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Published: January 31st 2006
Time for another update! Things are going well here. I am doing well. I have found one nest so far (blue gray tanagers), and I am learning a lot. From the quetzal tapes we are going to get feeding rates and other data. They are cavity nesters so I basically watch video of birds going in and out of a hole for a good portion of the day. They are really beautiful birds. Yesterday I got the chick out of the cavity to measure and take pictures of it. Later, I will write a paper on our observations and submit it for publication. Today, the station manager, Jose, needed the camera I use to watch video to tape a nest he found in order to determine the species. So, I have a lot of free time! I think I will go for a walk soon, even though it is raining. It’s always raining, they don’t call it the cloud forest for nothing. Actually, it’s not always raining, it does rain on and off throughout most days, but usually there’s some sun in there somewhere.
The food situation here is a bit odd. We definitely have everything that we need, but
Golden-Headed Quetzals
The nest is the dark spot (a cavity) right in the middle of all the leaves. It's about 10-12 inches in diameter.we are somewhat beholden to the “veggie man” for produce. It’s usually feast or famine (hurry eat all the mangoes before they go bad! vs. should we really use our last wrinkly green pepper for that?) We always have the dry good staples - flour, beans, rice, sugar, oatmeal, salt, ect, so I have been baking bread and other goodies. It’s pretty easy to get creative here, and we have a camping cookbook which is very appropriate for enhancing the food selection. I even made a chocolate cake with only hot chocolate mix as flavoring, and it was delicious. When we do have produce, the fruit is delicious! If only we could get mangoes and papayas like this in the states. Surprisingly most of the coffee in Ecuador is the instant Nescafe variety. Harold does make drip coffee sometimes, but he uses this thing that looks like a dirty sock to do it. I’m really not that interested in coffee, so I haven’t tried the sock coffee yet.
For the bird nerds - some more highlights: I keep forgetting to mention that we have a Russet-backed Oropendula dormitory nest tree right in our backyard! It’s awesome. They come in
Golden-Headed Quetzals
The camera aimed at the nest. every night to sleep there, and they make the craziest noises. Also, I have seen some Rufous-bellied Nighthawks. They are much bigger than our Common Nighthawks, and so far they have been totally silent. Very cool. Right now, I’m the only bird person here (Harold is in the Amazon), in fact, I’m one of only two people here right now. Everyone else is on vacation or just hasn’t arrived yet. We’re supposed to get some more people today. I’ve been the only native English speaker here for about a week, my Spanish is definitely getting better by necessity.
The story on the colorful columns - In addition to being a biological station Yanayacu is also a center for the creative arts. There are randomly painted murals all over the place. I have been saying that so far my baked goods are my creative contribution.
So I think that’s about it for now. I expect that the quetzal chick will fledge within a week. Then a new phase of activity will begin for me, and I will be able to sleep in past 5:30 for once! Hope you’re all doing well. Enjoy the photos.
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Mom
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Great Pictures!
Wow! I love the very first picture of the cloud forest. Is that a view from the station? Where will you publish those papers? Ecuador or the USA? Keep the story and pictures coming. MOM