SO MANY “THANK YOUs”

I am very happy that most of the things I was planning for this season are working out. It has been so far the BEST season at Kéköldi Hawkwatch, and I have everyone to thank for it.

First to Pablo for giving me this amazing job… Since the first day I hiked up to the tower I loved this place, and if I am still here it is because he hasn’t lost his patience with me. So I want to thank him for the responsibility he has given to me anf for believing in me. Hope to continue working with you, mae! We still have so much to do until the end of this season, so let’s keep up the good organization and we’ll be the best hawkwatch in the world! Pura vida, mae!

The volunteers are wonderful workers and have spent numerous hours in the roasting sun, counting the birds. We have now over 1.5 million raptors counted and there are so many more still on the way! So I want to thank: Carrie, Daniel, Lynette, Marcos, Oscar, Paul, and Vicky for their wonderful work. Rudy and Dimeiston, from Kéköldi have been there for us all the way and everyday as official counters, helping the volunteers with the constant training, organizing the observers, and counting raptors like crazy! Also some people that came to visit this season and helped us out: Lindsay, Christina, Daniel Martinez and Keith Larson. Thanks for your enthusiasm and I hope you can visit us again soon!

Very important indeed has been the help of Julie Tilden, a master’s student from Antioch College, who has been here all season… I want to thank Julie for all her work with the Peregrine Falcon migration, but also for her support and constant happiness and enthusiasm. She is also designing some T-shirts for the project and helping out with the data collection. Thanks for listening to me all the time! I hope those falcons continue to pass, so that you will have more than enough data for a great thesis. Also, thanks for the amazing pictures and the use of your camera! Most pictures presented on this blog are hers!

Finally, to my friends Joana, Carlos, Kate and Tony, who have come to visit me this season, taking me out of here for some deserved off days, which are so rare. Where would I be without you guys? Thanks to everyone for making Kéköldi Hawkwatch a place filled with life, and let’s keep watching that sky for more birds… we have to make it to 2.5 million, at least! :)

HAMMOCK WORKSHOP AT KEKOLDI LODGE

Yesterday, me and some of the volunteers of the Migratory Raptor Conservation Project passed a fun afternoon learning how to build hammocks out of colourful string. It is amazing how building a hammock is almost as easy as laying in one! We are almost finished and I’ll make sure to post a picture with the group and their finished hammocks.

The next step will be collecting cocoa fruits for making traditional chocolate. We will first dry the seeds, and then Doña Ana, a nice lady that lives close to the lodge, will teach us the rest of the process, that involves roasting the dried seeds and mashing them, to make one of the most loved foods and drinks in the world.

At the end, when everything is done, we can lie on our brand new hammocks, drink a cup of strong and bitter chocolate and we will pass the night at the lodge, hearing some of the traditional stories form the Bribri. Stories about the forest, the animals that live in it, and spirits…

I think it will be a good finish for this season's activities and everyone is excited about it.

ALDO LEOPOLD, THE TROPICS, AND SOME ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

As Aldo Leopold predicted in his book (A Sand County Almanac), today it is rather difficult to find a really wild place to be in, with no contact with other humans, without seeing a house, a cow, a piece of trash, and where nature continues its path untouched.

Even here in Costa Rica, that people normally imagine as a beautiful virgin paradise, things are seen every day that make you look at human presence in a different way. On my way to the tower, after passing a dusty road that takes all the colour and brilliance out of the plant leaves, I enter the woods, filled with cocoa trees, fruit trees, pigs, dogs, houses. At the same time, you do see some wild animals, a lot of birds and sometimes snakes, frogs and agoutis. And up there at the tower, besides the occasional sound of a generator, a chainsaw or a bus passing faraway, nature does seems clean, green, as it has been for millions of years. The migratory birds still pass over our heads, in an evolutionary step that was taken so long ago; it steals your breath away every time you think about it.

But because we are here, because we have all this impact, and simultaneously all this growing knowledge about the effects we have on nature, should we still close our eyes to our every day actions, and still throw a can or plastic bottle into the trash? If there is an organic option for some of the food items we buy, why not support local initiatives and environmental friendly products? Why not save money just for that and be proud of your groceries, eat well and be healthy? There are countries where eating organic is impossible or way to expensive for the majority of people. But today, in Europe, the US, Canada, and many other countries, like Costa Rica, there is the possibility of buying products that support nature and at a reasonable price.

Also, why should we value our cars so much and take them for 10 minute drives when we could use public transportation? Why shouldn’t we support local NGO’s and their conservation projects, if we feel we don’t have the time to participate ourselves in those actions.

The world would be such a better place to live in if all of us thought a little bit less on our own nose and comfort, and gave more to the earth that created us. There is a reason for our intelligence; there is a reason for our versatility, imagination and creativity. We are the stewards of this world, of the plants and animals, of the beautiful geographical features of our little blue planet.

Please be thankful for everything that surrounds you and think about how you can help yourself and future generations of humans and wildlife by changing just little things in your daily comfortable life. It doesn’t take much, does it?

Finally, thank you for taking the time to read this text and have a nice day, wherever you are...

DINO MEMORIES

Here are some photos of my Spring and Summer in Dinosaur, Colorado. And also a text I wrote for the National Park Service at the end of my internship... and this is just part of what Dino means to me. Miss that desert so much...

The Rhythms of the River and the Desert – My Journey at Dinosaur National Monument

Introduction

“Then on a still night, when the campfire is low and the Pleiades have climbed over rimrock, sit quietly and listen for a wolf to howl, and think hard of everything you have seen and tried to understand. Then you may hear it – a vast pulsing harmony – its score inscribed on a thousand hills, its notes the lives and deaths of plants and animals, its rhythms spanning the seconds and the centuries.”

Aldo Leopold in “A Sand County Almanac”

Ever since I remember I have been fascinated by travelling and exploring this world, as well as by finding ways to make this Earth a better place to live. There are so many different landscapes, people, cultures, so many experiences to live, so much to learn and so much to give. My interests have led me to very different countries, where I have been able to help other people in their conservation efforts, at the same time as I acquire valuable skills and knowledge that will allow me to seek my own conservation objectives and hopefully to lead various environmentally focused projects later on.

My journey through Dinosaur National Monument has been rich and very important, and I hope that I can find all the words I need to translate my thoughts into a meaningful and sincere gratitude message to everyone who helped me get here and gave me the opportunity to experience the life, history and magical rhythms of this sagebrush country.

Peregrine Falcon Monitoring

Vast, imperious, timeless and endless, so rigorous, yet filled with so much life - the desert caused me an immediate impression that filled me with awe and respect at every visit to the park’s canyons, in search for eyries of the once endangered Peregrine Falcon, the fastest and deadliest bird on Earth.

We started the monitoring in April, the mountains still covered with snow, the box elders and cottonwoods barren and no birds to be seen or heard. Everything seemed to be stopped in time; silence was the only presence noticeable as we hiked our way to the observation points. But up high, on the cliffs of the Yampa and the Green Rivers, the Peregrines were already busy searching for a place to nest; pairs flying together, the male perching on different ledges, trying to convince the female that this cliff was the best place to live at Dinosaur National Monument.

Seven Peregrine territories were assigned to us, and throughout the season we visited each site an average of five times, spying on those magnificent raptors. Each site and each visit was different, and we learned so much about the falcon’s behaviour patterns, as about all the conservation efforts that were put together since the 1970s to recover Dinosaur’s Peregrine Falcon population.

As a Peregrine Falcon Monitor my duties included recording the presence of the falcons at each territory, and monitoring the different periods of their breeding cycle (ledge selection, incubation, hatching and fledging of young), with the final objective of accounting for the their productivity – number of successful fledged young per pair. As part of the Northwest Colorado Plateau Network, this project is part of an initiative to monitor the Peregrine Falcon population of the area, now that 6 years have passed since the species was de-listed from the Endangered Species List.

We found 6 active eyries, and although in several sites the Peregrines seemed to have chosen the most difficult ledges to monitor, we found 13 fledged young. Unfortunately, this year one of the eyries (Steamboat Rock, at Echo Park) seems to have failed during the incubation period, and no young Peregrines were seen there in June or July.

Studying breeding Peregrine Falcons has been a true challenge, especially since my previous experience had only allowed me to observe these birds in migration, as they rapidly pass through Talamanca, Costa Rica. I feel I now have a deeper knowledge of raptor ecology and conservation, which will certainly help me to continue to develop conservation efforts for birds of prey in other countries, like Portugal and Costa Rica.

Other opportunities at Dinosaur

While spending time at Dinosaur National Monument, it is impossible not to notice how this park has gathered so many interested and passionate people who work and live for this beautiful place. From Resource Management to Fire Management, from Interpretation to Law Enforcement, and Maintenance, I have met park employees who have helped me understand the importance of Dinosaur, and have given me endless opportunities to learn more and improve my skills.

I have participated in a Wilderness Workshop that gave me a broad perspective of the Wilderness Act purposes and helped me understand both the history and importance of the concept of Wilderness in this country.

Later on, I had the opportunity to go through Fire School and obtain my Red Card. This gave me a chance to learn more about fire behavior, fire management and the general importance of fire in the desert environment. Poor land management in the past has generated enormous amounts of fuel, which creates dangerous situations both for the natural and cultural resources as for people that still use this land, either for recreation or grazing. I value this experience even more, due to the extreme problem of fire in Portugal. Where I come from, most fires are started on purpose by land owners and can grow to ridiculous proportions in the summer season, as volunteer firefighters and locals risk their lives without any material resources to fight a fair war against crime and destruction of our forests.

Another experience was to help carry out some weed management tasks, which involved some river trips down the Green and the Yampa. Fighting the spread of the Tamarisk along the Colorado River System has been a challenge for many parks out west. I learned a lot both about the actual effects of weeds in these habitats and about ways to involve visitors in the park’s projects. Meeting several youth groups along the rivers not only helps the park get rid of some “tammies”, but it allows the visitors to feel part of the park’s efforts for some hours.

The Weed Warrior project was so interesting that I developed a very deep interest for environmental education and interpretation. This led me to visit Dinosaur’s Interpretation office several times, looking for training material and advice on how to prepare programs. I am trying to prepare an educational program for Talamanca, Costa Rica. The Hawkwatch wants to get involved with local communities, especially to teach school children about the importance of the tropical forest for migratory birds, as well as trying to develop ways for local communities to use natural resources more efficiently, and in a sustainable way.

Life after Dinosaur

Looking back on the five months I spent at Dinosaur National Monument, I realize I have grown both professionally and as a person.

Professionally, I have a much better idea on the way to go from here. I will continue to work with bird conservation focused on raptor species, and habitat conservation. The main difference now is that I realize I am not so interested in an academic career. Environmental education and natural resources management are now my priorities and I plan to continue my studies soon, with a master’s program that would allow me to develop my skills in these areas.

Additionally I think I have grown as a person, developing my group work skills, since this year the Peregrine Monitoring team was reduced to a two-person team. This was a challenge for both of us, since we spent almost 24 hours a day together. There were good and bad days, with more or less difficulty completing our monitoring tasks. But our interest for the project and the environment at the park, between us interns and the other park employees, created several moments of bonding experiences that I will never forget and that helped us work better everyday.

Friendships were built that will last a lifetime and the skills and knowledge I take with me will help me be a better person professionally.

Finally, I would like to say that I was very impressed by the conservation values and general way of managing public lands of the National Park Service at Dinosaur. So my last word will go to the people that work here; a word of thank you for everything you do in this park; your daily tasks are important, and when you look at the big picture, Dinosaur National Monument is in good hands.

“All will pass, as did dinosaurs who once roamed in profusion across these very same lands that were later invaded by people. Only the mountains and deserts and rivers will remain.”

Philip L. Fradkin in “Sagebrush Country”

MORE PHOTOS OF TALAMANCA

EVERY DAY A SURPRISE AT KÉKÖLDI HAWKWATCH

Being at the tower makes you see how different every day in your life can be. At the beginning everything seems to be the same. You hike up the trail a million times, the air is heavy, the cocoa fruits every day riper, and I think about the “Chocolate Making” Workshop we’ll hopefully have at the end of October. But even so, the day seems to start the same way as always.

As soon as you step on the top floor, everything can change. Sometimes it is just the breeze you were hoping for, some other days a pair of Parrots flies from a near tree, calling loudly. It can be that cup of coffee that just makes you feel good, or Broad-winged Hawks already flying around the tower, anxious to be on the way south, one more day of migration.

Then you sit down, start writing down the data for weather that hour: Temperature: 24ºC; Wind speed: 1; Wind Direction: SW”. There’s a silence full of noises. Birds are already awake, sometimes you can hear the ocean waves in the distance, the leaves singing in the gentle wind. There’s even one mountain, Kamuk, which you can only see in the first hours of the morning, for pretty soon it is covered with clouds and you will only see it the next morning, if the weather allows it. It always looks blue and mysterious, and the Kekoldis speak of it in their stories. It is the second highest mountain in Costa Rica (3200m), and one day I would like to climb it. See the tower in an early morning, but from high above and far away.

And then, once the birds are high in the sky there is no moment to stop and enjoy the landscape, although you’ll enjoy it when you rest your eyes from the lenses you are using; just looking at the mountains or sometimes at the floor, just to rest your eyes for a second.

Yesterday, at the end of the day, tired of counting so many hawks and Ospreys and Peregrines… I though I saw a familiar silhouette on a tree in the distance. 500 m away, there was a pair of Peregrine Falcons perched on a tree. I could see them preening and their white breasts were shining. One second later, still amazed by the discovery, we saw another falcon, this time a Merlin, perch less than 50 m away, on a dead branch, wit a dead swallow on his talons. He looked scared, and we were frozen, not moving one finger, to see if he would stay and eat his evening meal next to us. It was amazing watching him take the feathers out, the wings and eat the whole thing in 15 minutes, always looking around to make sure he was safe. Merlins come all the way from the Arctic to pass their winters in the Tropics. Like Peregrine Falcons they follow other birds migrations, so that they can eat while the move.

What a beautiful bird it was… and what a beautiful sunset. We left the tower smiling and describing that moment to each other, as if to make sure we wouldn’t forget anything, we even tried to look for the tree where it was perched, when we started heading down the trail…

What a day! I wasn’t even supposed to be at the tower on that day… but because one of the other counters couldn’t make it, I took his place.

I spend less time in the field now, but maybe just because of that, I enjoy every moment I have at the observation tower… every sunrise, every bird I see, the coffee cups, the blazing sun. This IS an amazing place, it makes you feel alive, and it makes you believe that there are places in the world where you can work and enjoy nature every day, while helping the word be a better place around you.

Take care and hear the birds singing around you! Most of them will be going south soon and the winter will be silent without them.

ELECTRICITY, POWERPOINT, AND TALKING – IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

This weekend I had the privilege to give a presentation at the Kéköldi lodge and scientific centre. Why is it a privilege?

Well, for many reasons, being the first that this amazing new lodge was built in the middle of nowhere, just by 3 people, over the last 3 years: Sebastian, Lucas and Dimeiston. These three guys are building an elaborate wood building with 2 floors and a side building with showers and toilets… I repeat, in the middle of nowhere, in the forest, in Kéköldi.

On the presentation day, which was set up for an university group that came to visit from San José, the lights were turned on for the first time at the lodge and at Kéköldi. This indigenous community still lives in houses with no electricity, so this was a big event, and I could see they were fascinated and emotional about it.

What came next was more magic for their eyes… a Powerpoint presentation I set up, with photos and drawings of landscapes, birds, beautiful places of Kéköldi. Lucas said “To see that presentation, with photos of my home, a presentation like the ones you have at fancy places - not to say that my home is not fancy - but I could not believe my eyes”!

The presentation that followed went on pretty well, and I talked with the students for 1 hour about the Migratory Raptor Conservation Project. Everyone loved it and I was surrounded by people after the whole thing… questions, and more questions.

That day, a lot of good news and ideas made there way into our minds and the project, and we are now facing the most challenging days of our times in this place. There is so much to be done, so many people that want to help us set up new projects, new activities, and there is so little time to do everything.

It was a beautiful day and although I was tired, when I could finally go to bed, after coming down from the lodge at 9 PM with a flashlight, I couldn’t sleep! My mind just wondered around for a long time, making plans, setting priorities, trying to see what can be done and what might have to wait. And I do believe this is just the beginning of everything and that we’ll be dreaming awake and working on these new ideas for a long time. It fills me with joy, hope and feelings of challenge.

Electricity brought a new life to the Kéköldi too, and they will have many more adventures in the next few months, trying to get some money for solar panels, and they are already receiving their first guests! Their work should be an inspiration for all of us, and we should continue to believe that with a little bit of effort, passion we can go far, and achieve great things, depending on our priorities, even if we are in the middle of nowhere.

We take so many things for granted too… electricity is one of them. Have you ever thought of that? Without it we almost stop breathing… no computer works, we stumble around... We have forgotten to open the door and enjoy the brightness of the stars without other city lights to compete with them…

Turn off the lights, go out and enjoy simple things… like watching the stars!