I am now in Tortuguero, the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica near the Nicaraguan border. The residential populations in this region are very small, and very "rustic". The majority of this region is land utilized for research and protected by the conservation effort. This is a typical scene on the beach.
It is REALLY hot here right now, and the humidity level is close to 95%. It is easy to get dehydrated, and become exhausted from the heat. Unfortunately for me, my agreement restricts me from swimming in these waters! There is a strong undertow, and the possibility of drowning (is not great, but) is there. (it is a really hard thing to not to constantly want to jump in!!)
Today was my first official day of banding. I met with my senior bander two nights ago at INBio research station in Santo Domingo, Costa Rica. It is amazing we were able to meet up... Our supervisior had given us both very vague directions, and it happened by chance that Chris was on the same plane to Costa Rica as our supervisor! By seeing him on the plane, he was able to properly connect with him and get more detailed directions (and even a cab ride to the station!).
So, the next day, Chris and I took a cab, a 3 hour bus, another 2 hour bus, a 1 hour boat ride, and then a boat taxi to a research station in Tortuguero called the Caribbean Conservation Corporation. Here we are going to spend the next ten days or so banding birds and recording information. Today, we set up only 6 nets (as I am a beginner, and he is new at supervising), and monitored them for 6 hours. The nets used are called mist nets. They are placed in a clearing of trees about 30 feet long. They are very delicate, and need to be set up with care, but quickly.
Only moments after setting up our first three nets we had three dwarf hummingbirds caught in the nets. Out of necessity, I had to handle these tiny birds within minutes of my first shift. Chris had told me that most banders in the US only handle these birds after much more training, usually requiring weeks of observation. But here in Costa Rica, the amount of research placed on residential birds is very slim, and the hands of volunteers are needed and utilized.
In the last couple of days, I have been thinking very hard of what I could write in this blog that could be an accurate description of what life is like for Costa Ricans, and avoid an interpretation based on an ignorant tourist's observations. Since I have only been here for two weeks, I am afraid I cannot do this with any confidence quite yet. However I have been thinking quite a lot about a blog written by fellow intern. She wrote an insightful post about her experiences in South Africa and spoke a lot about the power of privilege. Although Costa Rica is a very "developed" (I use this term loosely, as I know my fellow interns are mostly development studies masters students... and I don't want to try and discuss these terms as if I completely understand them myself!) country in Central America, there is a great divide between those that enjoy the "developments" and those that remain side-lined, and limited by their position in society. The reason I discuss this, is because I have met quite a few amazingly intelligent and experienced Costa Rican people who employ themselves as tour guides here, but wish to have the certification and education to be involved in the conservation effort and to make a better life for themselves and their families. Since the funding for conservation is supported largely by American groups, funding is granted to people from American Universities to study in Central America. It is not always easy for the average Costa Rican to volunteer and get their foot in the door to be involved in projects. My senior bander had mentioned that in order for people to become banders, they must get certification (based on a European system), which is costly, time consuming, and not always possible for people to obtain.
This topic is something I don't want to pretend I can speak with authority on, but I am very interested in this separation of people and wish to know and understand it more. But for now, at this station, my primary goal is to make my senior bander's life a little easier. Since I know absolutely nothing about birds or banding, I can feel his frustration at times. I can only do my best...hahah, they knew what they were getting before I got here!
This is my hand holding (some sort of) seedeater. He was super chill even though it took us almost 30 mins to get it out of the mist net (my first attempt at retrieving birds). He also let me band him, measure his wings, and look at all the necessary parts to determine his sex and age. Since I failed to recall the name of this bird, you can tell I haven't quite got my bird-banding sea-legs, but I am sure I will be able to name quite a few species by the time I leave here. I also hope to join the turtle monitoring crew one night and get a glimpse of a leatherback!
Bye for now, I will post more pics soon enough!
