Asociación Amigos de las Aves was formed in 1992 as a Costa Rican non-profit association to help further the macaw-related activities of two long-time American residents of Costa Rica, Richard and Margot Frisius.
The Frisiuses are bird breeders with a large collection of native Costa Rican birds, including many of the two species of Costa Rican macaws, the scarlet macaw and the Buffon's or great green macaw. They have successfully bred these macaws and several times have released flocks of 6-12 young scarlet macaws in protected areas in attempts to establish viable new flocks of this species in portions of its former range. The first flock of 13 was released in January 1999 at Curu National Wildlife Refuge. As of spring 2004, nine of the birds are alive and well and are showing signs of possible breeding activity. Additional groups of 6 macaws were twice released near the southern Costa Rican town of Punta Blanco, at Tiskita Jungle Lodge, and are also doing well.
The Frisiuses are skilled breeders of macaws and have created an impressive breeding facility for them. However, after several years of working with them on their breeding and conservation programs, Amigos de las Aves USA (see note below) has decided to no longer provide support for activities undertaken by this group. We hope this will change in the future.
