The Veterans Who Show the Way

On Sunday, May 3rd, Alberto arrived at the release site with the day's food and found what the team had been hoping to confirm: the five newly released scarlet macaws (*Ara macao*) are still close by. Four of them had stayed near the cages, perched on the bamboo platforms and roosting poles with the wooded hillside rising behind them; the fifth wasn't spotted, but her voice carried clearly from the face of the cerro — unmistakable through the dense growth. What Alberto also noticed — and it's worth telling — is that the newly released birds aren't wandering alone. A cheja (*Ara severus*) and a blue-and-yellow macaw (*Ara ararauna*) with a long history at the sanctuary fly actively through the area, patrolling, keeping watch, and when one of the newcomers drifts too far, they seem to guide her back toward the base area. These are the veterans of the place — the ones who already know where the perches are, where the food is, and where the cerro casts its shade. There is something in that image — the bright crimson of the newly arrived scarlets and the blue and yellow of those who already know the territory — that speaks more than any data could sum up. The process moves forward, with good news from Los Loros.