The Guacamayas That Found Their Refuge

Omar Enrique Berdugo Cabeza was alone that afternoon in the sanctuary when he saw them arrive. Two guacamayas mayas — the ones from release points B126 and B31 — landed first on a mamón tree, those broad and generous branches they love so much, before making their way toward the shelter the team had built especially for them. There they stayed for a while, settled, with that quiet ease parrots show when a place has already become their own. They were not the only ones feeling bold that day. Near the feeding station, two small cotorritas came closer to investigate, indifferent to Omar's presence as he recorded everything on video without so much as shifting his weight. All around him, the tropical vegetation pressed in from every side: tall trees, shrubs, stands of banana plants, and threading through that dense green, the remnants of an old basketball court that the forest has been slowly, patiently reclaiming. That rusted metal hoop, half-swallowed by the undergrowth, speaks more plainly than any statistic could about how far habitat recovery has come in this corner of the reserve.