jaula por un tiempo, luego murieron y nunca más he querido tener pájaros en cautiverio, pienso que todos ellos merecen vivir y cantar en libertad.



THANK YOU FOR READING! / ¡GRACIAS POR LEER!



All photos are my property / Todas las fotos son de mi propiedad

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Wooow! What a lovely visit you got there :) Look at these curious fellas :) Awesome. Reminds me how we once had a little toucan stopping by our terrace when we lived in Mexico. Amazing experience. Here in Poland, the only bird visitors we have are the annoying pigeons who sh*t all over the balcony :D :/

They are such smart birds! A toucan, I have only seen them in a cage, never in freedom: ( ... Hahahaha many people don't like pigeons, poor beings, when I have I throw bread crumbs or corn if I see any on a nearby roof, but they don't come to my balcony to shit hahahaha

The thing is that the pigeons are extremely overpopulated here in Krakow, there are massive flocks of them literally everywhere. Many people put fake eagles on their balconies to keep the pigeons away :D

I understand, it must be as if you always live in a square, which is where they are almost always seen en masse

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To support your work, I also upvoted your post!

Check out the last post from @hivebuzz:

Hive Power Up Month - Feedback from Day 21

Una visita maravillosa sin duda alguna ♥️ tu post me gustó mucho, fue muy informativo ^^♡ yo únicamente las he visto volando a la distancia, debe ser genial verlas de cerca, apreciar a detalle sus hermosos colores e incluso alimentarlas❣

Me alegra haber contribuido con un poco de información sobre ellas :)
¡Sí! Fue increíble verlas de cerca, traté de no acercarme mucho (sólo cuando les di el cambur), ni intentar tocarlas para poder contemplarlas y ver qué hacían. ¡Gracias por comentar!

Me imagino 💕 gracias a ti por compartir ^^♡ además quiero aprovechar la oportunidad para agradecerte por interactuar con mis últimos post 🌸 lo aprecio mucho~

¡De nada, apoyando lo bueno! Me alegra ver gente nueva como tú compartiendo contenido creativo por aquí :)

Es genial saberlo ♡ ¡Muchas gracias! ^^ Saludos~

They are beautiful :) I hope they visit you again!

Can I please use one of the pictures for the Let Our Picture Tell Your Story Contest, giving you credit???

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Thank you! Yes of course, you can use the photo with my credit :)

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Oh, thank you! :)

Hello @sofathana!

Wonderful story
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Thank you very much! :)

Great encounter :) I would like that the usual magpies and sparrows that visit my yard turn into colorful macaws for one day at least.

It was!... I hope that tropical dream you have comes true :)

Oh, my God, that's awesome. What a privilege. Congratulations

Yeah, it was an incredible moment!