Tree Climb and Macaw Chick Extraction from the Ceiba Tree Nest

Climbing trees in the rainforest to reach the Macaw nests was one of the best parts of being part of the Tambopata Macaw Project, and this is what I did when I climbed this 30+ meter Ceiba Tree to get to the Macaw chick (and angry mom) waiting at the top.

This climb was one of my favorites, since you can see all across the Tambopata River. Sadly, due to flooding this tree lost its support, and fell into the river not too long ago. BUT the chick inside fledged before it happened, so no worries. the ENORMOUS Tambopata river in this video is only one tiny part of the Amazon River system, which when seeing this, puts in to perspective on how massive the total amount of fresh water is in the Amazon; something that can support the incredibly amount of life found in the rainforest.

In this case the mom decided to stay in the nest during the whole climb; most of them usually fly away, but a few learn that the best (and most annoying) place for them to be is in the nest. The chick can still be extracted, but it requires a carefull use of a towel to protect me, but more importantly the chick and the mother. In this video I used the towel to protect my left hand as I coaxed the mother to the back and a little up the wall. While holding up the towel as a shield, I was able to protect my right hand as I reached in to grab the chick, and while squirming and grabbing, still able to get him safely in the bucket. If there's something wrong, or getting to the chick proves to difficult or dangerous, we never took them out in that case.

Видео Tree Climb and Macaw Chick Extraction from the Ceiba Tree Nest канала Benjamin Becker