Who knew that Toucans hopped?

The Cruise Port of Cartagena, Colombia was one of my favorite parts of our Princess Cruise in December of 2022. And, it was an unexpected surprise.

We had taken a bus tour of the city to learn more about the culture and see how local people lived and worked and when it was over, our Mom and I were heading back on board the Emerald Princess (our home on the water for fourteen days) and Gary, my brother, was taking a more scenic route. Mom and I reached the ship first and as we were settling back in, Gary came by to let me know that he passed through something he thought that I'd be interested in. He had stumbled upon a bird sanctuary!

I am a wannabe birder, but I can't identify calls or wingspans (excellent birders can do this). The only of our feathered friends I really know anything about are Canada Geese. It's common to see them in my neighborhood. They practically run the joint. I know when they eat breakfast. I know when they go for a swim. I know when they molt their feathers. I know when they have goslings. And, I know what time they leave the lake near my house to return to wherever they sleep for the night (that, I don't know because I've never been able to follow them). Canada Geese are my speciality. They're bossy, terrifying, and I'm fascinated by them.

However, in Colombia, there were no Canada Geese to be found. Instead, the Cartagena Port Oasis was filled with Scarlet Macaws, Blue-and-yellow Macaws, Red-and-green Macaws, Chestnut-fronted Macaws, Toucans, Great-tailed Grackles, aloof peacocks, and various other wildlife! The Port Oasis not only provides the ability to get close to the animals that reside in it, but it has a gift shop. Since Mom didn't come with us to the Port Oasis, my brother ventured in the shop to buy a souvenir for her. The lines to check out were unreasonably long so while I waited on Gary, I had plenty of time to spend with the birds.

The Macaws were the stars of the show and my favorite to watch. There were more of them than any other bird in the area and I spent a great deal of time with them. Those birds were territorial and could often be seen fighting each other, beak to beak, and making an auditory ruckus. Being so close to them gave me opportunities to observe their behavior. Macaws have colorful wings, but where they were in this Port Oasis, they didn't use them much. Rather, they'd choose to move up and down the wooded branches using their beaks. I was more drawn to the Blue-and-yellow Macaws because they seemed to have a little more personality. I even caught one of them on video trying to drink water from a water bottle!

Spotted among the chaos created by the Macaws was a Toucan, identified by that long and unique beak! The only Toucan I knew of was the Toucan Sam on my box of Fruit Loops I ate as a kid. I knew nothing about them. I had never seen a real one in person. What a difference catching them in action makes! Fruit Loops never told me that Toucans hop instead of walk.

My time with the birds of Cartagena didn't make me that much better of a birder (I still can't identify songs or calls), but it did increase my curiosity about them. Why do they do what they do? Why do they act like they do? Do they like people like me visiting them? Glad my brother encouraged me to disembark the ship once more to explore what he had discovered. It was truly a memorable highlight of the trip for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI4giyEo-l8

Written By Rebecca Johnson