November 2019

Two male White-crested Coquettes having a territorial dispute. Photo credit: Laura Hulbert

October went out with a bang with our Halloween party, held on the Day of the Dead.

After the party, we had to gather our strength at the river.

November has been a very productive month. We’ve had interns arrive, and have moved forward with various projects on the Reserve, including the installation of metal barriers to protect our Quetzal nesting boxes, and the construction and use of a fire-pit.

Greg installs a barrier to prevent predators from reaching our Quetzal nesting boxes.

Staff and interns enjoy the fire-pit.

We are pleased to announce that we have identified a new species on the Reserve. The Bicolored Hawk (Accipiter bicolor) was spotted by our interns Amauta and Laura.

The Bicolored Hawk. Photo credit: Laura Hulbert.

Research and interns

As part of the Ecology of Plant and Hummingbird Interactions (EPHI) project that spans several countries in Central and South America, we’ve had three Costa Rican women working on a hummingbird-plant interaction study in the reserve over the last few months. They have been conducting pollinator exclusion experiments on several flower species by covering flowers with bags to prevent the hummingbirds from accessing the flowers and then seeing how that effects the nectar and flowers. These ladies have been visiting for 2 days every 2 weeks and we look forward to hearing the results of their studies! Left to right: Silvia, Karen, and Yandry.

The mesh bags serve as a deterrent for hummingbirds from selected flowers.

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Hi! My name is Amauta, I am half Norwegian and half Bolivian residing at the moment in Oslo. I have a bachelor’s in biology, and I want to become an ornithologist. After observing birds in boreal regions and the arctic, I was curious to see how the birds in the tropics would be. After being here a week, I am amazed! I will be collecting bird data in point counts and walking surveys.

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Ciao, my name is Daniel and I am from Italy. I came to Cloudbridge as a volunteer to gain some experience in the environmental field and to meet new people from all over the world.

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Hi, my name is Dora and I’m a student from England. I’m working as a research assistant here at Cloudbridge and am really enjoying learning more about the flora and fauna of Costa Rica. It’s also great gaining some research and conservation experience before I get to study biology at university next year.

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Hi, I am Stefan, and I am working in a molecular biology lab in Freiburg, in the southwest of Germany. I came to Cloudbridge to volunteer for three weeks, aiming to gain some field work experience and to enjoy the amazing cloud forest. In Cloudbridge, I am assisting the ongoing research, reforestation and maintenance efforts. The diversity of plants, fungi and animals in the forest is just amazing! Volunteering in Cloudbridge is an extremely rewarding experience, and I am looking forward to coming back some day.

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Hi! I’m Sarah, an Earth Observation scientist from the UK who came to Cloudbridge as a volunteer for 2 weeks to learn about the research projects being carried out here.

Pictures from our interns and camera traps

We captured images of a curious ocelot.

This collared peccary was curious to explore the camera trap.

Jacob Jackson, the Real Herp Hero, has finished his internship here at Cloudbridge, but he has generously shared some of the amazing pictures he took.