This year my wife and I went to Mexico on holiday, and while we were there we visited Xcaret. Back in the early part of 2013 I went to Xcaret as a wildlife cameraman with colleague Matt Hamilton to film macaws for Humble Bee Films.
The individual on the left, above, is the grown up version of the chick Matt and I filmed hatching. The staff at the breeding centre say that it is heavier than its contemporaries, and maybe, though I doubt it, that is because the little blighter took so long to emerge from the egg after making the initial ‘chip’. Neither of us got much sleep as we waited for its glorious arrival on earth.
Karol and Maria (above) told us that the breeding programme for macaws is very successful (they seem to have it down to a fine art) and there is a rumour that some of the birds released into the wild have bred. If that is the case the programme is already a fantastic success.
So often filming takes us to great places that we never visit again, and ‘going back’ doesn’t always live up to expectations. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to revisit the parrot breeding programme: they are committed and passionate about their work, and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the results of the filming.