Today was our first day of birding! Granted, I'll be birding now for the next three weeks...but today marked the first step forward! Day 1 of the hands on Biology experience I've been waiting for, for who knows how long! A super-sized, extreme version of my time in Kiuic and what a day it has been.

Birding was very successful today. While it was slow going I admit, we did catch 2 inca doves (one of which got away), 2 hummingbirds (again, one got away), a great kiskadee, annnnnnd a surprise bird I'll mention a bit later (BLATANT INCENTIVE TO KEEP READING). The great kiskadee was a great catch - a good, large, colorful bird. This was the bird that was passed around allowing everyone in the birding group to hold their first Costa Rica capture. The second catch, a dove, was my first independent subject. I got to untangle him from the net and then hold him as measurements were being made. He was a sweetheart and was very calm the entire time. He had the most beautiful maroon eyes.

Midday we took the nets down and went on a hike up a very tall, limestone cliff. It was actually quite the hike (more intense than I expected) but a very good work out and in the end we had the most incredible view of the Palo Verde reserve, which is composed of a dry forest, marsh, and river system.




After the hike we strung up the mist nets one more time before dusk and before the bat team takes over. As we were taking our last scan of the nets one final bird flew into the invisible wall and got tangled - right before our eyes. By some twist of fate or luck, this bird was the bird I had come to Costa Rica to find - the turquoise browed motmot. It is my favorite tropical bird; unique morphology, beautiful colors, and unique behavior - this bird has it all! And here on the first day I found myself face to face with my first motmot. I went to work untangling the bird because it had just flown in and was at high risk of escaping (plus it's easier to remove a bird that isn't thoroughly tangled). With the assistance of Meg, we got the motmot out and I basked in the glory of the accomplishment.




My first full day in Costa Rica and birding was so incredibly successful! I think this amazing day was sent to me to help put my anxious mind at ease. I really am happy to be here.

NOTE: Since I didn't really have much internet in Kiuic, I couldn't post much at all. But I did do some pretty fun stuff in Kiuic, like bird netting! So here's a post I wrote up in the hotel in Coba after leaving the biocultural reserve. So I hope you enjoy my back-tracking.

Yesterday (February 26th) I left Kiuic after 2 testing weeks. I know I haven’t been posting much, but I think I thoroughly covered the reasons why in previous posts so no need to reiterate that. But it wasn’t even the lack of internet and electricity that was most taxing, nor the cold showers or hammock sleeping, it was the struggle with weather and my own perceptions of this trip.

I’m not sure if I ever made this clear to anyone, but the main reason I applied for this program was not because it was a tropical location, with amazing historical and cultural structures or because of the native language, I chose to study abroad in the Yucatan for the Biology aspect. It sounded like an amazing biological experience with snorkeling (one of my favorite vacation pastimes), birding, and batting (the latter of the two I had never had to pleasure of experiencing). The last week of Kiuic was supposed to be the week of intense birding and batting – our legitimate start to the Biology semester, but the weather did not deliver. The week was overcast and even rained, keeping all the birds in their nests, which as I soon discovered, makes it very difficult to catch them using a stationary, floor bound net. I did get to hold bats at night, but I was never instructed on how to really identify them or anything, so that portion of the adventure was pretty much covered by the Dawley’s and my more experienced peers. Overall what I had been looking forward to most out of the trip was something of a flop. I admit, up to Thursday I was downtrodden. So that morning, in one final desperate attempt, we raised our net again and waited for birds while pretending to study for the midterm (what would be a 5 hour test later that day). We were rewarded for our efforts and I finally got a chance to hold a bird! But, I had never held a bird before and I guess my grip wasn’t tight enough, because that beautiful hooded warbler escaped after only a few seconds and our prize was lost. I was mortified and distraught. How is it, that the one thing I had been looking forward to most would be so disappointing? And how, HOW, when given one chance to do the very thing I had been waiting 6 weeks to do, did I fail so quickly? And in front of my friends and the Dawleys (oh the look on Robert’s face when that bird got away). It was the lowest point of my trip; I took the failure very hard.

But, this trip isn’t only about Biology for me; it’s also a chance to really grow. So rather just sit and mope for the rest of day, focusing on my horrible mistake and missing possibly my only shot at holding and identifying a tropical bird, I took a little walk into the forest to flush all the negativity out of my system and then returned to my post watching the net swearing to redeem myself should the chance arrive. I got my chance as again our net snagged another bird, a white-eyed vireo. Not only did I assist in freeing the bird from the net, but after bagging it, I took it up to the Dawleys, took it out of the bag, and held it in front of them without that little bugger escaping my grip. I then verbally I announced to them that yes, I could in fact hold a bird and that this white-eyed vireo represents my redemption. I then forced Robert to take a picture documenting my success and helped pass the bird around to other eager students (who had also never been given a chance to hold a bird due to the inclement weather). Our net went on to catch an olivacous woodcreeper which I again helped untangle and held. So after a bumpy start, I pulled myself out of a shame spiral, and then did what I came to Mexico to do – play with birds who had been tricked into flying into a net. I can’t explain how amazing it felt. It just reaffirms my plans to pursue a career as a biologist.