Volunteer with Amigos de las Aves

Volunteer with Amigos de las Aves
in Costa Rica

 Join us in a unique opportunity to learn and study the large Macaws in Costa Rica.
A wonderfully interesting and ground breaking program.

A once in a lifetime opportunity

With the birds….

The breeding centre for Great Green and Scarlet Macaws and also the Refuge, is situated in Alajuela, and is where all the 'release' birds come from. This is where the chicks are raised, the home of the breeding birds, and the birds awaiting release. This is also the site of the Refuge Centre, where local species of birds are kept. Some of these birds are taken from the wild by poachers and most are confiscated by MINAE . Some of these birds are seriously traumatised, unable to cope with living outside of a small cage, but we endeavour to make their remaining life as comfortable as possible.

What you will be doing:
You will be 'person Friday' - feeding birds, maintaining aviaries, making toys, observing behaviours, moving birds, monitoring nestboxes, environmental enrichments, observing babies, walking dogs, washing, cleaning, scrubbing, perching, improving aviaries, feeding and playing with the refuge birds and more………

The type of person who should apply

What you should like about working at the Breeding Centre

Learning about the macaws - their behaviour and habits.
Watch the progress from pairing each macaw at the beginning of nesting to their producing eggs and eventually chicks.
Observations of some of the rarest macaws in the world.
Helping to improve the lives of some of the refuge birds here.
Watching chicks grow from day one to fully fledged.
Being involved with not only Macaws but various other species of birds.
Enjoying the wonderful gardens and stunning wildlife on the property.
Birds flying free and interacting with you in the patio area
Staying in the comfortable homestay with all your meals being prepared for you and your laundry done. They will also help organise days out for you.
The fantastic team that you will become a vital part of.
Being part of an organization committed to the conservation of Costa Rican Macaws,
an organization unselfish in its motives, and highly successful in its objectives.   

What you may not like about working here

Practical Information

Costa Rica is one of the safest Central American countries, there hasn't been any political turbulence since the army was given up over 50 years ago. For more practical information on the country, it is a good idea to buy a guide to Costa Rica, but here is some general information to get you started...

Vacinations
You will need to talk to your doctor about what vaccinations to take, but you will probably need Yellow Fever, Rabies, Hepatitis A, Polio and Tetanus. Malaria is not a big problem here, but you should talk to your doctor about whether to take pills or not.

Visas
Most nationalities do not require a specific visa to enter Costa Rica as a tourist, the tourist visa issued upon arrival usually only applies for three months, please check this in your own country before you leave. After this most volunteers just leave the country for at least 72 hours, and visit neighbouring Panama or Nicaragua every three months, before re-entering Costa Rica.

US citizens can claim tax back on money spent here, but there may be additional taxes, e.g. airport taxes, you will have to check this out before coming.

Things you will need

Some of these items you can obtain locally.

If you're still interested after all that, and would like to apply, send an e-mail to Marti, with a CV and the contact details of two referees.
In your e-mail, please state your reasons for applying, your avicultural experience, when you will be available to join us, and for how long

With gardens, the finca and maintenance…

We are always in need of volunteers to work on the finca. If you know anything about gardening, come and work with the orchids, gingers, chocolate trees, coffee plants, and other plants and shrubs. The garden is an original "Lankaster" (the botanist) garden, and belonged to the Lankaster family, hence the vast variety of plants, shrubs and trees.

We are also in desperate need of a Handyman - do you have experience in fencing, carpentry, plumbing, welding, repairs or general maintenance - HELP!

With education…

We are always looking for a volunteer student/teacher/teacher on holiday - who would like to come and start an education program at Amigos de las Aves.

You will need to speak Spanish, and be able to commit for at least two months. We have produced a series of quiz sheets, fact sheets, coloring books, etc that form a complete "schools pak". We would like to use this pack for children in the local schools.

Sometimes we visit schools and taking our presentation pack, talk to the children and school about our work, what we do and how and why. How they can help.

We also have facilities to talk to children here at Amigos de las Aves and offer them a tour of our breeding centre/refuge and we show them the nursery and babies if there are any at the time of the visit.

We hope that these vital teaching aids will enhance the understanding of children to the plight of birds in Costa Rica. By answering some serious and important questions, we hope to show the children how they can help, how their choices for the future can affect Costa Rica, what they can do to help now.

We also hold crayoning, coloring and essay competitions for some schools and are often amazed at the standard of work. We believe this encourages the children to think further about the macaw plight.

If you think you can help and have some bright ideas? Then come and join us.

The Homestays

Daisy's homestay has three large self contained rooms with their own bathroom, and if you like privacy and relative peace and quiet - this is the one for you. Also the best opportunity to practice your Spanish here. You will be part of the family home and you eat with the family. Three meals a day are provided. The cost is $15 a day (you might need to share) or $20 for your own room.

At Margarita's homestay you will be living within her large family - children included, she provides warm hospitality to all. You may be sharing a room if there are lots of volunteers, but the price includes three good meals a day and laundry too. The cost is $15 a day for volunteers and $20 a day for non volunteers.

To book for non volunteers, phone: (506) 430 3074/ 441 1464

If you think you have a flair for raising funding - then as a non profit organisation, we could really do with your help.

Our project is a very emotional one - animals usually are - and we hope to see all our hard work and hours of donated labour end in tears of joy - with our very own parent reared babies flying free, in their own environment and in their own country. We want this project to be the first successful re-introduction of Macaws! But to continue this, we need ongoing funding...

It's a never ending story……. we are always in need of something…. food, locks, computer supplies, veterinary supplies, fencing, security lights, wiring, welding facilities, mowers, staff, tools, wiring, pumps…. the list is endless ……

We know that somewhere out there are some serious fund raisers - if you think you can help and we touch your heart, then please, just send us an email

With Promotions…….

If you can speak a little Spanish - and have an easy manner - not to mention be pursuasive - then we could be looking for you!

We have posters and fliers available to help bring awareness of Amigos de las Aves.

If you think you have the art of the spoken word and are extreemly convincing! Then please join us and help spread the word!!!!