Traveling (Feb. 16th and 17th)

The 16th was a travel day: boats from Corcovado to Sierpe, then a bus from Sierpe to a nice hotel at Playa Hermosa. The most exciting part of the day was waiting for two hours in Sierpe because our bus had fallen into a ditch on its way to pick us up. When the bus finally made it, there were several large dents in the side and near the taillights, and one of the bottom compartment doors had to be tied on. Luckily, we made it to Playa Hermosa with no further incident, in time for a gorgeous sunset.

The hotel showers were cold but clean, though even my semi-clean clothes felt pretty dirty afterwards. We had a tasty dinner at a seafood place nearby, where most tables ordered the grande seafood plate.

I did some laundry in the hotel room sink (yay clean underwear), and then enjoyed a great night’s sleep in a soft bed.

The 17th was another travel day, thought we stopped in two places before reaching our final destination: a campsite in Santa Rosa National Park, where we stayed for the rest of the field trip.

The first stop was Carara, another national park, where we walked around with lots of foreign tourists and did species reports on several plants and animals. A cool park, but not the most interesting way to spend the time, and I was really hungry the whole time. Lunch was exactly what I wanted though: pizza! And soda and salad. So good after a week of rice and beans. The ctenosaurs wanted some too.

walking around Carara

We also walked over a bridge, where a bunch of crocodiles hang out in the river below.

After another bus ride nap, we arrived in Liberia, a town with internet cafes and supermarkets. We stopped here for only an hour so we could contact home and buy anything lacking, lost, or broken from the first half of the field trip. I bought ice cream, some cheap sunglasses to replace the pair that is now somewhere in the Pacific, a bigger memory card for my camera, and a few minutes of internet to check my email and let my parents know I was still alive.

YES. I needed multi-colored hair gel.

back on the bus

The rest of Corcovado (Feb. 14-15)

The next day (Valentine’s Day!), we took boats to Caño Island to learn about island ecology and go snorkeling. Along the way, a pod of pantropical spotted dolphins crossed our path. There were about 15 dolphins swimming around and coming up for air 2-3 meters from the boat. One even jumped out of the water; very cool.

the Isla!

We had class on the beach, with Alan using the sand as a chalkboard to demonstrate island biogeography theory. We also hiked around the island a little and did some species reports.

Snorkeling was very fun. I got a little seasick sitting in the rocking boat adjusting my snorkel mask, but once I got in the warm water I felt fine. There were lots of pretty fish, and I even saw a green sea turtle and a white-tipped reef shark. Back on the boats, we saw more dolphins and I learned that my missing bag was on one of the boats. I was very happy to have my bag back. As soon as we returned to camp, I brushed my hair, brushed my teeth, and used deodorant for the first time in four days. I also set up my clean and comfortable sleeping bag and pad in the tent.

After dinner and a lecture, our professors took us on one of the coolest things I’ve ever done: a night hike through the rainforest. Part of the way we hiked on the path, keeping quiet and listening to the night sounds and stopping often to check out some amazing insects, spiders, lizards, and frogs. The other part of the hike was through the creek, stepping carefully through knee-deep water, our headlamps reflecting on the surface. Large orthopterans (grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids) with crazy long antennae blended into the leaves until our movements disturbed them into jumping away. Huge spiders and tarantulas waited for prey under leaves and logs. Sleeping Norops lizards stretched out on thin branches overhead, trying to hide from their vine snake predators. We found a few yellow leaf frogs, which were smaller than the spiders we were seeing. One of the coolest finds was a cane toad sitting by its burrow under a log. Native here, they are huge pests where they were introduced in Australia. The other cool find was a caiman, which is like a small crocodile, swimming in the creek. We followed it upstream for a ways before it hid.

through the creek

through the creek

yellow leaf frog

katydid

cane toad

Feb. 15

Our last day in Corcovado, we had a morning lecture on beach ecology, appropriately barefoot and sitting on the beach. Class was interrupted twice; once when someone discovered tapir tracks nearby and the other when we watched humpback whales spouting and diving several hundred meters off the coast.

tapir tracks

After lunch, we had a scavenger hunt. My partner, Shelley, and I finished early, so we went to the swimming hole with a few other people. After sweating in the humidity all day, the creek was so refreshing. It was the perfect temperature sitting on rocks in the shade by the creek, and we had a view of the ocean and the sunset. While we were chatting, a white-faced capuchin monkey jumped into a tree right overhead. Then, we noticed some howler monkeys munching on leaves in a different tree. Soon after that, some spider monkeys swung by and some scarlet macaws flew overhead. We marveled at this amazing place, and considered what we would be doing if we were at our home universities right now: definitely something much less remarkable, like studying in a dorm room. This was one of my favorite moments from the trip.

sweet spider on the path to the swimming hole

view from the swimming hole

Quick update

Hey everyone,
Sorry I've been so behind on blog posts. Take it as a sign that I'm having too much fun to sit at my computer. I'm changing to week-by-week updates instead, because the day-by-day updates take me far too long. Don't worry, there will still be lots of photos. Love and miss you all.
~hannah
P.S. If you'd like an awesome postcard from Costa Rica, Facebook/email me your mailing address (kornbrathh@gmail.com).

Feb. 13th: long hike in Corcovado

As I ate breakfast under the coconut palms this morning, I watched more Bare-throated Tiger Herons, Spotted Sandpipers, and some American Oystercatchers eating the tiny fish that landed on the sand with every crashing wave. Again, we could hear howler monkeys calling in the trees as we enjoyed our fresh pineapple and watermelon.

American Oystercatcher

Soon after breakfast, we began today's activity: a substantial hike through the wet lowland forest to a beach and back. The hike was 8 km (5 miles) each way, uphill and downhill, over rocks, tree roots, and fallen logs, and through the 95°F heat and humidity. It was quite a trek, but definitely worth it. I saw about 20 new birds, including Mealy Parrots, Blue-crowned Manakins, and a Black-throated Trogon.

Black-throated Trogon

Blue-crowned Manakin

  

Our lunch destination was a nice beach, and food plus a dip in the ocean was the perfect reward. We refilled water bottles in the spring nearby, then began the long trek back. Rebecca and I hiked together and saw more birds, leaf cutter ants, frogs, lizards, a snake, and a sloth. Awesome.

leaf cutter ants

leaf cutter ants

froggy

I was tired and sore when we got back to camp. I drank 4 liters of water that day. After dinner and hanging out with friends for a bit, we went to bed early.

Feb. 12th: research project in Corcovado

Today we split into groups and did mini research projects. We collected data in the morning, analyzed it and made a poster in the afternoon, and then presented our poster and findings after dinner. I had the best project: sitting on the beach watching pelicans. Our questions were, do juvenile, subadult, and adult pelicans spend different amounts of time fishing and do they have different success rates? We took turns watching a pelican in each age group for 30 minutes, counting how many dives it made and how many were successful. A successful fishing attempt was when a pelican swallowed whatever it caught in it's pouch/bill. Every hour, we also counted how many pelicans of each age group were sitting on rocks and how many were actively foraging. It was another hot, humid day, but we sat in the shade on the warm sand while a nice sea breeze kept the humidity at bay. I remained barefoot all day; it was fabulous.

Our analysis concluded that all age groups of pelicans were equally successful at catching fish, but the juvenile birds put in more effort. They were seen actively foraging the most, possibly because they need more food or are less efficient than adults because they haven't learned the proper technique. Indeed, we observed several juveniles splashing around comically and coming up empty-pouched. After our poster was finished, we cooled off in the ocean with our study subjects diving around us. New friends and I studied on the beach under the stars, and I went to bed excited for tomorrow's long hike through the rainforest.

Feb. 11th: orientation to Corcovado

This morning I awoke with the sun at about 5:45. I laid on top of my borrowed sleeping bag, listening to the ocean and a cacophony of bird calls. I had no hope of trying to identify the birds by sound; I only know some of the most common ones at home, here they are all completely new. It was already quite humid, and I was pretty awake, so I got up to check out the birds. I gathered my binoculars and field guide and wandered down the beach towards the creek. Two Bare-throated Tiger Herons fought over fish near the rocks and a Social Flycatcher built its nest in a tree overhanging the creek. Most of the pelicans were still resting on the rocks near the sand. I also saw a Cherrie's Tanager flitting about in the palm trees. Not bad for a 45 minute stroll before breakfast.

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

Social Flycatcher

Cherrie's Tanager

We ate breakfast (rice, beans, eggs, watermelon, and pineapple) at the picnic table outside, looking out at the ocean, with more howler monkeys calling in the trees. I received some good news about my missing bag; it had been found on the boat, and I would get it back eventually. Yay!

At 8:00, we converged on the grassy area with hiking shoes, water, and species books. We split into four groups to walk a short ways and learn about the diverse array of plants and animals in Corcovado National Park. There is a species report for each of the 200 species that I have to know. A species report consists of checking out a species, and one of our professors or a student giving a 5-15 minute shpeel on the species' (but sometimes just the genus) natural history. Today we did species reports on several plants and animals, my favorite of which was the Norops lizard. This genus is usually known as anole lizards. They are small and fast. Mature males have a colorful flap of skin on their chins called a dewlap, which they use to look sexy for the female Norops.

extending the male Norops' dewlap

This is definitely the coolest classroom ever. I get to see and touch and smell and experience the species I learn about in their natural setting. We're outside all day, immersed in tropical diversity. I don't know if my sense of awe at this place will ever wear off.

Lunchtime! We're lucky enough to have a team of cooks camping with us who cook and clean up after all our meals. This doesn't really feel like camping; I expected to have a chore list. I'm not complaining though. It's nice to not have to worry about that stuff. We can focus on enjoying the experience. Soon after lunch, we checked out the creek again. Lo and behold, there was the crocodile! Just chilling on the bank.

a little blurry...

I also saw my first trogon, a female Slaty-tailed Trogon, perched in the tree above the picnic table.

After lunch, we divided into groups again. While learning about more plants with Moncho, we watched a coati sniff around and then take a nap on a tree branch. Have I mentioned this is the coolest classroom ever?

Coatis are in the same family as raccoons

We finished with scheduled activities in late afternoon. Most of us decided to take the 30 minute hike to the waterfall to cool down in the creek. Before we left, we spotted some howler monkeys in the trees right above our camp. A couple of them had babies clinging to their backs.

At the waterfall

We returned from the waterfall hike in time for dinner. Later, I used the chilly outdoor showers while more howler monkeys called in the trees overhead. Best shower location ever. After some studying, we took the lanterns and some drinks to the beach. We chilled on the sand, talking and singing along with the people in the group who brought guitars. It was an awesome end to the day.


N.B. Some of these photos are mine, some are from friends, and some are from Google Images.