Turns out those annoying squawks were parrots!!

Hi all!

Sorry I have been lazy with my blog again! I have been pretty busy with school work lately, trying to make sure that I stay on track and don't get too behind. It's pretty easy to get distracted here, so I have to be careful about that!!

Speaking of distractions, lately I have been hearing these really loud screechy squawks outside. At first I thought geeeez, that's one annoyingly loud bird..."SHUT UP BIRD!!!!" BUT to my surprise, I found out that these "annoying birds" are actually beautiful "Jaco" ( or "Jacquot") parrots (aka "Red Necked Amazons")- rare(ish) parrots mainly seen on this island specifically. They are actually endangered, along with the very very rare Sisserou parrot (Dominica's national symbol, seen on the flag as well).
I found this out from a taxi driver who dropped me off, and pointed them out to me in the tree just above my apartment. He says they are seen and heard mainly when its cooler, and they fly between two trees on our property to feed on the berries. I was very surprised to learn this, as I have heard the noise a lot, but it did not dawn on me that we'd have this many parrots around (as they are endangered!).

So, I decided today to go out on the balcony when I heard the squawking to check it out! Sure enough, I saw many parrots flying around, and could see hints of their green feathers. They fly pretty high though, so I can never get a great look at them. We had a whole group of them early in the evening, flying among the trees. Really really beautiful!!! Here's a couple pics below of what they look like closer up:




I wish I could get a closer look!! If I ever get a camera, I will try taking some pictures of them. They are here pretty much every day!!

In other news, Martin is studying hard for his first mini of semester 3, which will be tomorrow afternoon. Please keep him in your thoughts while he writes this test!! They are always tough and very stressful...

Also I am going snorkeling at Secret Beach on Tuesday, so I will let you all know what I see there! Wish I had an underwater camera to upload pics, but I will just have to describe my experiences!!

HOpe everyone is well, talk with you soon!

Peace, love, happiness, (and loud but pretty parrots),

-Stef :)