Early bird gets the worm. Although in my case, the early bird gets the birds. Waking up early every morning was surprisingly refreshing, especially with the added bribery of getting to see the wild Scarlet Macaws wake up. I worked as a Volunteer Field Biologist at the Wild Macaw Reserve in Punta Islita. I also had the opportunity to participate in the Yellow-Naped Amazon Parrot count throughout the Guanacaste province and to remove cameras from Great Green Macaw nests in Sarapiquí. I got to work everywhere, which I am incredibly grateful for. It gave me not only experience in field observations but also in climbing and conservation itself.
The day-to-day was typically the same in Islita with the exception that each day proved to be even more beautiful than the last. I’m from Colorado in the States and the very green and tropical forest is not something I was used to. Every morning when I woke up, I was greeted by the sound of my alarm, although maybe by a few bugs obsessed with my lamp as well. This was even before the squawks from the aviaries. I was awake when all was silent and often still muddy from the rain from the previous night. I would meet Ted, the Site Manager, with the truck and he would drive me down to the first active nest of the day.
As a Volunteer Field Biologist, my job was mainly to conduct first light and last light observations on the active nests of Scarlet Macaws. The first light would be from 5am to 9 or 10am. The last light would be from 2pm to 5 or 6pm. Although I was often sitting there watching these new families, I learned so much about the behaviors of each breeding pair and likely which one was going in the nest or perching.
This year was exciting because one of the active nests was a nest box. In previous breeding seasons, Scarlets were recorded inspecting the nest boxes but never attempting to breed or, for that matter, having a successful fledge from a nest box. The most entertaining moment from the chick in this nest box, whom we dubbed Brutus, was when he was perching at the nest box entrance and stretching his wings.
Brutus happened to be a tease for about a week and a half. He would perch and stretch his wings, looking so willing to fledge, then would retreat back into the nest box. Although there were only two successful wild chicks this season, Brutus was my favorite of the season. 
He eventually fledged about two weeks after I arrived in Costa Rica.
Myself and the other field biologist were lucky enough to locate Brutus after he had fledged and were able to 1) ensure his safety, and 2) see the parents interact with him outside of the nest box. This may sound like a joke, but I honestly almost cried because every Scarlet Macaw chick is adorable, and Brutus graced us with the ability to see him fly right after he had fledged.
The second chick did not fledge until a bit later. This petite chick was born and raised in a dead palm tree. It was an ideal nest for the parents considering there was a large Guanacaste tree nearby where I would often see them preening or climbing after each other.
This chick, however, had a very different experience considering the dead palm it was in was about 12 feet high, and the nest itself was about 6 feet down from the top of the palm. This meant that the chick often never had the opportunity to stretch its wings at the nest entrance until the few days before it fledged. This family was protective and curious. I would often find one of them peeking through a small hole near the entrance of the dead palm.
With these two fledglings, I recognized my passion for conservation and the evolutionary biology of our world. I think it is vital that I did realize this at the age of 16, right before I finalized college applications and decided what path I want to continue. I eventually talked this through with Sam Williams, the Executive Director of MRN (albeit this is after we had an emotional moment from him spraying me in mud from his Land Rover).
Volunteering at MRN has been one of the most remarkable experiences of my life. My confidence and responsibility have grown tremendously. This is something that I know has changed my life and has made me more passionate about conservation. I honestly think that without this volunteer opportunity, I would still be unaware of my strong passion for conserving the world that we live in.
Much love,
Annika Parrish