Nets near casita

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For the next several days we were to be setting the nets up near the casita. This was quite a bit easier on everyone as we didn't have to cross the river and hike up the pasture in the predawn darkness. In fact we could essentially fall out of bed, unfurl the nets, then stumble back to the casita for a quick breakfast, after which we would go back out to see what we had caught.

Early in the day Pascual found a 1+ meter long fer-de-lance (a type of very poisonous snake) on a trail near the casita. Since the trail was going to be used as a net lane, Dusti reluctantly ordered the snake's execution. It turned out to be a female, with 20 embryos inside.

The relative abundance of snakes like this in the area was one of the reasons we were encouraged to wear the big rubber boots we had all been required to bring!

Birds seen today:

Barred Puffbird (Heard only. In fact we heard this bird almost every day but I don't think anyone ever actually saw it. It is cryptic and secretive, but has a distinct wolf-whistle type call, and apparently isn't uncommon in the area.)
Aracari
Turkey Vulture
Maroon-tailed Parakeet
Cattle Egret
Black Vulture
White-necked Jacobin (this bird was seen pretty much every day from the porch of the casita).

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Photos

Fer-de-lance on trail
The snake is so well camoflauged it is very hard to see. Look closely in the lower center of the picture.

Banding station near casita
Having the nets so close to the casita made things much easier.

Typical afternoon
The afternoons were generally used for going over notes, data entry, etc.

Dusti entering data
There was one laptop computer we all took turns entering the data on. It was run off a car battery which needed recharging surprisingly often. Someone would have to carry it back to Mindo for this.

White-necked Jacobin (male)
A hummingbird. What was presumably the same bird was seen every day on this perch from the porch of the casita.