Successful Start & Strange Finds

8 & 9 Enero 2021

        Day one for Matt and I had been a nice, slow start. I certainly can't say the same for day 2. We  were shifting into the cloud forest trees and I was nervous that morning because it had been pouring buckets all night. Climbing uphill with heavy bags is already a challenge, but a muddy trail that your boots start sinking into with each step increases the difficulty (especially when you are clumsy, like me).

        On our way out to our first tree of the day, not more than 5 minutes away from the bamboo house, we encountered an agouti on the trail. Agoutis are large rodents and they tend to eat hide fruits and seeds away, several of which are forgotten helping new plants grow in the process! I took this as a positive sign for the day.

Why did the Agouti cross the trail? Probably to avoid the excitable biologists! Photo credit: Matt Parker

        And on that vein, the first climb went very smoothly. Matt got in another practice climb after I dealt with the gear. 

        We even figured out a decent way to measure the tree diameter with the measuring tape! One of the issues we had last time is so many of our climbing trees have large buttress roots and for an accurate measure, you need to get ABOVE the roots. We'd tried using long sticks to support the tape, but, as you can imagine, that was not an effective system.

        Instead, while I was still on the climbing line, Matt helped pull me around to collect the measure. I felt like a balloon, but it worked! 

        Afterward, it was time to return to CF03 - to embark into 'stereotypical' cloud forest. Almost constant fog heavy in the air, and ferns covering so much of the understory. The two of us were making excellent time, so I continuously tried pointing out a glasswing butterfly that kept fluttering away, stopping and trying to sneak up on them so Matt could get a proper view. They are such stunning butterflies and they fully live up to the name.

You can see right through their wings! Photo credit: Matt Parker

        When we arrived at the location of CF03, I couldn't see the station or line yet again. Dang it! That frustration filled me again, and I guided Matt to start looking around on the forest floor - back in October a storm had taken the station out...but after nearly an hour of looking I realized I turned us off the trail twenty meters too soon. Oops!

        Matt was a good sport about it. There was still more than plenty of daylight left too, so we got all of the batteries and SD cards switched out of CF03 and hiked off feeling accomplished. We even ended the day with another mammal sighting. An adorable armadillo was toddling along the trail as we hiked back home.

        We linked up with Moises and Becca - they'd finished two trees. Collectively, we were on day 2 and we'd already finished 7 trees! It felt like we were on such a roll.

        Moises was unable to join us in the field, so it was just the three amigos for the rest of the trip. The day before, Moises and Becca had 'cached' their rope bag by WF03 so away we went, down the Del Rio trail. The trek down that trail is always so lovely because you wind back and forth across a river, walking by waterfalls ever so often. We even found a well-hidden nest along the way - and we had to stop and speculate as to whose eggs they could be along the way before leaving them be.

        Matt and I enjoyed watching dart frogs hop around as Becca finagled her way to the awkward location of the canopy station. It was pleasant to just listen to the sounds of rushing water (although it made communicating with Becca challenging). But before long, we were back on the trail. Since we would pass by the bamboo house on the way to the next canopy station, we ate lunch back at 'home', and then we hiked back up into the cloud forest.

Lunch & birding break!

        Our next tree on the docket was Friday the Thirteenth. Despite the bad luck, we had the very first time, its been my favorite tree to visit ever since. There are almost always howler monkeys hanging out in that tree or the one right next to it. None when we first arrived - oh well. It would at least make the job quieter.

        Since this tree had a lot of large limbs, I told Matt that once I gave him the go-ahead, he could climb up after me and I'd talk him through the 'maintenance' progress. As I was making myself comfortable, a troop of howlers climbed into the tree right next to ours. They looked curious at the new canopy dweller but weren't bothered. Which became even more obvious as Matt joined me. 

Hanging in a tree together

        Just as I was pointing out the howlers to him, a pair started copulating right before our eyes. We both felt like we were intruding on the moment, but it did make us laugh. Makes you wonder how nature documentary filmers feel when they catch those moments on camera.

8 Enero 2021 - Becca

            We started later Friday morning because Moises’s had a virtual class. I used the time to bird around the bamboo house and garden (one of my favorite places to bird given the proximity to tea and bird guides). Once we were ready, Dany and Sixto gave us rides down the road on their motos. It was funny having my heavy pack on my back and riding on a motorcycle, but anytime we get a ride most of the way instead of hiking feels like a luxury.

            The tree with the CAIP station, AG02 or “Verizon”, is on a steep bluff down to a creek, so it was difficult getting from the anchor to the climbing line. However, after working with Jackie last year, I had come to expect this. Moises climbed up easily and sent down the equipment. That’s when I realized we were missing some labels for the cameras. We carried on without them and soon Moises was back on the ground. Dany was waiting for us and took us back up the hill.

            Moises and I decided to take the bags to WF03 (Hot Tuna), stash them overnight, then simply hike out in the morning and do the climb. By then, we’d have gotten the labels from Jackie and could properly complete the job. After stashing the bags, we found a dead monkey in one of the pools nearby. We couldn’t say how it got there for sure, but it was a cool (and creepy) find!

The craziest find of the trip! Photo credit: Matt Parker

            Without our heavy backpacks weighing us down, we happily birded the whole way back, spying Canada warblers, a Gray-headed kite, and White-bearded manakins. We also found an eyelash viper, Bothriechis schlegelii, making it a lucky day for finding critters.

 

9 Enero 2021 - Becca

            Soon after we started hiking, I spotted something brown and feathered flit across the trail. Happily, it perched in the open and I got a view of a White-whiskered puffbird, the first one for this trip. Once we reached WF03 (Hot Tuna) I started getting ready to climb.

            When climbing there are a few general rules that will make the experience easier and avoid exhausting you unnecessarily. First, clear communication with your ground team is very important. Second, it’s a good idea to limit the number of times you need to ferry things up and down, especially in the taller trees, because pulling up about 20 m of serious rope multiple times can be tiring and time-consuming. And finally, you got to be flexible; if a certain climbing approach is not working, it’s time to switch up the plan. I broke all these guidelines while I climbed Hot Tuna, or at least took the long way ‘round.

            Once I used my lanyards to get to the station, I found that the audiomoth and kestrel were within my reach, but the camera was barely beyond my fingertips. I also decided that I needed a multi-tool from the ground to cut the kestrel free of its zip tie. I yelled that down to Jackie and Matt and sent the audiomoth down for starters. Meanwhile, I strained and reached for the camera and somehow got it unscrewed. Jackie called up the bag was ready and I pulled it up to discover the new audiomoth, but no multi-tool. The river sounds had sabotaged my puny communication attempts. I sent the camera down, requesting the multi-tool again, and wishing I had some paper and a pencil. As I lowered the little backpack to the ground, I somehow succeeded in getting a knot tied in the climbing line below me. Great. That will need to be fixed soon.

            The next time I hoisted the bag from the ground I hit the jackpot with the multi-tool and got the kestrel unattached, ferried down for a battery change and data download. I also took the time to sort out my rope problems trying to carefully keep the different parts separate and avoid more knots.

            It was time I got the refreshed camera back onto its holder. The trunk was so large that I couldn’t touch my hands on the other side when I hugged it and I could just barely hold the camera in place above my head, straining every muscle in my body. I tried to screw the camera back on – again – and again for about 15 minutes. I was pushing up with every muscle I had, but I could not get the angle right. This climbing approach wasn’t working.

The position Becca was in for a while

            I finally gave up on trying to get the camera on from where I was and pulled up the rope one last time to retrieve the kestrel. With the audiomoth and kestrel taken care of, I did what I should’ve done much earlier and moved my lanyards so that I was coming towards the station from the other side of the trunk. Leaning around the trunk – miracles of miracles – I could easily reach the camera’s spot and quickly got it set up (finally!). In most trees, you’re able to reach the entire station from one spot, but this tree was different, and I should have moved around the trunk in the beginning to reach the different equipment.

            To get to our second tree we hiked through a stretch of trail with some bamboo overgrowth, so I went first with the machete. It felt good to be going downhill and swinging a machete again, and Jackie laughed that this felt so familiar.

            Once Jackie was in the top of CF04, “Friday the 13^th”, she called down that she was simply going to push her rope runner (what holds you on the mainline and helps you descend) a little higher for Matt to climb up. This made a lot of sense since it avoided hoisting the entirety of the rope below the climber several times. Despite the logic, leaving a rope runner on the line made me nervous. What if it got out of Jackie’s reach? And I remember another key lesson when you’re climbing trees – it always looks and feels completely different in the tree versus on the ground and the ground crew must trust the climber. I trust Jackie with my life (and have done so literally several times) and I knew she knew what she was doing.

            Before sending Matt up, we measured CF04’s DBH. After a couple attempts to do it from the ground we were thwarted by the dubious amount of vegetation and vines. We decided to do what Moises and I had done before, and when Matt had climbed to about even with the buttresses, I pulled him closer to the trunk and he clung to the vines. I handed off the DBH tape reel and quickly stumbled over buttresses and through vines to where Matt reached around the other side. Finally, we had a measurement.

            They had no issues in the tree and soon Matt was descending again. Of course, I needn’t have worried about Jackie’s rope runner and she was on the ground soon too. We cheerfully packed up and hiked to where we would leave the bags overnight, then continued home.

Group photo after a successful day!

 9 Enero 2021 - Matt

        Tired...I am tired. The good kind of tiredness that is earned after a hard day's work. The first tree we hiked to was located next to a small, meandering river that has chiseled-out pools along the trail. At the Del Rio tree, a deceased monkey was decomposing in the river. The skeleton sitting in the tea-colored water looked like it was preserved in amber. When we get back from the tree, we walked up to the bamboo house just as the sun made an appearance, it was a nice welcome! After a quick tuna sandwich (and a switch to drier clothes), we climbed the long, meandering trail to the last tree of the day.

        This tree will be etched in my memory for a while. Not only did I get to put the audiomoth back on the station, I did so with an audience of howler monkeys in an adjacent tree. They seemed unimpressed with our ropes in harnesses. They seemed further unimpressed with my first attempt at lanyarding, oh well. We hiked out in the twilight unburdened with the heavy packs of rope we hid off the trail. Upon return, we had a hot meal waiting for us and it put the final touches on a fantastic day.

Ecuadorian dinner courtesy of Moises! Photo credit: Matt Parker

The Start of the Last Field Season

6 Enero 2021

        It is another one of those 'I can't believe I'm actually back here' kind of days. Getting travel approved again was incredibly down to the wire - to the point where I was purchasing tickets less than two weeks out from travel type of close. With how close we were cutting it, I was getting worried about getting Covid-19 tests in time (my team and I were required to test negative prior to entering the country). We had all been isolating prior and knew we had not been exposed, but with the high demand for the holiday time, I had worried I would not have the paperwork to support that in time.  But, regardless, we got everything together and made it down in time. On this trip, I had Becca joining me again, and a former labmate, Matt, who had never traveled to South America before and was able to accommodate the short notice.

Late arrival in Quito. Photo credit: Matt C. Parker

        The three of us arrived in Quito at around 3 am at a hostel for a quick few hours of sleep. Then we began our journey to Jama-Coaque with Moises at 9 am. Suffice to say, we were all exhausted on the drive over. But before our second departure, we caught up with Ryan to pass along some things he had ordered from the U.S. (and let me say, seeing the faces of airport clerks when you explain that you have a Roomba charger in your bag is priceless).

        The long drive to the reserve was much more exciting with a first-time visitor in the car. Matt was taking in all the new sights and asking lots of questions along the drive (which really helped the 6-hour drive pass quickly). It also made me appreciate the view with a different lens. That is, when I wasn't feeling carsickAside from that, the drive was uneventful. We safely arrived at the reserve late that evening and began packing up backpacks to ensure both teams had all of the supplies we needed. I had this goal in mind that we would not have to revisit any of the trees if it could be prevented. This time we were on a much more limited schedule. We would only be in the reserve for about eleven days, so we really needed to be efficient in our timing. Luckily, Mosies and Sixto (the park ranger) had already checked the four farther trees just a month before, so we would not have to worry about those trees. Fingers crossed things go to plan this time!

Crossing the equator! Photo credit: Matthew C. Parker

7 Enero 2021

        First day back in the field - going in, I felt confident in our abilities since we had learned what could go wrong last field season and were prepared. Matt and I headed to some of the agriculture trees so I could teach him the ropes on easier trees. Meanwhile, Becca and Moises were heading off to some of the cloud forest trees (with both of them being birders, I knew they would get along great).

        Returning to AG04 and AG05 was exciting for me because I hadn't visited these trees since January of 2020. Ryan and Shawn had done so back in October so this would be only my second time visiting these trees.

        On the way to the first tree, I said some words that I would be eating the very next day. Matt asked me if there was a trail to the trees today. I turned to him, pointed at my head, and responded, 'it's all in here.' Anyways, we easily arrived at the tree and noticed a yellow string on the tree. Before, I had just lanyard-ed up the tree (use ropes attached to my harness to get up). We had left the rope bag just hidden off the trail because we hadn't needed it. I stuck with this method to get up with a lanyard and the maintenance job went smoothly. As I was making my way down, Matt and I spotted a tayra right below the tree.  We were probably all staring at each other for a solid minute - Matt and I in amazement, the tayra in bewilderment before it took off running. Chance close encounters with wildlife are so exciting!

Getting ready to lanyard up. Photo credit: Matthew C. Parker

        With that tree wrapped up, we set off to the next. Along the way, we kept pausing to try and locate the source of rustling and birdcalls, but with little success. It feels like the moment you stop to try and hone in on a sound, the source has noticed you and remains as still as possible (doing a much better job at being elusive than us researchers). 

        Before long we arrived on Marquez's property to check on the station. Everything was still in working order and I got the gear changed out quickly. Since the climb was straightforward, I walked Matt through the process, had him do some practice climbs just a few meters up and back to the ground before having him climb all the way to the top.  

A wild Matt, in a tree!

        Watching someone take in the view from the canopy is exciting and rewarding. Matt made it up with no difficulty and gleefully yelled out once at the top. He spent several minutes up there, taking in the view and a few pictures before climbing back down. With that, we packed up the gear and made our way back to the bamboo house.

View from the canopy

        Having a day with no hiccups was incredibly satisfying. Mosies and Becca also had a successful day. And just like that, we finished our first full day with 4 trees already done. I was elated and optimistic for the rest of our field season.

7 Enero 2021 - Becca

            When Moises and I started hiking, I quickly remembered what it felt like hiking up steep climbs in humidity with a heavy pack (not easy). Happily, I also remembered it wasn’t impossible.

            Both Moises and I are birders and we picked out the bird songs and calls we knew as we hiked. At one point, we heard a call we just couldn’t identify. It was so tantalizing how it sounded so close and we scanned the treetops again and again. Finally, I spotted it partially hidden in the canopy of the tree right in front of us. A Slate-colored grosbeak – and a song we wouldn’t forget soon after trying to pinpoint it for so long.

            As we got closer to the ridge, we heard a chainsaw from the valleys below. And when we reached the first tree which is just inside the reserve’s border, we found a new trail cut up from the side of the ridge that TMA doesn’t own. It reminded me of this fact that’s been said before but deserves to be said again: Jama-Coaque stands on the very frontlines of conservation.

            The first tree, CF06 or “Terminator”, served as a reminder crash course of how to climb for me since I hadn’t in a year. I didn’t mess up any of the crucial steps, but I did have to climb twice since I forgot to bring down a leaf sample with me the first time. Luckily, this was a shorter tree (~10 m), and it wasn’t hard to pop back up.

            Bemoaning our low snack supply, we returned the way we came to get to CF01, “Whomping Willow.” I climbed this awesome, tall tree to retrieve the gear and did not forget anything this time! We needed to measure the tree’s diameter above its impressive buttress roots which meant the measuring tape would have to be more than 10 feet off the ground on the downhill side. Moises hatched a plan; once I’d descended the climbing line to the appropriate height, he tied the excess rope below me to the tree’s roots so that I was suspended right next to the trunk. I held one end of the tape as he scrambled around the tree to bring me the other end. Success! Who knew measuring trees could be so tricky?

            Just as I arrived back on the ground, we heard a rustling in the tree and Moises spotted a kinkajou. Seemingly, this tree is quite popular with the kinkajou because Jackie and I saw one here last year. On our way back to the bamboo house, we saw a Choco sirystes, an uncommon and local flycatcher, which was an excellent finish to a productive day.

Speed-Running the Rest

 17 - 23 Octubre 2020

        This last entry is going to be a bit different. From this point onward we only visited one tree a day - and all of these trees were 'revisits'. For most, we were replacing the audiomoths that were not configured. All of our remaining outings were limited to just a partial day, and I feel it is easier to sum them up in a singular post.

        Saturday was a needed day off. I took most of the day to catch up on laundry and metadata entry. For part of the day, I relaxed in the hammock and watched birds fly by. It was great to give my muscles a break from the long days of work the whole week before. Ryan had been interested in cooking with jackfruit so he used the climbing gear and a tall ladder to get up and retrieve one to cook with. It was quite a sight watching him stretch as far as he could and positioning a bag just right to cut the fruit into.

Ryan's set up to get a jackfruit

        On Sunday, while it was a 'day off', we all ended up climbing anyways, because we wanted to. From the house, there was an incredibly tall tree in view and Shawn had figured out where the tree was. We hiked over, set a line, and we all had the chance to climb. This tree was much taller than any of the others. Although we didn't get an exact measure, we estimated it was somewhere around 40 m tall (or ~120 feet). During the climb, you could see the bamboo house, which was super cool. And while Nicolas was climbing up, he happened to see some Ecuadorian Capuchins climbing nearby. Late that evening, Ryan and Nicolas left the reserve, leaving just Mosies, Shawn, and me.

The crazy roots of this matapalo

        Monday we headed off to CF01 to replace the audiomoth. We took the time to set up the 360 Camera to get a view of me as I ascended and descended the canopy. This process went very smoothly and before we knew it, we were hiking back.

        Tuesday, Mosies and I hiked up to CF06 for the third time (in the meanwhile, Shawn was working on creating a dam for the hydroelectric pump). As I was double-checking the camera angle, it suddenly stopped working. It turned it on and off several times and replaced the batters. No dice. DANG IT! With a heavy sigh, I told Mosies the situation. We hadn't prepared for the camera to malfunction, so there was no spare on hand. Mosies offered to grab it from the house. I climbed down and gave him my phone in case he couldn't find the tree again. In the meanwhile, I wandered to bird-watch and look for interesting bugs. Until I heard 'Don't Stop me Now'... I looked up to see Moises running up the trail. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. No wonder he made such quick time! I thanked him profusely and quickly climbed back up to switch out the camera. Just like that, we were finally done with that tree. We both cheered not having to hike up to this tree for a while.

Mushrooms growing on a downed chonta tree

        On Wednesday, Shawn, Mosies, and I returned to WF03. Shawn brought his drone with him so that we could film the ascent and follow the climber. It was another smooth day. On the hike back, Mosies climbed a short tree to trade out the SD card and batteries of the security camera. The rest of the day the three of us worked on improving the dam.

        Thursday we did not stop by any of the CAIP trees. Instead, we returned to the tree we climbed on Sunday. We took the station manager (Dany) with us to give him experience climbing, given the view from the tree. He had been a bit apprehensive, but he loved the view and enjoyed the experience. It was especially exciting to see Moises train Dany since he would be taking over the fieldwork after January. We then placed another camera in this tree for media purposes and I am beyond excited to see what animals visit this tree.

        Friday was our final day of fieldwork. The three of us returned to the far property to replace the stolen camera. Of course, since it had been stolen, we decided to find another tree for placement. And we did. After some investigation, we located a tree on the hillside that would be an absolute pain to get to and near impossible to climb without gear. The three of us made our way up the crumbly hillside and, with only a little struggle, set a new station. With that, we could celebrate the fact that we'd maintenanced all of the stations - and in good time too. Sure, we had run into several bumps, but now I know what can go wrong next time. Hopefully, with this knowledge, our next field season will go off without a hitch!

Another matapalo in the process of 'strangling' this other palm

Return to Bosque Seco Lalo Loor

16 Octubre 2020

        Finally, we reached our last long day. We were hiking out to Lalo Loor to check our dry forest cameras. Mosies and I would take the far tree while Shawn, Ryan, and Nicolas would tackle the lower two trees. While this seemed like a perfect plan, things rarely ever go to plan. For one, we took the long trail up, and by the time I realized this, it was too late. This trail added quite a bit of travel time, though it was cool to take in new sights that I hadn't seen before. 

View of the ocean in the distance

        For two, when we finally made our way up to the tree and got the climbing line in place it started to pour. I got nervous about climbing back down in the downpour and not wanting the rope to get soaked (a wet rope can be dangerous to descend on), we pulled it back in. Then we waited.

        And waited...

        Finally, after about an hour, it became more of a trickle which I felt comfortable enough to climb in. Just as we were getting the rope out and ready, Nicolas approached us. He asked if we had a fishing reel handy because the line in DF02 had gotten horribly tangled and they wanted to make a new line. Unfortunately, we did not. It never feels good to send someone away with just an apologetic smile, but sometimes that is all you have to offer. We finished DF01 with no further issue, though it was a bummer it was such a rainy day because I had all but promised Mosies that the view from this tree was incredible. On a clear day, you can perfectly see the ocean. It's breathtaking. But, the visibility today was severely reduced.

The station almost looks ominous in the clouds

        After wrapping up, we hiked down to meet the other team. They had just finished as we approached. The three of them had some issues untangling the line, but with a lot of determination, they feed it. Once in the tree, Shawn redirected the line so that we wouldn't endure the same frustrations next time. However, there was still one more tree to finish and Ryan needed to submit a grant by 5 pm (it was already almost 3). We sent him off to the Bosque Seco Lalo Loor field station so he could utilize the wi-fi that was available. He took of jogging with a heavy bag on his back and a clear goal in mind. Shawn joined him soon after to aid in this endeavor (spoiler alert, the reserve made it to the next stage of the grant, here's hoping they are awarded the money!).

        The rest of us quickly hiked to the final tree. I had forgotten how short the last tree was, because climbing it was a cinch. I got up quickly, sent the gear down, and admired the hawk that was watching me with a skeptical gaze. Occasionally it screeched at me, but mostly it kept its gaze laser-focused to ensure I wasn't up to any 'funny business'. Mosies kept joking that I needed to watch out because it was probably going to swoop down and grab me. 

The hawk in question. Photo credit: Nicolas Betancourt

        Once I was back on the ground, this sense of satisfaction washed over me. In just a week, we had completed the majority of the trees! That's incredible! Especially since Ryan and Nicolas would be leaving soon. It gave me assurance that we would finish the rest of the trees before we left (something I'd been concerned about when we started). On the way back, we grabbed a few drinks from a local tienda to celebrate our achievements. Beyond that, I had messaged Becca via satellite phone earlier in the day gauging her interest in returning to help in January, and she said yes! So much to celebrate tonight!

The days continue to get longer

14 & 15 Octubre 

        Today we planned to head back onto the three forests trail after hitting the last cloud forest tree on the Jama-Coaque 'circuit'. As we approached the cloud forest tree (Friday the 13th), we could hear howlers. With a quick search, we could see them hanging out in the tree! For a moment I had a brief thought, 'are they going to try and challenge me for space in this beautiful tree? Should we wait?' but just as we were setting our gear down, the howlers were already moving into the next tree. 

Starting the climb up. Photo credit: Nicolas Betancourt

        While I was in the tree, changing the batteries and SD cards, the howlers were still close by - watching me. It was surreal to be eye-level with these primates. I felt like they were judging my strange climbing techniques and lacking a tail to help me climb. Nevertheless, they did not disturb me. Rather, they were audience to my slow work as I pulled the rope up and down, and was a bit distracted by their presence as well as some of the reserve staff walking by and laughing in amusement at my location.

Howler watching my work

        The next tree was a long hike out. In essence, we were 'leap-frogging' the trees with Shawn and Ryan. They stopped by the first tree on the trail, while we switched to the next one out to split the workload. We all met up at the point we named 'Satan's Peak', and for the first time, we had walkie-talkies to communicate back and forth. I gotta say, communicating over a walkie-talkie on a trail makes me feel so professional, like a member of the NPS. And it gave an opportunity to make jokes during check-in, and rib each other about which team was 'better'. 

        The next tree ('Destiny') went smoothly - surprisingly. Moises was up and back down in enough time for Nicolas to get another practice climb in. The first two times I visited this tree with Becca, we had crossed paths with a local and his horse, so I'd almost expected another encounter, but none this time. 

Nicolas up in the tree

        With the tree done, we began our hike back to meet with Shawn and Ryan. However, just as we were about to turn on a different trail, we saw some howlers and capuchins moving around in the same patch of bamboo. It was fascinating to see the two of them occupy the same space, unbothered by the other species. We took a few moments to watch them all in awe before continuing our hike.

        Once we finally caught up with Shawn and Ryan, we were lead on a new trail back following some property lines. Supposedly, this path would be shorter and easier. I'm not convived if it was based on how late we arrived back at the bamboo house. But, regardless, we made it back.

        Thursday was the day I had been dreading the most. It was the return to Hell's Hill. Once Moises and I were through the gates and at the base, I took a moment to prepare myself, and then we began to ascend. The hike up was as brutal as I remember - endless switching up and back a massive, grassy hill with ticks lurking in every blade. To make matters worse, I heard the other team call from the opposite ridgeline to say that the camera station from AG03 had been stolen. Dang.

        At the first tree of the day, I was starting to think I was cursed for the day. When we arrived at the tree, the yellow line was snapped where I had tied it off. Just as I was starting to dread the thought of having to hike back up again with the Big Shot, we found the end! With a bit of creativity (a few sticks, and an extendible hook) we retrieved the yellow string and Moises made it up to the top of the tree. Unfortunatley, when Moises reached the top, it turned out the camera hadn't been turned on. I was momentarily heartbroken, but there was nothing I could do about it so we just replaced the batteries and moved on. 

        The next tree also had some howlers hanging out when we arrived. Unlike the day before, they fled when we approached the area. When I climbed up, I discovered that this camera also was off. Again, that sense of defeat was tangible (turns out when maintenance was done last time it poured on the team while they were at these trees and there was some miscommunication - which is completely understandable), but, again, nothing I could do. Like the popular motto, we 'kept calm, and carried on'. On the return, we took the time to appreciate the view. All the mud up in the cloud forest provided a great opportunity to look for tracks. I could see what looked like Red Brocket Deer, opossum, racoon, and cat tracks. Unfortunatley, we also noted some footprints that weren't our own. 

Along the trail

        The most frustrating factor of the day was the clear increase in illegal activity on these protected properies. The clay pit by the last tree appeared to be dug out, likely by poachers to trap animals, and the other tree Ryan, Shawn, and Nicolas went to had clear chainsaw marks on it so their station had to be moved. Later that night, once we were back at the bamboo house, we could hear gunshots in the distance. It served as a reminder of the financial strain Covid-19 is having on these smaller communities and the importance of providing improved socioeconomic opportunities is for conservation (like Third Millenium Alliance is doing and working to expand). More than that, it served to further fuel my passion for working to raise awareness of these situations that people are so often unaware of. Everyone knows of the Amazon, but very few people know of the issues in Western Ecuador. Hopefully with the work Third Millenium Alliance does, this will change and we can continue to protect these forests through local empowerment and stuardship. 

15 Octubre 2020 - Moises

        Desde el 10 de octubre hasta el 14 lo hice increíblemente bien. Éramos Nico, Jackie y yo hablamos, trabajamos, reímos y vimos muchos paisajes increíbles, en algunos hasta pudimos observar el océano. 

View of the ocean from a tree. Photo credit: Nicolas Betancourt

        Fue un trabajo muy duro, subir tantas cuestas empinadas y tantas caídas en el lodo. Pero este Jueves si que fue el ¡Día más duro! Nuevamente, Jackie y yo nos dirigimos a otra propiedad. 

        Al empezar a subir lo hicimos muy despacio, porque es muy empinado, pero eso cambió hasta que me di cuenta de que mi brazo estaba lleno de 300 garrapatas así que decidí decirle a Jackie que subiría en línea recta y la esperaría arriba, entonces empecé a trepar con todas mis fuerzas y muy, muy rápido hasta que sentí que estaba lejos de esas garrapatas. 

Hiking through the tick infested grass

        Cuando llegé a la cima, la caminata fue muy tranquila y cuando llegué al último árbol me senté mientras Jackie hacía el trabajar. Fue un momento tan especial porque no hubo ruido de ningún tipo, me sentí tan tranquilo después de haber agotado todas mis energías al subir esa cuesta tan empinada y llena de garrapatas. Al bajar también lo hicimos muy rápido, pero con varias caídas. Lo llamo el ¡Día más Difícil! porque fue el único día que me terminé toda mi agua

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!! 

Off to a slippery start

 10 & 11 Octubre 2020

        Late Friday night, Nicolas arrived at the reserve from Colombia (note: members of the team all had to test negative for COVID-19 before they could enter the country). Saturday morning, I had the chance to finally meet him and plunge us all right into the fieldwork. We did get started a little be late because it took us a little time to sort out all of the gear for two different teams, but it was still morning when we hit the trail. Nicolas, Moises, and I started with some of the trees in the reserve while Shawn and Ryan set off for the trees near the finca.

And we're off on the trail!

        We found the first tree of the day, WF04 (aka Hot Tuna), with relative ease. Everything appeared to be in working order and it seemed like it would be a simple process. However, after I climbed up, I realized I couldn't reach the point I needed to lanyard too. We'd let Shawn and Ryan take the side-kick (an extension pole with a hook), so I tried using Nicolas's snake hook. It was just barely too short, curse my short arms! I tried for probably 30 or 40 minutes to get myself to the proper spot when Moises asked if he could give it a shot. Determined, he climbed up and got over to the station which success. I'd say I was jealous, but I'm not. It is such a relief to have people with good aim on my team (Becca with her ability to fire the big shot without multiple failures, and Moises with his ability to throw the lanyard). Teamwork makes the dream work, you know.

A truly excellent team

        That tree done, I figured we could at least start hiking up to the next tree to leave our stuff close by. Of course, Galivan is not an easy hike. I would say, it is much nicer than the Three Forests Trail, but it is not hiked very often, and it shows (basically, there's a lot of points where it is difficult to discern the trail and there is a lot of over-growth to navigate around - all of this up while going uphill). We took a very relaxed pace up, and because of this, we did get to see some beautiful birds on the hike. Near the top of the trail, I realized that I may not have grabbed plastic bags to keep the backpacks dry overnight. When we finally reached the intersection with the next trails, I checked the backpacks. Suspicions confirmed. Danggit! I was not about to hike the bags all the way back to the house just to bring them back the next day, so I told Moises and Nicolas to wait with the stuff and I'd be back in an hour or two. As quick as I could while not wiping out on the steep trail, I took off for the house. Thankfully the bags were easy to find. And the timing was on my side. I made it back up to my field team just before dark so we could stash our weather-proofed backpacks and get back to the house before it was too late.

Toucan spotted from the trail. Photo credit: Nicolas Betancourt

        On the way down, I did feel some frustration at only completing one tree when Becca and I had been easily completing two trees a day at the end of our season. But I reminded myself that it was just the beginning of the season. That feeling diminished even further when we met up with Shawn and Ryan. It turns out that if the audiomoths lose their charge, the configuration (when to record and for how long) is lost. On top of that, none of the laptops we had with us had the software needed to configure the audiomoths. So, at some point, we would have to return to the first tree to configure the audiomoth, and tomorrow, we would need to go into town to download the software.

A tour of the canopy using a GoPro

        Sunday morning, while enjoying our coffee, we were delighted to see some Ecuadorian Capuchins climbing near the bamboo house. Several of them were consuming the seeds of an Inga tree, which was incredible to see. Several species of Inga trees are utilized to help restore soil fertility and this sighting could indicate that capuchins aid in forest regeneration. How cool! After the capuchins left, Shawn made his way to Camarones with the laptops in tow. It was early afternoon by the time he arrived back at the house, and he explained that to download the software, he had to collect all of the binaries and make the executables himself because all of the firewalls kept blocking him. At that moment, I was simultaneously so relieved he'd gone down to do this task and impressed because I would have never known to do such a thing. If it were me, I would have kept hiking until I found somewhere where the firewall wasn't blocking me and who knows how long that would have taken?

        With the audiomoth stuff sorted, we set back up the trail. The trail beyond where we left the backpacks was as brutal as I remembered it. There are definitely points where you have to get on all fours and essentially crawl up because of how steep and blown out the trail is. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the tree, the climbing line was just not there. The station was still in place, so I knew it was the correct tree, but there was no sight of the bright yellow line. We suspect that because the tree is right on a property line, someone saw the line, cut it, and took it. All I could think of was how, on Friday, we had made a climbing plan and we thought it was possible to get all of the stations done in just 5 days. That was if all went according to plan. But, of course, in the wild nothing ever does. And, you know, it probably would have been pretty boring if everything went as expected so we kept our heads up. After all, it would just be that much sweeter when everything did go to plan. 

        To top off an already difficult day, as I was trying to think of a new plan, we all heard a gunshot not terribly far from our location. My heart began racing at the proximity of the sound. Nicolas and Moises asked me what we should do. I told them just to keep talking, maybe a bit louder, too. It was likely the gunshot was from poachers, but, out here, I know they are terrified of getting caught and won't approach us. But, it was still another grim reminder that we are on the frontlines of conservation. 

        At least on the hike back to the house, I spotted a tayra scurrying off which gave me something to smile about.

10 Octubre 2020 - Nicolas

        Llegué ayer a las 11:00 pm y nunca hubiese sospechado que iba a haber tanto trabajo. Hay que hacer caminatas largas con muchas subidas y bajadas pronunciadas y bastante peso a cuestas. Además, cuando llegas al lugar al que estabas caminando, hay más trabajo que hacer. Aun así, todo el es fuerzo vale la pena porque el paisaje es hermoso y las fotos de los animales tienen mucho significado.

Dart frog spotted on the trail. Photo credit: Nicolas Bentacourt

10 & 11 Octubre 2020 - Ryan

        Shawn and I began the week of downloading stations on Marquez's property. We knew going into that day that we'd be moving the first camera to a new tree because the original tree was being triggered by all of the grasses in the pasture below the camera. On the way to the tree, we kept our eyes open for a potential tree and spotted one almost immediately on the edge of Marquez's farm. With a new tree selected, we quickly moved on to the original tree to remove the station. After a slight detour, we eventually found the tree and pulled the rope to remove the station. With the station down, Shawn took off to the new tree while I continued up the hill to download data from a ground-based camera trap. We met up again at the new tree where we had to wait out a short rain. 

        Just as we were about to jump back into work, Marquez showed up to chat and distract us. We'd only been speculating 20 minutes before if we'd run into Marquez or not, I bet he felt our presence there. After some laughs, we eventually got back to work and installed the station. However, just before descending, Shawn realized that the audiomoth wasn't recording on schedule. After some thought, he realized that we had lost the previously programmed recording schedule when the batteries died. So with that unfortunate realization, we called the second tree off and headed back to the bamboo house to share the news with the rest of the team. To end our first day of fieldwork, and forget about the audiomoth issue, we had whiskey before retiring for the night. 

        To start the day, Shawn headed down to Dany's house to download the software for the audiomoths. Despite some hiccups with the internet and accessing the files, he returned successfully. After reconfiguring the audiomoth for Marquez's property, we headed back out for the day. Since everything was in place from the day before, the installation was quick and easy. We then took off to download the other station located on the finca. In route to the second station, we stopped to retrieve a couple of kestrel drops (microclimate data loggers) that had been left in different sites on the finca. 

        It was during this time that we realized we were covered head to toe with tiny ticks! We tried to remove as many as possible but knew it would be impossible. So we hurried to our next tree and worked quickly to change out the batteries and download the data. Once back at the house, we began to realize just how many ticks and bites we had suffered during this day. Little did we know how bad we would be itching over the next few days and nights!