From the Field: Week Five

Now that we’re in the thick of the field season, things have been rolling along pretty smoothly. It’s hard to believe I have been here for over a month, and even harder to believe that I only have a few weeks left! This week overall was fairly relaxing, we finished our field work a little early so I went back to Uvita with some friends for a day, and I spent most of the weekend relaxing around the station and taking photos (mostly of birds). Andrea and I also found the most delicious churros in downtown San Vito.

Along with my field work, I have started to work on identifying the seedlings that I am working with and I am hoping I can utilize some friends and resources here to learn more about them. Since Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse places in the world, I have a lot of learning to do.

Later in the week I went back to Uvita with some friends for the day. We went to a local market and did some shopping (I did in fact buy more jewelry), we tried locally made kombucha and we bought red dragonfruit, cacao (the fruit used to make chocolate!) and another fruit that looked like a snake skin covered egg (called a Salak) to try. After the market we got falafel for lunch (which was phenomenal), and then headed to the beach for the afternoon until the rain started. When we headed out for lunch we saw some scarlet macaws fly over, and of course chased their path down the street so that we could get photos of them (worth it).

Over the weekend I spent a lot of time at the station catching up on some field notes and got very distracted by the wildlife here. I saw some motmots, cusingos, some more hummingbirds and a crested oropendola (all pictured below). The crested oropendolas have really interested mating behavior and make some super interesting noises (I highly suggest you listen). I am pretty sure I have become an amateur birdwatcher in my time here. When I’m not in the field or catching up on work, I can typically be found running around the station trying to take bird photos.

That’s all for this week, don’t forget to check out my photos below!

Best,
Gina

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