The Rest Of Karukinka

Dear everybody!
Again, big apologies for the delay, I guess I am not destined to be a blogger.

After heading back "into the wild" of Tierra del Fuego since the last update, I started working full-time on the groundcover project. Every day we would rise in the morning, put the kettle on the kitchen stove for tea or coffee, and eat some home-made bread with jam. Then, after gathering our packs, we were off into the hills for 30-45 minutes following a semi-marked trail that would lead us to the castoreras (beaver dams). Each site required laying out 4 rectangular plots, parallel to the stream, 3 of 10m X 50m and one of 20m X 60m. These were done using a clinometer, PVC tubes to mark the corners, and measuring tape. Then, in each plot, 10 equally-spaced 1m X 1m squares were designated and we measured groundcover for every plant species in each. At first this took FOREVER. It was mostly an issue of recognizing and identifying the different plant species. Later on I got familiar with the plant names and was able to move more quickly through each site. We also had to measure all of the trees standing in the plots: diameter and height so as to later calculate the overall volume of trunk biomass.

They had satellite TV at the main house (but no internet...) so at night besides preparing dinner or working on field data we were updated with the local Chile news and occasionally with a report on Obama in the US. I got good at making Jalea (Jell-O) for after dinner :) Towards the end of my time at Karukinka I worked on compiling all of the plant species encountered in the field into a digital herbarium, just a personal project to help me remember everything I have learned and to give back to the station for housing me. I made a checklist of all of the plants I knew and then each day, as we worked, took advantage of the time to photograph those species. Then, new species were added as they were found. This project took a lot longer than I had expected but I succeeded in producing the Powerpoint in the end and handed the station a copy to keep for future research: hopefully some poor plant scientist will find it very useful!

One day I was woken by my roommate saying that there was a carpintero outside. I grabbed my camera and was able to find the bird, a Magellanic Woodpecker, in amongst the Lenga trees. I was lucky because the trees around the house are all relatively short, so the woodpeckers could not climb up to the point where they appeared as little red and black dots. I spent like 2 hours following the birds (turned out to be 3 of them, one juvenile and two adults) before breakfast. They were incredible, especially viewed from close-up, brightly colored. They kept making a "squawking" sound as they flew from tree to tree. Here is one of the photos taken. Definitely a highlight of my stay.

Another was going fishing in the late afternoons at one of the rivers that flows near the house. I only caught one fish (a salmon) the right size to eat, but with it we made fresh ceviche! I went out other times too but without much luck. Still, for me it was more the chance to be outside in Patagonia that was attractive. Walking through the grassland I would often encounter some new lichen or moss to photograph, and often these little long-billed birds called snipes that scurried and flew off when I got too close. There were curious Guanacos that would pace towards me to see what I was doing by the river. As long as I did not make any sudden movements, they remained calm.

We got a visit from the Wildlife Conservation Society (that run Karukinka) staff back in Punta Arenas and Santiago. They came down to do some trekking and exploring possible new routes in the park. They were pretty friendly and eventually invited me to go with them on one of their trips, to an "unexplored" valley connecting a huge lake (Lago Fagnano) with the ocean. I packed up a bag and we set off early the next day. The lake and river that runs from it are a shocking turquoise color, and crystal clear. From where we found an abandoned horse trail close to a ridge we could see out into the distance, where the ocean was. Didn't look too far away, but it took us nearly 5 hours just to get to our campsite. After that it was another 3 hours of bushwhacking till we made it to la Caleta María. Along the way the views were spectacular. There was another kind of tree growing in this area, a more humid place, called Coigüe, related to Lenga and Ñirre found at the main station. And we got some time to fish for trout as well, which we then ate the following morning before the trek back. It was a good "break" from the routine work I had been doing.

The end felt like it came very soon (surprisingly, the days went by very fast!), but I looked forward to getting back in touch with the world. I rode down with some of the staff and got to see the toninas again in the water at the crossing of the Strait of Magellan. I also got some photos of flamingoes in dried up lakes along the side of the road. Never seen so many in my life, and in the wild at that. Finally, before arriving in Punta Arenas, we saw some Ñandús on the side of the road and got to stop to see the close. There was an adult and 3 large chicks, browsing in the grass. Such strange-looking creatures–really reminded me of dinosaurs.

So the return was pretty eventful. I stayed a few days in Punta Arenas, figuring out flight logistics and plans for the remainder of my time in South America and meeting people at the hostal I stayed at. Then, almost directly from Punta Arenas (with a stop in Santiago, but all within a day at least) I flew to Quito, Ecuador. I got set up with my old hostal and then grabbed an opportunity to visit a cloudforest eco-lodge with volunteers for 3 days, before heading to my next planned activity. This place was called Santa Lucía; it is a lodge completely run by a community, that is, no middle man or foreign entity tugging the strings. And it was incredible. After a strenuous hike through the forest, uphill, I arrived at the lodge and met the volunteers. Santa Lucía is famous for birding, and in particular for people wanting to witness the Cock-of-the-Rock, a brightly-colored Cotinga (related to the Long-Wattled Umbrella Bird from Bilsa!). There is a known lek down one of the Santa Lucía trails, and one morning I got to go see the mating rituals of the male birds.

Unfortunately, it was overcast and rainy almost the entire time I was there, preventing me from going out on the trails a lot. But the rain did have its merits... GIANT EARTHWORMS. I've never seen anything like them, they look like snakes, they're so big.

I am currently at Yanayacu Research Station in the Napo Province of Ecuador. I'm working as a volunteer or assistant to a project tracking caterpillar and parasitoid diversity in this region. It's a huge project, spanning many years of collecting and rearing caterpillars. I help collect in the field and then bag and feed the caterpillars. The reason for this work is that I am getting experience to eventually work on a fellowship research project, funded by SEEDS at the Ecological Society of America (http://www.esa.org/seeds/). I'm excited to start doing my own field work, but so far assisting the caterpillar and parasitoid project has been pretty great.