Strolling through the misty rainforest at the break of light, resting for a few minutes every 50 meter-interval to enjoy the songs of a splendid array of tropical birds – a birder’s paradise. I have been fortunate to be able to enjoy every morning for the past 9 days, in an ‘effort’ to collect data for a conservation project that my buddy, Ben, and I are working on. We start each day with a hike to one of six observation sites within Refugio Bartola, where we then traverse a 200 meter transact, pausing for 8 minutes each at 5 points and recording all the birds we hear. This usually lasts for an hour, after which we hike to another site and repeat the same procedure. Following 2 hours of soaking in the serenity of the forest, we return for a treat – Breakfast!

Our project aims to study the diversity of birds and mammals in 3 different areas of the forest. These areas are categorized by their distance from the forest edge. Just as some people love to be at the center of the party while others enjoy the less chaotic atmosphere in the corners, so do the birds and mammals (in a different way of course)! We hope to find how various species occupy different areas of the forest, and how the dynamics changes from the edge to the interior of the forest. This dynamic gradient is crucial to the ecosystem of the forests as a whole, as every organism relies on another, and many are sensitive to changes. This would be an important implication if the Nicaragua canal goes through to completion, as it would create edges in the forest where the interior used to be and change the dynamics around it.

So far, I have definitely been enjoying every part of the process in just retrieving the data. Staying still in the forest brings the animals to us more than actively searching for them. Most of the best moments have happened during these periods of waiting…seeing white-faced Capuchins foraging and grooming on the canopy above us, then having a mommy Agouti with two babies stroll up right to us…the most precious by far is a special encounter with my favorite animal in the world: hearing grunts coming from the shrubs, then seeing the stripes of an ocelot appear, until the cat was in full view of us just 3 meters away. It walked delicately and cautiously, never once hesitant even though it knew full well of our presence, giving us one short glance and continuing on its way back into the shrubs…