Today was the day I finally got up early to go birding! And boy was it worth the 5:30AM wake up. We got to see a bunch of parrots, hummingbirds, and even a couple woodpeckers! The morning view was also super pretty.

After breakfast, we began setting up the first of two research projects of the day, involving nitrogen pitfall traps! During our pre lab discussion, we found a live scorpion, named Sean, hiding inside one of the drawers at our desks.

Anyways, back to the pitfall traps. We set them up on trees and in the ground along a trail, and while we were setting them up, we saw this super cool bug eating another one.

We also found this super long Liana hanging from a tree, and took turns swinging on it!

In the afternoon, we started a second project, looking at Cecropia tree defenses with animals before and after they’re colonized by ants. When looking for an uncolonized tree, we found one with a new queen hiding inside it.

While looking for Cecropia, we found this super cool tarantula molt and it’s chilicerae.

Some other cool finds of the day include another dead (this time fully grown) scorpion and a spider with an egg sac!

We also found and captured a bunch of Orthoptera, including two species of katydids (angle-winged and common true), a South American lesser field cricket (I think), a spotted winged grasshopper, and three other grasshoppers that I couldn’t identify. It was a great day for Orthoptera!

Tomorrow we might have the opportunity to go on a night hike, which I’m super excited about. See y’all then!!

Ian C