The Downpour That Woke the Lake

Omar Enrique Berdugo Cabeza arrived at Lago #1 just as the sky over the reserve had finished pouring itself out entirely. In the branches of the roble del nido, macaws B29 and B127 were shaking their still-drenched wings, and deep inside the tree, tucked into its nest like a hanging pouch, a torche dozed — one nobody had expected to find there. The turtles, who on dry days prefer the quiet depths of the lake, had ventured out to explore the bank, grazing on fresh vegetation and drinking the rainwater threading its way between the roots. Further along, in aviario #2, the loros were not to be outdone: they bathed beneath the streams cascading from the roof, spreading their wings and stretching their necks with that particular joy they carry when heat and rain arrive together. And near aviario #5, in the still shade of a caucho tree, a squirrel had taken ownership of the feeding station as though it had always been hers. It was one of those days when it rains and everything in the reserve wakes up at once.