New updates. Still not quite up to date though. Been really busy...
DAY 102
21st April 2010
The volunteers are all off at first light today to go and do their rafting trip. I do hope they have a good time. I have certainly been 'bigging it up' enough!
It's a nice quiet day on base and I do a little bit of work that Stephan wants doing, a bit of birding and some reading. The former Country co-ordinator, Dave, was a Terry Pratchett fan and our library has more than its fair share of Discworld novels so I am going through a phase of them at the moment. I have to say that it is good to have some quiet time around base.
DAY 103
22nd April 2010
I do nest check this morning with Stephen. Always good to get an 8 mile stroll down the beach before breakfast. It gives me a good opportunity to talk to Stephen about everything that has happened this phase and to make some constructive suggestions. We also see some nice hummingbirds and a fresh dead Green Turtle from the previous night. Despite us checking on the way up and back again, the Jaguar doesn't appear to be around this morning.
When we return its off to Tortuguero to stock up on supplies and to use the internet for the first time since I got back to Costa Rica. Unfortunately, though I do get to speak to my sister and nephew, I get cut off by a power cut whilst speaking to my mum. Typical!
We get some chicken and wine and treat ourselves to a nice meal tonight. I think we all need a bit of a treat. We also watch Ice Age 3 on Stephen computer. A good bit of light entertainment.
DAY 104
23rd April 2010
There are a lot of serious discussions today about our projects. On a lighter note, Rich takes me out to do some boat training, which is something I've wanted to do for a while. It's quite simple to get the basics and to drive out on the open water and we practice some U-turns and basic manoeuvres. It's a great feeling and will be another string in my bow. I also receive some further training in the use of a machete. Some good stuff to put on my CV there.
The volunteers return from their rafting trip today. One more volunteer has decided not to return. We're kind of getting used to it by now. Thankfully, everyone else seems to be in a better frame of mind now and the overall feeling is positive and I enjoy hearing about their adventures in the Rio Pacquare and looking at their pictures.
It's my turn at the Turtle night walk tonight. One of the quiet Canadian brothers is the volunteer and Arturo is our patrol leader. We manage to work a Green Turtle, get eaten alive by sandflies (little biting b*st*rds that get in your ears and under your clothes) and Arturo (he's from Chile but was educated in the UK and US and speaks perfect English and Spanish) and I end up talking at great length about comics and films, you know Star Wars, Batman, Marvel, all the good stuff. It certainly makes the time fly by (except maybe for our volunteer who we constantly apologise to for boring to death with our geek talk)
DAY 105
24th April 2010
My 2nd night walk in a row tonight and its a good one. I'm with Jackie, one of my favourite volunteers purely because she's so cheery and always brightens up any situation. I get to have a good chat with her about the ways things have been and it's good to hear that despite all of the negative stuff, she is having a great time. Our patrol leader is Santi from Spain and we get to have a good chat with him too and find out about past work he's done with turtles and swap some Spanish and English words. Best of all we get to work 4 turtles! Well we do the full nest marking and egg counting for two Green turtles. I actually get to count the eggs of one of them which is my first time, as we have to give the volunteers priority. It's pretty cool to be laid face down behind a turtle with your hand underneath feeling the eggs drop down and roll across your hand. We count them with a 'maria' click-counter and she manages to lay about 80 eggs. Hard to think of any sort of experience that compares to this! We also see two huge Leatherbacks that unfortunately have both already finished laying their eggs and are in the process of disguising the nests. It means that we can't count the eggs and don't need to mark the nest, but that we can tag and measure the carapace length of them (between 1.5 and 1.7m) – which isn't easy. Their front flippers must be getting on for a metre long and pack quite a punch if happen to be in the way of a backwards scoop of sand. We get to watch one of them return to the sea and I comment to the others that we are witnessing a process that has remained largely unchanged for millions of years – we're pretty much watching a prehistoric reptile performing an ancient ritual. As I say this, the vastness of this statement hits me and I fall quiet watching the immense reptile slide silently down the beach to be swallowed up by the waves. I feel quite profoundly moved by it all. Truly, a moment to remember.
DAY 106
25th April 2010
Very exhausted this morning. Two night walks in a row kind of does that to you.
I take out some volunteers for a short walk in the afternoon down to the estuary. It actually turns out to be a pretty good walk with some colourful and noisy birds, a couple of new species of lizard (including the weird and wonderful looking Casque-headed Lizard) and a small freshwater turtle in Kingfisher Creek down at the estuary. All the volunteers with me have a good time and again the positive mood is continuing.
DAY 107
26th April 2010
Kind of lost track of what happened this day...
DAY 108
27th April 2010
It's my first Bird Survey as leader without another staff member present. We are going down Cano California, which is the longest and most productive canal that we survey. It's a lovely clear but cool morning and the canal surface is like a mirror. Perfect conditions for canoing. Straight away we are treated to the duck-like Sungrebe (with a bright red beak to indicate they are in breeding season), the huge Ringed Kingfisher and numerous herons. The canal is pretty wide although few boats use it thankfully, and its very scenic. We are also treated to non-survey species in the form of some calling Toucans, flocks of noisy Parrots wheeling overhead and some Spider Monkeys chattering away from the riverside trees. We are also witness to the unusual sight of some swallows mobbing a heron which we presume has got too close to their nest. The size difference is considerable and its a bit like watching the biplanes harassing King Kong, except this Kong can't lay a hand on them. Eventually, it gets fed up and goes to look for another place to fish.
The highlight comes about halfway along when I just happen to look behind me and see a large dark bird fly across the canal. I can't be sure but I stop and pilot the canoe back towards where it landed. I'm thinking it may be the rarest of all the herons here, the almost-mythical Agami Heron (you may remember my first sighting last phase of a young one. They are rarely seen as it frequents rivers and creeks only in dense forest and little is known about them, particularly here in Tortuguero). We stop by the dense riverside trees and can see something moving but cannot get a clear view. After waiting a few minutes I reluctantly have to continue onwards – only for it to fly out again back across the canal behind us. This time I get a better look and I'm sure it's an Agami. Off we go back across the canal and I bring the canoe up to a mudbank under the overhanging branches, and Elliot our most adventurous volunteer hops out to see if he can find it. I can see him creeping up the bank and looking around an open area under the trees. He beckons excitedly and I can't resist also hoping out. There's a small creek just over the bank and sure enough, fishing about there is a young Agami Heron. The disproportionally long beak is the give-away because unfortunately the young bird is mostly brown (the adult is truly spectacular. Google it!). I make sure the canoe is secure and then get everyone else out of the canoe to have a look. It's a bit muddy but everyone is eager to see it and the heron is quite obliging so everyone gets a look. It perhaps isn't as spectacular as an adult, but everyone is quite excited simply due to the rarity value of it. It's great to see everyone smiling and enjoying themselves. This is rapidly shaping up to be one the best days I've had for sometime. It doesn't stop there as we also see some courting Tiger-herons (two males standing next to one another giving these deep throaty growls with their heads held high, whilst the female looks on, presumably to choose between them. It's neck and neck as we leave with no decision having been made), an Amazon Kingfisher and a Sungrebe actually carrying two young chicks on her back. What a great day!
DAY 109
28th April 2010
Lost track of this day too..
DAY 110
29th April 2010
Day off today. All of the volunteers get to go to Tortuguero. I get up to a few chores around base and go for a short walk with Andres, looking for snakes without much success.I have a night walk but we only see a couple of turtles returning to sea.
DAY 111
30th April 2010
Sleep in and then walk in the afternoon. We head north along the jungle trail and almost straight away we run into a cool snake. I am in the lead and all of a sudden there is a commotion behind me and I turn to find a large brown snake with a yellow belly sat in the middle of trail facing away from me and looking straight at Siobhan, our Irish volunteer. Luckily, nobody freaks out too much and I reassure everyone that it's not venomous. It slowly makes it way off into the forest and I manage to get a few pictures of it. Andres, who is leading another group that we have just split off from, arrives after I radio him hurriedly, just a tad too late to be able to catch or make a positive ID on it. Thankfully, my photos are adequate to identify it back at base (Brown Forest Racer, not the most exciting name). This sets the tone and I manage to find the first sloth of the phase relaxing up in a tree and we also find a rather cool Boa Constrictor crossing the trail in front of us. Everyone is obviously pretty happy with this and Siobhan delights in telling everyone back at base about how she was almost eaten by a snake!
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