Today’s bird highlight: a toucan! It didn’t stick around for long—just a quick flash of color as it flew off—but still exciting to catch a glimpse of one in the wild. My taxonomic group is birds, so I’m always keeping an eye (and ear) out for them. I’m really hoping to get more chances to go birdwatching soon and see a wider variety of species. Just catching that brief glimpse of the toucan made me want more—I’m especially curious to spot some hummingbirds or maybe a trogon next time.
We tackled two different projects today. The first one focused on how nitrogen availability might affect invertebrates living in the canopy compared to those on the forest floor. To test this, we set up tubes filled with either water or nitrogen (yes, our pee!) both in trees and in the soil, with each station spaced 50 feet apart. Hopefully, this will help us understand if nutrient availability plays a bigger role higher up in the forest.
The second project explored how Cecropia trees protect themselves. In their early stages, they don’t have ants living in them yet, so we’re curious to see how their defenses differ before and after they recruit their ant allies. It’s a fascinating example of mutualism in action.
Fieldwork is full of surprises—some feathered, some scientific. I’m looking forward to the next chance to get out early, binoculars in hand, and see what’s flying through the canopy.
Now that we’re all situated in our jungle abode, we are really able to maximize the rainforest surrounding us to do field work. After a peaceful wake-up, sipping coffee and watching birds on our cabin porch (we saw scarlet macaws and yellow-bellied flycatchers!), we spent the first half of our morning cooking up a research project in the lab for our week at Las Cuevas Research Station.
Dr. Solomon gave us these guidelines: We were given 14 motion-sensor cameras (one for each student) to place around the jungle to measure something. We decided to look at the impacts of human disturbance on biodiversity in the area, asking how the presence of man-made trails (hiking trails and roads) affects vertebrate diversity (mammals, birds, anything with a backbone). We would look at the number of species and the number of each individual within that species recorded by camera shots.
(Motion Sensor Cam – 05/18/25)
In our comfortably shaded cabin, our class gathered together around a giant map and pointed to ideal camera locations, totally underestimating the amount of steps and sweat that would go into actually setting these cams up. We decided to pair each “human disturbed” camera location on the trail with another “undisturbed” camera off-trail nearby, keeping both cameras within the same general vicinity for consistency. So we had 7 different general locations to hike to in order to install our 14 cameras. With project methodology in our heads and recorded in our little field notebooks, we slid on our boots and set out for the trails.
While hiking to placement locations, we turned over quite a few logs to reveal pretty cool (and tasty) treats. Did you know that termites taste like carrots? Genuinely just like carrots; if you ever have an infestation, just cook them up for a little protein snack…that tastes like carrots. It’s because they contain some carotenoid compounds like carrots, giving them a sweet, earthy flavor. Ooh, also! I need to add a few more pages to my epiphyte identification card. Vascular epiphytes (the ones with stems) are estimated to make up to 25% of all vascular plants in tropical rainforests (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-017-3606-0_5), and we saw a few more epiphytes than the 20 listed on my sheet today. We spotted this tiny bromeliad I need to run through Inaturalist to identify. (Update: I think it’s a Tillandsia schiedeana).
(Tiny Mystery Endophyte – 05/18/25)
(My Epiphyte ID Sheet – 05/17/2025)
We were out all day scouting for ideal camera placement locations. This involved cutting through vegetation off the main trails to put cameras in “undisturbed” areas, 50 paces into the forest from each trail camera location. We recorded GPS coordinates for all camera locations and marked them with neon yellow tape for easy retrieval.
Because Dr. Solomon had a “professor-only” policy for using the machete, he was the only one slashing through the forest. By camera #11, we began to imagine Dr. Solomon as a video game character, from either a fruit-ninja/jungle-explorer game. We called out point values based on the satisfying-ness of his chops. A clean chop of a thick stem earned him 20 points, but a thin, easy chop would be something like +5.
There was one site off the trail that had particularly dense, unpassable vegetation, and as soon as my friend Sahana saw the thick green barrier in front of us, she exclaimed, “Wow, it’s giving undistributed.” We laughed and cheered Dr. Solomon on by shouting out points as he cut through.
This day was super tiring (we got our steps IN) but super funny. We found ways to joke about our work while stopping along the way to learn about species and their interactions. With a tan and new inside jokes, I feel content and excited to get back to the field tomorrow.
Today’s adventure started at the Mayan reserve, where I was on the lookout for birds, my assigned organismal group. The highlight was definitely the Montezuma oropendola. It’s a medium-sized bird with a striking yellow tail and a strange, almost gurgling call. We spotted their hanging nests high up in the trees—long, woven pouches dangling like ornaments. I didn’t see the oropendolas doing much besides perching and calling, but their nests were enough to impress me.
I also saw a tiny gray bird with a bright white streak above its eyes. It moved fast and kept low in the undergrowth, so I didn’t get a good ID, but I’ll keep trying to narrow it down—possibly a species in the flycatcher family. It seemed to be foraging solo, darting quickly from branch to branch.
On the way back, the group got a quick look at a toucan, though I only caught it as it flew away. I’m hoping for a clearer view at Las Cuevas. Speaking of which—there, I spotted a turkey wandering through the station grounds. Not the most exotic bird we’ve seen, but still fun to note.
Today’s bird highlight: a toucan! It didn’t stick around for long—just a quick flash of color as it flew off—but still exciting to catch a glimpse of one in the wild. My taxonomic group is birds, so I’m always keeping an eye (and ear) out for them. I’m really hoping to get more chances to go birdwatching soon and see a wider variety of species. Just catching that brief glimpse of the toucan made me want more—I’m especially curious to spot some hummingbirds or maybe a trogon next time.
