Katherine Biernat: May 2008 Archives

Today we woke up at 5:30 to do our daily bird count and got to see a squirrel cuckoo. After our count, we took a trip to a primary forest with Giovanni. We got to hear howler monkeys and saw a poisonous blue-jean frog, a laughing falcon, and a rubber tree. Overall, we're noticing trends in bird species in the area and the correlation between habitat and birds. Today we've decided what we'll do on our free day- white water rafting through a river in a tropical forest. Kat says hi to the library.
Goodnight from the bird group :)

Today, our second day in Costa Rica, we woke up at 5:30 and could see the volcano from our beds  with the smoke from the eruption filling the sky.  We met Giovani, our guide, and went on an introductory wildlife walk around the the property. He pointed out different plant species, birds, and a three-toed sloth who was busy grazing on the leaves of a Cecrpia tree. Between 6 am and 8 am, we saw 23 species of birds. After breakfast at 9, we saw 5 different species of birds on the bird trail. We also saw an amazing bamboo tree 15 meters wide.  This afternoon we will be visiting Arenal and El Silencio, an intact forest. The weather is pretty hot and humid and we're currently melting but morale is still high. We'll keep you posted ;) !

~~ Katherine, Kat, and Adriane

Today we discussed specific avian habitat types. We correlated island biography with fragmentation due to deforestation. Based on this relationship, the goal of the Meso American Forest Corridor is to reconnect the forest by creating larger islands and decreasing distance between islands. We talked about bird phylogeny and methods of identifying birds. AND we discussed how excited we are for 6am mornings!

- Katherine, Kat, and Adriane