You usually hear them first. A rough, unhurried call travels over the canopy, and a few seconds later two birds cross the sky above the gardens, wingtips almost touching: red, yellow and blue against an endless green. At ECOTICA Boutique Hotel & Spa in Manuel Antonio, scarlet macaws are part of the daily rhythm, and once you know when and where to look, they become the easiest kind of luxury to enjoy — the kind you watch from a lounger with a coffee in hand.
A bird you cannot mistake for another
Scarlet macaws are large, long-tailed parrots with a scarlet body, bands of yellow and blue across the wings and a pale face. In flight they look almost impossibly bright, and their silhouette — that long, tapering tail — is unmistakable even against a grey morning sky.
They are also famously faithful birds: macaws pair for life, which is why you so often see them in twos. Watch long enough and you will notice the pattern. One bird leads, the other follows a wingbeat behind, and they call to each other the whole way across the property.
Here at ECOTICA, some of those couples have made their home with us. Two tall royal palms on the grounds hold a number of macaw nests, and the comings and goings of the pairs are one of the most beautiful things to see here. You can read the full story in The Scarlet Macaws That Nest in Our Royal Palms.
Where to look around the property
ECOTICA sits within a private rainforest reserve on an active wildlife corridor, which means the birds move through on their own terms, not ours. A few places on the property make the watching easy:
- The pool and the sun deck. Open sky above you and canopy all around: the best seat for catching macaws in flight.
- La POZA, our poolside restaurant. Breakfast is served from 6 to 10 am, which happens to overlap with the most active hours of the morning.
- The gardens and the creek. Walk slowly, listen, and look up when the calls get closer. The sound of the water makes the waiting pleasant.
- Your own balcony or terrace. Several of our suites and bungalows open straight onto the reserve, and the Master Suites sit at canopy height with a 270° panorama of rainforest and Pacific.
- The yoga deck in the rainforest. Quiet, shaded and surrounded by trees — a good place to simply sit and let the canopy come to you.
The best hours to watch
Come early. Mornings are when the macaws seem busiest, crossing the sky as they look for food, and many of our guests end up watching them over breakfast without ever leaving the table. Late afternoon is the second window, when the light turns gold and the birds head back across the canopy.
A few habits help. Move slowly and talk softly; macaws notice movement long before you notice them. Keep your eyes on the open gaps between the trees rather than deep in the foliage, because that is where you will catch them in flight. And give it time — ten unhurried minutes by the pool are worth more than an hour of walking around looking up.
Wildlife is wild, so sightings are never guaranteed. That is exactly what makes the moment feel earned when it comes.
Watching them the right way
We leave our reserve wild on purpose, and a little restraint from all of us is what keeps the macaws coming back year after year.
- Keep your distance from the palms. Enjoy the nests from where you are standing, and never try to approach one.
- No flash, and no recorded calls to draw the birds closer.
- Never feed them. Human food harms wildlife and changes behaviour that took generations to shape.
- If you find a feather, photograph it and leave it where it is. Scarlet macaws are a protected species.
For more on this, see our guide to responsible wildlife watching in Manuel Antonio.
Beyond our gardens
The macaws do not stop at our property line. Manuel Antonio National Park and the beaches of Manuel Antonio are just around the corner, and the coastal trees along the way are good macaw territory too. Our concierge can arrange a guide for the park, or a night hike for a completely different cast of animals.
And when the heat of the day settles in, the Jungle Spa is waiting among the trees, open daily from 7 am to 7 pm. More often than not, you will hear a pair of macaws calling overhead while the massage begins — which is, in its own way, the whole idea of this place.
More ECOTICA wildlife reading: a wildlife day in Manuel Antonio, hour by hour and birdwatching in Manuel Antonio.
