Scarlet Macaw: Macaw Ranch, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — There is a free flying flock of close to 100 Macaws, mostly Scarlet and hybrid (there is one big male Great Green Macaw in the flock who seems to have been very active!) at a remote ranch in the Sarapique Valley, down a long dirt road to the end. The Macaws are used to humans and are easy to get close to. Ideal for photography, but I do have my reservations about the number of hybrid birds. I am not sure that is good for either species in the long-run. Still, it made for some stunning photo ops. This is a close-up of a preening Scarlet Macaw from just a few moments after we arrived. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. I actually still had the camera in my birds in flight and action mode (Program with modifications) so this is at ISO 3200 at 1/1600th. Processed in Photomator.