WE woke to the sound of someone walking on the wooden plank floor and gently whispering, Charlie, Charlie it´´s time to go. It was 4:30 a.m. and we were heading out early to go see parrots and Macaws at the claylick.We were on the trail by 4:45 am headed through the thick mud clay of the trail towards the blind. All we could hear was the sound of birds (muck muck) and the clay as we slugged through it. THe sound was that of someone popping their bubble gum! As we approachd the blind, Gilbert told us all that when in the forest and this close to the clay lick we must be silent and move as little as possible. We entered the grass hut that consisted of walls made of long palms or grass with holes cut into the sides for viewing the birds without them viewing us. We heard little once we entered and so used the time to get settled and wait. Gilbert tells us softly that the birds are so smart that we must be careful to move very little and be silent. After about 20 minutes we began to hear the call of parrots and macaws as they flew into the trees above us. They were staging for their daily routine at the clay lick. There are several theories, none fully corroborated, as to why the parrots eat the clay. One theory holds that the clay and contents thereof assists the birds in digesting the toxins they ingest when eating fruits of the forest. This particular clay lick attracts predominantly parrots and macaws whereas others attract solely parakeets. This is attributed to the varying chemical makeup of the clay lick.
We could barely contain our excitement as we witnessed some of the parrots moving in to the trees within our view. We were beyond our limit when two Macaws actually came into view. Gradually, the parrots began to fly to and land on the clay and began to eat the clay. <<<there were many parrots and only a couple of macaws. WE stayed and watched until our guide told us we must return for breakfast. <He did not believe the <Macaws would attempt to eat the clay this early, but he did promise to return to the claylick following breakfast.
