Finally falling into a smooth pace

 12 & 13 Octubre 2020

        Monday was another trial in working out all of the kinks. We returned early to CF06 to reshoot the line and finally maintenance the station. The line was shot properly the first go around, so we did lose much time attempting to fire, retrieve, and refire a line, which is always a huge relief. A little bit of time was lost attempting to bounce the weight bag over the tree limb. In a way, it almost turned into a game, which we all ultimately lost. But it wasn't a big deal, it just meant that I would have to climb through a few extra branches to get to my final destination. The smooth start we were off to didn't quite last. On the ground, there were some issues getting the audiomoth to configure properly. The laptop was recognizing that the device was connected. Of course, being in the tree, all I could do was shout out instructions to the ground team. It was one of those moments where I was thankful for the team I had because they waited patiently for me to visualize the screen and walk them through the whole process because the configuration file would not open. Regardless, we had the whole station up and running, finally!

Having a laptop in this environment is surreal. Photo credit: Nicolas Betancourt

        Feeling relieved, we hiked off to the next tree feeling a bit more accomplished. It seemed as though things were finally going to plan. Moises climbed up to the station at CF01, while Nicholas and I were on the ground, taking a few minutes to look for some critters to photograph. We had a good time bonding while looking fervently for a Gartered Trogan that would not seem to stop moving. It was at this tree, that I realized the chord we were using for the audiomoth was not working as intended. I had 3 different micro-USB chords and I spent nearly 45 minutes trying to get the laptop to recognize the audiomoth to no avail. From this point forward, I decided the best move forward was to bring the audiomoths back to camp and configure them. Total bummer. It was frustrating to know that after 3 days, we still hadn't completed a station. At the very least, we had changed out the camera batteries and SD cards, as well as recorded all of the habitat data, so the next visit would be short. 

Photo credit: Nicolas Betancourt

        That's just the way of fieldwork.

        Tuesday was the first smooth (relatively speaking) day in the field. Our team successfully checked the stations we visited, and there would not be any need to return to any of these sites. The first tree of the day (ironically named Segundo), went off without a hitch. On our hike over, we saw several beautiful birds. At the tree, while Moises was climbing, Nicolas and I had a wonderful conversation about the importance of the work we were doing. We had been talking about all of the life that occurs in these trees, with epiphytes often holding water that animals come and visit either for a drink or to hunt for prey. Beyond just my study species, we're recording several different animals in these trees and it really does show how important trees are to maintaining biodiversity. It really is just incredible to see and experience.

Nest along the hike

        On our way up to the next tree, Nicolas spotted a Botrops asper right by where I was about to take my next steps. Apparently, I have a penchant for almost stepping on these snakes. Nicolas and Moises held an impromptu photoshoot with the beautiful snake, while I went to start setting things up at the tree (since it was only 5 meters away). As I looked up at the tree to check in on the station - I noticed something was off - the line wasn't quite where it normally sat. Further inspection revealed that the line wasn't just off, the branch my station had been placed in was off. A storm or something had likely caused it to break and now there was no station at all. 

        Immediately, I assumed the worst. I half-heartedly searched for the station, but I was convinced we wouldn't find it with how this session was going. Thankfully, Moises was there to keep me thinking positively and actually found the station on the ground, in near perfect condition. Apparently, the camera had been on the ground since March, but the audiomoth was still in working condition (not the camera though, it had been upside down and collected water in the battery tray). I removed the bracket from the downed branch and re-set the station back on the same tree. Despite having lost some data due to environmental conditions, I still felt accomplished in completing two trees and knowing we wouldn't have to hike back to them at the end.

That's not where the camera is supposed to be!!! Photo credit: Nicolas Betancourt

        Since there was still daylight and we still had energy, the three of us decided to keep pushing onwards and to hike the bags closer to the next camera. In the long run, we would have had to make the hike the next day, one way or another, but I think we all regretted our choice a little as we hit a long section of muddy, downhill trail. I had forgotten how much of a battle each step was to get through this muddy trail. And although my legs hated me for it that evening, they were thankful the next day. 

        That night, I had an experience that I wish I could forget. While I was sitting at the table, transferring data, I felt a sharp pain in my upper arm. I quickly swiped my hand over the area and looked to the ground to see what the source was only to see a winged bullet ant on the ground. First, I thought it had only bitten me because the pain wasn't that bad, but then this fiery pain began to increase in intensity. To me, it started as a burning sensation but transformed into a sharp pain, like getting a tattoo you don't want. All I could think about were times when friends have said they want to get bit, just for the experience. And for those wondering what it's like, all I can say is painful. Very, very painful. It is not an experience you want to have. Needless to say, I did not sleep that night.

13 Octubre 2020 - Nicolas

        Todo el es fuerzo de las caminatas ha rapido la pena. Mi cuerpo se adapta cada día más al es fuerzo. Los paisajes cada día son distintos, vemos muchos tipos de animales y hoy en particular vimos un víbora bastante grande cerca a uno de los árboles que íbamos a escalar. Este proyecto me ho enseñado que cada rama de cada árbol en el bosque es importante.

Botrops asper. Photo credit: Nicolas Betancourt

13 Octubre 2020 - Ryan

        Today Shawn, Dany, and I went down to manage the station outside of Camarones. The tree sits on a steep hill on the edge of a stream, so we almost had to slide down to get to the climbing end of the rope. Once the rope was in place, I climbed up and quickly sent the station down to Shawn and Dany to download. In the meanwhile, I worked to clear some of the branches and leaves from in front of the station to decrease the amount of waving leaf pictures we got. After completing our work at the station, we dropped down into the stream to take some water depth measurements for the Camarones potable water project. 

        With those measurements in hand, we took turns being brought up to the start of Punta Vista on Dany's motorcycle, where we began the climb to the second station of the day. The hike took longer than expected, but we eventually made it and dodged bullet ants to set up the climbing rope. In the tree, I recorded a few short videos for social media, downloaded the data, and returned to the ground, where Shawn had realized some moisture had gotten into the camera. Thankfully, we had a replacement camera, but it is always unfortunate to lose equipment to the elements. With that, we finished up our first two-tree day of fieldwork for the trip!!