Today we’re talking about chicks with my dear friend, Sol (Maria Sol Delechuk) who was our bird manager for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 breeding seasons. After serving as the bird manager myself for two breeding seasons, Sol and I have a lot in common in our experiences, and it’s a treat when we get to talk about the birds we work so hard for. While she is no longer working with MRN, her legacy will live on in birds like Abby, who will someday be flying in the wild of Costa Rica.
C: My beginnings with MRN are quite different from yours, I started as an intern just looking for a way to get into conservation. I would have worked anywhere in the world, and I feel quite lucky that MRN was the first place to say yes to starting my career. For you, why parrot conservation and how did you end up working with MRN?
S: Because I had experience working with Green-winged Macaws (Ara chloroptera) in Argentina and I loved them. Macaws are really smart birds and I wanted to help in their conservation, because they are really important for the balance in the ecosystem. And MRN was the perfect opportunity in my life for a new experience and to help with the Macaw species in Costa Rica, and for growth in my career.
What were the highlights of your time with MRN?
S: I grew a lot, and I learned a lot about Macaws. It was a personal and professional growth. It was interesting to know the behaviors of the species in a different environment, and it was a personal challenge in many ways.
C: This I can definitely relate to, and I’m sure our previous bird managers feel the same way! It’s a challenging environment to work in, and there is a lot of pressure that comes with this job. But at the same time, it’s beautiful work. In many ways, I think we all learned what we are capable of both personally and professionally.
This was a record-breaking year for the Breeding Center. What made that possible, in your opinion?
S: I would say that it was progress in monitoring the parents and the nests. Observing them the previous season helped us better understand their needs as breeders and act quickly when problems were observed in the chicks. But of course, we were always trying to help the parents without interrupting natural rearing, except in emergencies.
Having a group of interns who can be given educational classes on how to help the macaws was very important for the season. I gave very detailed educational classes on monitoring nests and parents and what kind of strict precautions are necessary for a healthy and balanced environment for the birds during their breeding.
I also made some changes in the husbandry of the macaws to improve their breeding success: giving parents more privacy, fewer stressful situations, improvements in diet, etc.
C: I love that you were able to give the interns a good educational experience, that really is so important! And I think with the husbandry, each year we are improving, and it really shows in the number of chicks hatching each season. To give an example, when I started in 2019 we had just five chicks, and this year we have more than tripled that amount! It’s amazing to see the progress that comes with always striving to do better, and having your experience as a veterinarian was also really important in my opinion. Especially when it came to hand raising a Scarlet Macaw chick this season, which is no easy job!
Why was Abby hand raised? What factors led you and Amy to make that decision?
S: Abby’s parents had already had two chicks, and we know from past experiences that they can only raise two at a time. So, Abby was to be fostered by another pair, Mufasa and Sarabi. But the problem was that they already had another chick, and by the time Abby hatched the other chick was much bigger. On Abby’s first day after hatching, it looked like Sarabi was not feeding her, and after a few hours she lost weight because of that.
C: That makes sense. The competition between siblings is already a challenge and is much worse when one is larger than the other. I remember having to intervene for a short while with a nest of three chicks in 2020 for the same reason. In this case we were able to keep all three in the nest, but that is only possible if the mother cooperates with frequent nest checks. From my experience with Sarabi, I can imagine she would not be so easy to coax out of the nest box. And of course, those first 48 hours are critical, we don’t have much time to make the call on whether to keep a chick in the nest! I’m glad that this decision worked out.
What is it like hand raising a chick?
S: It is one of the most beautiful experiences that I have had. But it is scary too because the life of the baby depends exclusively on you. And we must be really careful. For example, Abby had some problems with air in her crop and we had to give medicine for that. It was very difficult, but it is amazing to help them in that way.
How did you prevent her from imprinting on you as her caretaker?
S: The best that we can do is not speak, try to be in silence, without human noise. I also covered my face or used a macaw puppet for feeding her. It is best not to interact with them like humans, if you have a costume or a puppet, do it like a “macaw.”
C: This is a really important point. These macaws are destined for the wild, and a huge risk to macaws historically is people. Especially for Scarlet Macaws, like Abby, who have been targeted by the pet trade. So not only do we need to make sure that Abby grows up knowing she is a macaw, but we must also make sure that she doesn’t form an attachment or an unnatural comfortability with people, who may not be so kind to her when she is in the wild.
It was so sad that you left at the end of the season! We all miss you already. I know Abby hadn’t quite fledged yet, was it hard to leave her care in someone else’s hands when you left?
S: Yes, it was hard. Because I had a method for care and I feel a lot of love for her. Handfeeding a macaw, it is difficult to not love them. They are lovely! And I was afraid about the change of people, for the imprinting risk.
C: I completely understand. You are having to feed them and check on them multiple times a day and they depend completely on you for survival. Not only is it hard to walk away from that love you feel, but to put that chick’s life in someone else’s hands is hard no matter how skilled the next caretaker is.
What is your hope for Abby in her future?
S: I really hope she can grow like a wild macaw and fly free in the nature. I hope she becomes a real wild macaw.
C: Me too!
Hand-raising Abby was a great success, she is now in a large social aviary with other chicks from this season so that she can learn how to interact with other birds, forage, and fly. She has assimilated into the group beautifully, and we can’t wait to someday see how she does in the wild.
This success was no small feat, and a lot of time and resources went in to making this possible. Abby benefited from an incubator that kept her warm, copious amounts of chick formula, and other resources that are only available thanks to our incredible supporters. Click here to help birds like Abby get to the wild!
Carey Wentz
Communications Manager
Maria Sol Delechuk
Former Bird Manger for MRN