By Jori McCune, Westminster College
Hi all!
The Costa Rican life has been treating us well with everything from friendly faces to the most amazing fruit, however, I would not say that we have been operating on “Tico time.” We have been busy and on the go, which is making our time here fly by!
We woke up early the morning of the fifth to pack and say our goodbyes to the Piro Station before catching the Colectivo. I can’t help but to think that the Howler monkeys were sad to see us go, for they were more vocal this morning and closer to our camp than ever before! We hauled bins and boxes and luggage from one destination to the next throughout the day. As we stood on the side of the road in between modes of transportation with our several bins and suitcases stacked high, we decided that “The Traveling Circus” might be a fitting name for us.
By the time we reached Puerto Jimenez, lunch and laundry were at the top of our list. We ate at a restaurant called Monkas, where it is almost sacrilegious to not order a smoothie. We spent the afternoon running errands and working on our Grinell journals in the nice air-conditioned hostel room. Our other instructor Scott and Christy Clay, Chair of the Environmental Science Department at Westminster College, arrived after a day of long travels. We were missing Shalynn, but were happy to have new faces join our adventure.
We enjoyed a nice breakfast together the next morning, and then set off for our new study base: Lomas del Sierpe. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our new home had a kitchen with a refrigerator and a cozy, covered tent platform, which we managed to fit three tents inside of! The kitchen and our hangout/study patio is perched atop a hill that offers spectacular views of the forest and makes for a great birding spot.
Sun setting over the research station at Lomas del Sierpe.
We woke up bright and early Friday morning to explore the trails we are using for point counts. We were fortunate enough to have the Osa bird director, Karen Levelle, accompany us. Her knowledge of birds combined with Chris’s made for an exciting hike in which we identified probably fifteen different species of birds by sight or sound. We climbed to the top of a lookout platform along our walk and were able to see several Red-Capped Manakins in a nearby tree. One Manakin even performed its moonwalk-like dance along a branch for us, or rather for the ladies I should say. This certainly sparked some excitement for our first official bird count to be conducted the next morning.
Lomas del Sierpe is located in a critical spot between Corcovado National Park and Piedras Blancas. Little research has been conducted in this area and surrounding areas, so we are hopeful that our research will provide valuable insight into the species of birds that are present and their densities. Our first day of point counts went exceptionally well and we were able to observe several of our focal species, such as the Baird’s Trogon, Great Tinamou, Little Tinamou, Long-Billed Hermit, and Chestnut-Backed Antbird, to name a few.
Great swimming hole to cool off during long days of field work!
We made it back to camp and waited for the arrival of Andy Whitworth, the Osa Science Director, and Eleanor, a student studying Dung Beetles at Piro. Dung beetles are much more important than you would think. They fill several important roles in nature that keep our ecosystems functioning and balanced. They serve as decomposers, seed dispersers, soil aerators, and are one of the best indicator species for forest types and forest fragmentation.
We definitely felt privileged to be working with Eleanor and Andy, and were excited about the overarching question and significance tied to this research. However, I think I can speak for all of the students when I say that the methods used for this research have been looming over our heads since day two on the bus when Chris said, “Do you guys know what kind of feces works best for Dung Beetle bait?” Yup, you guessed it. Human feces. There were many laughs, endless puns, and some uneasy stomachs as we handled the bait (I will spare you the details) and set up 16 different pitfall traps along the trails.
The group preparing the dung beetle bait! Photo by Scott Braddock
The next day we continued with our early morning point counts and collected our samples from the pitfall traps in the afternoon. When we got back to camp, Eleanor went through a few samples with us and taught us how to identify the species of Dung Beetles. We were impressed at how quickly she could distinguish between species, when sometimes the only difference would be the length in the little horns on their upper backs.
We wrapped up Christy’s last evening with music, dinner, and a game of charades illuminated by Luci lights and an impressive thunder and lightning storm. Who would have known that Scott can belly dance and Chris can give a mean Brontosaurus impersonation?
We have about five days left here at Lomas that will be filled with point counts and academics. We feel very fortunate to be among some of the world’s most remarkable birds and are looking forward to learning more and more each day that we are here. Pura Vida!