Being in the rainforest feels like living out the Snow White dream. You wake up at 4 am to some howler monkeys, before being woken up for good at 6 am by grackles, macaws, and parrots. So maybe the birds didn’t really fold my clothes up for me or anything, but it was definitely a good start to the day.
Waking up bright and early, I was excited to some of the birds that woke me–bright green parrots on the tree past the porch of the Las Cuevas Research Station (LCRS) residential area. This vine and epiphyte-covered, maybe 50 ft tall tree holds so much life, roosting tired birds flying vigorously from clearing to tree. Within the span of 20 minutes, we saw so many other birds, including the iconic Montezuma’s Orapendula, with its bright yellow tail. We also saw some social flycatchers, distinguished by their yellow belly. And if not for the birds, stingless bees (aka the Drunken Baymen) were always ready to fly around us.
After this quick look at the forest, we had a delicious breakfast cooked by Angie of tortilla with eggs and beans, along with some pineapple and banana. And then it was time for our big research project of the day. Into the lab we went to learn about camera traps! They’re activated by motion to capture footage of wildlife movement, a useful trick in the remote portions of the Chiquibul Forest. With 14 camera traps for the 14 of us, we now had one big task—what research could we perform? Ultimately, we decided to understand the influence of manmade trails on biodiversity in LCRS. Scoping out the map, we decided to split our camera traps to encompass seven “disturbed” or direct trail areas and seven “undisturbed” areas adjacent to the trails.
We would place two traps on the smaller trails: the Maya Trail to 50 hectare plot track and the Bird Tower Shortcut. Two more would be placed on the medium-sized monkey trail. The final three would track movement across the recently closed San Pastor Road (one camera trap), and the typically used Las Cuevas Road (two camera traps). With a game plan in mind, we set off to the Monkey Tail trail. As we marked our path with direction coordinates, set up the camera trap, and marked the pink tape, we would go off into the forest right behind… with a machete! Dr. Solomon chopped and chopped the thick foliage, and we walked about 50 paces in before setting up the next trap. With a pattern established, we made quick work of the trails, marking the Maya Trail-50 Hectare Loop stretch as well. And after a delicious lunch of rice and beans, we set off to finish the Bird Tower shortcut and the bigger roads.
In my unbiased opinion, we saved the best spot (mine) for last. I was tasked with setting up the fourteenth camera trap on an undisturbed location past the Las Cuevas Road. Looks are deceiving– what we thought was a simple clearing turned out to be so much more arduous. Mounds of bamboo, sharp palms, and extended vines encircled the expanse, making the 50 paces all the more laborious. And yet, so worth it. We heard, and then saw two (2!) red woodpeckers, a promising start for what might be out there. And Leo, our tour guide yesterday, did mention seeing 16 jaguars through the open Las Cuevas road. So who knows what we’ll see.
Nature in LCRS is elusive. There are signs of life all around, but it requires patience standing and squatting, peering closely into the flora. Doing so, we saw a big cat scratch, distinguished by the bare patch of soil, untouched by anything but the most recent leaves. Walking out further, we saw some leaves on a palm, regularly bit, in distinct, rectangular holes. Maybe a Honduran White Bat in its new roosting spot? Curious and curioser… Past the termites, butterflies, tailless scorpions, and ants—it was insect paradise. And that was just the tip of the iceberg: uncovering mossy logs, the microniches were teeming with life. Logs hid red nymph beetle hills, roots exposed termite mounds (fun fact, termites taste like carrots!), and elongated black beetles squirmed around, secreting chemicals to scare us away. Larvae hid in leaves and debris, and leafcutter ants cut perfectly semicircular holes into waxy leaves. It was sights upon sights to behold.
And I’m saving the best for last: the diverse fungi and lichen I glimpsed all across the forest. We started off strong with some dark green Common Greenshield attached to live trees, alongside the classic Powdery Medallions and epiphytes atop leaf expanses. But then well into the Monkey Tail trail, I spotted lichen growing atop shelf-like structures that I could only think were once shelf fungi. The unique structures and colors were a sight to behold, making the tree bark a mosaic of green. I have a feeling it was more Dirinaria, but jury’s out there. Further out into the Maya Loop, we saw a mossy, dark green lichen, only distinguished from moss by its powdery feel and radial growth pattern. Reaching LCRS again, we saw a light brown-white mushroom with white gills, likely a pearl oyster with its concave, fan-like pileus. In a fallen log after lunch, I saw a brown shelf-like mushroom, with brown striations on its pileus, most likely a Turkey Tail mushroom perched gracefully. Others also peaked out, with white borders around. Some even had mold growing atop it, fungus on fungus. Along the path, I saw fungi camouflage as leaf litter, with a yellow-white pileus.
Two of the different Turkey Tails with different striation patterns, across logs.
Ultimately, it’s the little things that take over: quiet, patient, biding with life. It can be seen in the soft, white mold that covered a log’s underside today, and the plethora of insects, chirps, and smells everywhere. Today was an immersive experience into the forest, minute factors coalescing to develop the rich ecosystem around us.
Signing off!
