Panama 2022 - Week 5
- Matt Greenwell
- Mar 30
- 7 min read
Day 29 – 21/10/22
Considering we’re working in a rainforest we’ve been quite lucky in the fact that, when we’ve been out in the forest, it hasn’t rained all that much. That luck changed today. Kane offered to take us out on the boat again today as he was heading to the same part of the island we were. In all honesty, it probably didn’t save us that much time or energy, but the boat is fun so we gladly accepted the ride. It was just me and El today as Paddy had a big project meeting in the morning. We’ve also started a rotating system where each of us has two days in the forest and then a day in the lab to recover.
Not long after we started surveying our sites it started to rain. There’s no point in putting waterproofs on as they get too heavy and you get too hot. It’s not like in the UK where being wet means being cold. The rain here is somewhat refreshing, but it does make surveying much harder. After an initial shower, we had an hour or so of dry, followed by a lot more rain as we headed back to base. We arrived in the canteen, fairly bedraggled, much to the amusement of the other residents.
I spent most of the afternoon in my room trying to submit my expenses through the university’s online system, which is about as user-friendly as one would expect. I also set about wiping off layers of mould from anything that I hadn’t used in my room over the last few weeks. Things like my wallet and my holdall. The humidity is so high that anything left in an unventilated area becomes a breeding ground. Pleasant thought.
Day 30 – 22/20/22
I met the UK’s ambassador to Panama today.
Today was my first day off from the forest in the new work rotation and I had a great day. I completed the one task that I needed to do in the lab (measuring seed pods) in less than an hour. I then did a bit of birding from the office and saw three new species to add to the list.
I decided to tidy the lab a bit and in doing so made space for some of my things that were going mouldy in my room. The lab has constant air-con, so things stay dry in there – including my eyeballs which always feel strained after a day in there. I went back to my room to collect my things to bring down and whilst there I realised that my waterproof had been drying on the balcony for two days now and I should probably put it away. As I unhooked the hanger a bat appeared out of nowhere, followed by another. It was only after the second bat that, in a state of confusion, I realised they had been roosting in my coat. In total, three bats emerged. I then spent a very long five minutes carefully checking sleeves and pockets for any other stowaways. Confident that the coat was now bat-free I took it down to the laundry to give it a good soak and a rinse. The legacy of the pandemic is that I have a healthy paranoia about tropical bat species and zoonoses. That said, it’s probably a good idea regardless to wash anything that bats have been roosting in and defecating all over.
Anyway, on to lunch. Yesterday we received an email from the STRI events coordinator that the ambassador was coming and that, as we are from Britain would we be able to meet and talk about our work. As the others were out in the field, this task fell to me and I had a brief chat with him and his team, which was all very civilised. To be honest they seemed more interested in the fact that I was from Milton Keynes where they used to have an office, than anything I said about the work.
The others got back even more drenched than we had been yesterday. It looks like the rainy season is really starting to take hold now.
Day 31 – 23/10/22
A relatively uneventful day today. Breakfast, then out in the forest with Paddy. We had six trees to collect from on our route and we were back just after 1pm. We deviated from the path at one stage to save ourselves 800m of walking with a few ups and downs. Our points were only 150m away from each other, but the trails took us away before coming back. We went as the crow flies, down and then back up a small gulley and saved ourselves a chunk of time and energy. Otherwise, nothing of note. Pod collecting is a fairly monotonous process where we lay out a tape from the tree’s trunk and collect any fruit pods that have fallen within a half-meter quadrat, placed at 1m intervals along the tape. We do this four times at each tree, once in each compass direction.
Day 32 – 24/10/22
I found out today, that no matter how good the waterproofing on a boot is, if the water is running down your legs, into your socks, then you’re going to have wet feet.
We had our weekly catch-up with Sofia at 7:30 am. The best place to do that is the lounge because the WiFi is strongest there, but it does end up quite disturbed as people come in and out to put their lunch in the fridge when they arrive on the Jacana (commuter boat).
We didn’t leave for the forest until about 9am, so we chose what looked to be an easy route that shouldn’t take too long. In the end it was only 7km, but full of ups and downs so, as per usual, more challenging than expected. The first challenge was locating a tree some 150m off of the path. We found it, but fell over a couple of times, down a few slopes, and cursed Paddy for locating this tree in the first place, making it his fault we had to sample from it. We also came across a bullet ant which put us on edge.
Just as we were surveying our final tree there was a sudden change in the weather. The usual, still, hot and humid air was filled with a strong wind. The temperature dropped and the forest darkened, all within the space of about two minutes. The Howler Monkeys then started to scream. By now we knew what all of these signs meant. Heavy rain was imminent. What we then experienced was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Within a few short moments, I was completely soaked to the skin. I may as well have jumped into the lake fully clothed, it would have made no difference to how wet I was. The rain did bring a certain freedom with it as the reduced temperature and change in humidity brought the environmental conditions into my operating window. We flew the final 2km back to base. The pouring rain kept me cool enough to move the fastest I have moved in the forest and I felt great, I felt alive. Most likely we’re in for a lot more downpours like this. I may pack my poncho next time and see if that’s any use.
Day 33 – 25/10/22
I’ve been wearing my boots instead of wellies the last couple of days in the forest. Whilst they have been considerably more comfortable, I won’t be doing so again. My ankles have been bitten to buggery by chiggers. Chiggers are harvest mite larvae that are almost invisible to the naked eye but are all over the forest. They’re the reason we can’t sit down anywhere, or put our bags on the ground - the soil and ground are infested with them. The wellies, it turns out, as well as adding protection from snakes, add some protection from the chiggers. This is best done with a healthy application of DEET around the ankles.
I had my day off today from the field today, although I still took a brief walk in the forest to set up the camera trap. I’ve had some nice shots on it so far, but I’m holding out for an ocelot. Whilst out I saw an owl butterfly perched nicely on a tree trunk. The butterflies here are undeniably beautiful, but are so fast and rarely stop to bask, so getting a photo of them is much harder than back home.
Other than measuring pods, the main task that I’d been set by Paddy and El was to watch the first few episodes of House of the Dragon, which they’d started watching before coming to Panama. Once I’ve caught up, we’ll have a new series to while away the evenings with.
Day 34 – 26/10/22
It was hot in the forest today. The hottest I’ve found it since we switched to walking shorter routes. When we made it back I struggled to eat much of my lunch, but managed to drink four glasses of water to go with the 2 litres I’d drunk in the field. After about an hour I began to feel more like myself again.
One of the residents, Elsa, returned to BCI today, after spending a couple of days in Panama City. She brought sweets and chocolate for everyone. The mood on the island was boosted as a result.
A third day in a row with no new species, although I did hear a Boat-billed Flycatcher, but I didn’t see it. I’ll keep an eye out as it was somewhere outside my room. Now that I know the call, a long screechy wail, I should be able to spot it.
Day 35 – 27/10/22
After a short drought, I saw two new bird species today. Neither was particularly exciting, but at least I'm seeing new things again.
We hitched a lift with Kane on the boat to the other side of the island, cutting about 4km off of a gruelling walk. We were back at Wetmore today, the undisputed bastard trail on the island. I’ve done it twice now and didn’t enjoy either time. There are so many gullies and streams to cross, it’s just 2km of ups and downs over a poorly maintained trail. They’ve put ropes and posts to help climb up some of the gullies, but not all, and the posts are filled with ants anyway so you can’t always use them. I’ve decided that I’ll make a fortune selling mud crampons and mud axes to ecologists who spend too much time falling over and slipping down hills.