The ARA Project in Costa Rica has spent 20 years building up a genetically diverse, viable, captive population of Buffon's Macaws and preparing for the moment they can begin releasing Buffon's into the wild, to save this species from extinction.
But, releasing these birds is not done lightly and it is with their heart in their mouth that they slowly let each one go. Ten were released last year. Eight regularly return to the release site, but two have disappeared, although Buffon's have been sighted out of the area and it is hoped that they are the two missing macaws.
Release 2 began in August 2012 and so far five birds have been liberated (including Mick a few days ago). But how did they get on in their first few hours, days and weeks? In the December issue, out now, we closely follow their exploits in the wild and it makes fascinating reading. Observing them and trying to keep tabs on them is as heart-rendering as it is amazing, with some individuals coping far better than others...