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Weeks 6 and 7: Boat Rides with Bushmasters

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This afternoon I managed to wash my clothes in gasoline. For context, I usually mix a little bit of bleach into my underwear and socks. The hand-washing process is subpar at best and it gives me a little extra comfort knowing that I am killing anything that soap may have missed. But today the bleach bottle was not full of bleach. Rather, it contained some kind of gasoline-like mixture. You would think that the pungent smell of the liquid would have prevented me from pouring it on my clothes, but by the time I realized, it was too late. During my desperate scramble to deep rinse my clothes, I was stung by a large wasp. It was a chaotic afternoon to say the least. I am a bit worried I am going to smell like car exhaust for the next week. Hopefully I don't spontaneously burst into flames in this crazy heat. On to less combustible things- herpetology! The umbrella term of herpetology (herps for short) includes snakes, frogs, turtles, lizards, and any other reptiles and amphibians. We h...
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Weeks 4 and 5: Birds of the Amazon

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We are just coming out of a friaje (a cold front that causes severe temperature drops). We don't have hot water or heating, so lately my default spot at camp has been in the kitchen, wrapped in a blanket while clutching a mug of warm tea. The temperatures aren't much below 60 degrees fahrenheit, but the humidity really does make it feel much colder. I have started to dream about warm showers. Anyways, on to today’s topic: birds! Whether you view them as living dinosaurs, feathered friends, government drones, or chicken nuggets, the prevalent and frequent use of avian jargon points to the importance that birds hold in society. Birds play an integral role in maintaining the health of ecosystems and the world as a whole. They disperse seeds, pollinate plants, manage pest populations, and serve as clean-up crews. Birds inhabit nearly every niche on the planet, making them ideal study subjects. Information gathered from bird populations can be used to determine the ecological well-...
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Weeks 2 and 3: Mornings with Motmots

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After submitting my last post, I realized that I failed to mention the name of the organization that I am interning under. The research projects I am assisting in are carried out by Fauna Forever. Fauna Forever collects important ecological data about the wildlife in the Peruvian Amazon to support the conservation of its resources, landscapes, and plant and animal populations. I am primarily working with their bird and herpetology teams during my stay. Group photo of Fauna Forever's current herpetology team.  This week I planned to detail what a day in my life looks like, but ironically enough, these past couple of weeks were much more sporadic in terms of day to day activities. On a typical day of field work, I join a crew in the early morning for bird banding and assist with a herpetology (amphibian and reptile) transect in the evening. However, our work largely depends on the state of the weather. Any rain or strong winds could disrupt our schedule due to the danger of tree fal...
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Week 1: Welcomed by Wandering Spiders

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Tucked away in the rainforest of the Madre de Dios region of Peru, the Secret Forest Ranger Station is no easy feat to get to. My 48 hour travel day consisted of a layover in LA, a night spent in Lima, a plane to Puerto Maldonado, a tuk tuk to a hostel, an hour long bus ride, and a 30 minute boat ride. Upon my arrival at the station, I was pretty exhausted to say the least. This exhaustion was quickly forgotten as I took in my surroundings. Located just off of the Madre de Dios River, the Secret Forest Station is a biodiversity hotspot with trees towering overhead and birds darting across the canopy. My crew’s arrival was welcomed by the call of oropendolas and the chatter of Tamarin monkeys.  View from the riverside when I first arrived. Shortly after lugging our things ashore, we were shown our rooms. The girl’s bungalow consists of a few bunk beds and a bathroom. The bathroom has no separation from the bedroom area, so privacy while using the toilet is hard to come by. Luckily I...
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