Today was one of those days where I felt both lucky and completely wiped out. We’re based at Las Cuevas Research Station in Belize, and our group is working on a project to understand how man-made trails vs. natural, unmarked forest areas affect vertebrate biodiversity. Sounds cool, right? It is—but it also means long hikes, heavy gear, and navigating some seriously dense jungle.

We set up camera traps in different parts of the forest—some along established trails, others deep in the untouched areas where moving even a few feet takes real effort. The jungle is so dense in places that it gets dark even during the day. It’s beautiful, but it also felt a little eerie. Every snap of a twig made me jump just a little.

On the bird front, the day had its highs and lows. A crow near the station gave us a slow start, but in the forest, things picked up. I spotted a yellow-throated warbler—a flash of yellow that actually stuck around long enough for me to get a decent look. I also saw a woodpecker with a reddish head, but true to jungle form, it vanished just as quickly as it appeared. One of the biggest challenges here is that birds are so fast. By the time someone says, “There!” the bird is often already gone.

Even though it was tiring, today reminded me how much goes unseen in the forest—and how worth it it is when something reveals itself, even for just a moment. Between the birds and the camera trap work, I’m excited to see what we find. Who knows what’s passing by when we’re not watching?