Blogs from Cosanga, East, Ecuador, South America

As if one session of mud climbing was not enough we went on Ali´s waterfall walk! Basically, he owns a huge plot of land and has 3 waterfalls all of his very own and it´s about a 3ish hour round trip to see all of them. Feeling that we had more than recovered from the Rum and Coke hangover 4 of us (Hannah, Andrea, Ren and me) decided to do the waterfall round trip. We took a bit of a map with us and had a great time walking up the river (those of you who have done Prevelli gorge in Crete know exactly what I´m talking about here) and traversing vertical mud slopes. Got a bit lost but that´s what happens when you put an American in charge of map reading Ren! Still we managed ... read more

Hey everybody, first I have to apologize, I don't have any pictures to share this time. I'm in Quito and I didn't want to bring my camera along for the ride. The internet at the station isn't working right now, so I couldn't make an entry from there. As soon as it's up again, I'll post some pictures. But enough chit chat, on to the good news- I'm going to Cornell next fall to start my doctorate!! I was accepted and I have a fellowship, everything is a go. I'm going to study the behavioral ecology of nighthawks on the tallgrass prairie in Kansas. So I'll be in Kansas for the summer and Cornell the rest of the year. I'm very excited, this is almost unbelievably good news! As for what's been going on at the ... read more

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! ... read more