Panama 2022 - Week 10
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25/11/22 – Day 64
All the way to the Standley trail and back again today. Not a bad hike, but nothing overly exciting. We did spot, for the second time now, a Coati with a white face and forelimbs - the 'Cowhitey' as it's now been named. We managed to get a photo this time, so we will show the mammalogists later to see what they think.
The main excitement for the day was a huge white bird flapping over the forest as we looked out from the lab. We downed tools and grabbed our binoculars in the hope that it was a King Vulture (or maybe even the even less likely Harpy Eagle). It turned out to be a pelican, which was still amazing to see, but truth be told, was a bit of a disappointment when you're searching for an absolutely enormous bird of prey.
For some unknown reason, they’ve been polishing the floor of the canteen today, so meals were served in takeaway tubs in one of the conference rooms.
26/11/22 – Day 65
A week from now, we’ll be finished in the forest. Today was relatively easy – collecting the last of KL's traps and then searching for isolated trees. We were successful on both counts. At one point, we passed the palm tree where I had seen the Tamandua the other day and had a good look for it in the canopy to see if it was home, but no joy. As we were about to move off, a rustle of leaves preceded the emergence of a group of Collared Peccaries, immediately followed by the Tamandua returning on the other side of the path. We stayed completely still and it seemed not to notice us, just bumbling along the path about five meters away, wandering off into the undergrowth. A spectacular view of an adorable animal.
I collected the footage from my camera trap and redeployed it for what would probably be the last time. I'd hoped to catch the Tamandua climbing the tree I'd seen it in before, but instead, I captured a big male Ocelot, walking back and forth along the path. I've only caught it in profile though, so I changed the angle of the camera to face down the path rather than across it. Hopefully, I'll manage another Ocelot video, but this time head-on. My amateur camera trapping has been something of a success, and strangely, the only animal I captured on film, but haven't seen in person, is an Opossum. By all accounts these are very easy animals to see in Gamboa, but much harder on the island.
27/11/22 – Day 66
Another lab day with nothing much to report. I had a lovely view of a pair of Crimson-crested Woodpeckers, but otherwise not much else. EJ still managed to get bitten to shreds across her shoulders - we can’t quite work out how. We’re running low on antihistamines though, so it could be an awfully itchy week.
29/11/22 – Day 67
PC and I walked to the Drayton exclusion today, which wasn’t anywhere near as bad a walk as I’d remembered it being when we set them up. The final few hundred meters of the trail from the exclusion to the end of Drayton are absolutely savage, so I was mightily relieved that we didn’t have to go any further than the plots. At one point, I caught a brief glimpse of a bird. Fortunately, PC managed a much better view and was able to ID it as a Red-throated Ant Tanager.
29/11/22 – Day 68
Another relatively quiet day.
The rain woke me at 5:30am, which was less annoying than usual as I had a meeting with the trophy hunting research team at 6:00am. It didn’t really stop raining throughout the day, but fortunately, when we were in the forest there was only a light drizzle that failed to penetrate the canopy. Throughout the afternoon there was a constant downpour.
30/11/22 – Day 69
A mixed day of frustrating fieldwork and once-in-a-lifetime moments. We started the transplant study today, which involves harvesting seedlings from the shade houses and planting them in experimental sites in the forest. To do this, we needed to clear away any of the seedlings that had germinated from the seed planting experiment. This caused PC a lot of anxiety as he was worried that they hadn’t finished germinating. We did two transplants today, but PC will have a look at the data and make a decision as to whether we should do the rest.
On our way through the 50Ha plot I noticed something move from where PC had just stepped. I stopped in my tracks and told the others to do the same. Unknowingly, PC had either just stepped on, or immediately next to a Fer-de-lance -the most feared snake on the island. Luckily, this one didn't live up to the species' aggressive reputation and just sat, curled, staring at us with its emotionless, slitted eyes. We were a little shaken by the experience, another day, another snake and that could have been the end of the trip, and for that matter, PC's leg. Today though, we were lucky. The chances of coming across a Fer-de-lance are low though, so to see one so docile was an amazing experience.
Later on on the same walk, as we were coming back along the Standley trail we heard a strange noise in a tree that we assumed was a monkey. As we were looking for the source of the noise an Ocelot padded out around a bend in the trail. It stopped, looked at us for a few seconds, turned around and disappeared back the way it had come. We stayed frozen in shock until the source of the noise in the tree revealed itsefl and a Tamandua burst out of the undergrowth and ran towards us, away from the direction of the Ocelot which had been hunting it. It took a swipe at PC legs as he was in the way of a nearby tree, which it jumped onto and climbed up as if its life depended on it. Which it probably did.
It was EJ's birthday today, so we had everyone sign a card and had beers on the terrace. Not quite the poolside birthday she’d been hoping for, but the Ocelot was a good gift.
01/12/22 – Day 70
A long day. We set out at the usual time to do two transplants on the other side of the 50Ha plot. PC's friend C has joined us on the island for a couple of days. This meant that four of us headed out in the morning and PC and I headed out again after lunch. Back in the lab we saw a strange bird that we have completely failed to ID. I took some photos so maybe I’ll be able to work it out tomorrow.
There was some excitement after dinner as C found a Rainbow Boa on the steps leading to his room. We all went to watch as he and KL, using a stick and a broom, shimmied it away with varying success.