By-catch

Technically, I'm really only trying to catch those darling little Golden-winged Warblers to put little backpacks on them. Radio transmitters, geolocators, you name it. That's a story for another day. 

However, occasionally some other birds also succumb to the mist net.  When the g-dubs aren't cooperating it make things a little more interesting. Keeps me on my toes and stuff.

Here's a collection of glamor shots (minus the '80s hair and be-dazzled jean jacket - you know what I'm talking about). 

Violet-crowned Wood Nymph

Wilson's Warbler

White-breasted Wood Wren

Blue-winged Warbler

House Wren

Baltimore Oriole

Chcstnut-sided Warbler

Yup, that's a wrap.

Max's Big Adventure

Meet Max. He's a Finca dog. Still a puppy and kind of a whiner but again, still a puppy so we'll give him some slack. He is good at keeping a person company. We hang out. 

Max getting impatient.
Focus on the dog, not all the crap in the background. Please and thank you.

So, Max and I went on an adventure down one of the public "roads" to see what we could see (and potentially find more little birds to harass). When I say road, I mean dirt path that is sometimes wide enough for not one, but two horses. The life line to the main road for a whole bunch of houses and little farms.  

I'll be honest, I didn't really know where we were going, hence the adventure part. 

I like to think that having Max along made me some what legitimate. Otherwise I was just the strange white person that must be lost because there is no other reason I could possibly have for walking down the road/trail. But having a dog with me...eh, they still thought I was lost.

We saw a lot of beans and corn.

And then we found a gigantic rock. Exciting stuff, let me tell you. I don't know what it's deal is. It seems super random, the only thing around for quite a ways. Aliens probably. 

At this point we decide to turn around, because what more could there be to follow up a gigantic random rock? Plus, people were literally coming out of their houses to stare at the pale person phenom. 

Some guy asks/tells me where the finca is (like I could have come from anywhere else?) and then proceeds to follow me (escort??) back in the right direction. It was awkward. 

Also, it was hot. Temperature, people, temperature. The sun had come out and I needed to shed a layer but having a tail (the dude) I didn't so much feel like stopping. Just got excessively sweaty. Pretty swell.

Eventually, the dude felt like I was on the right track and went back to his house. 

Max and I continued on our merry way. Stopped and shed that layer before I died of heat stroke. Tried to find some birds. Not to be found. I blame the wind. 

Upon our return, Max passed out for the rest of the afternoon. 

Mission accomplished. 

Well except for the finding of little birds, but as far as giving the locals something to talk about, definitely. 

Nicaragua 4.0: Made it!

Made it! Two and half weeks ago....

So I'm a little slow on the updates. Sorry. You'll get over it. I'm over it. 

Here's what I didn't share over the past couple weeks. Despite the best efforts of the weather in the northeast (delaying flights and missing connections) I still made it to Managua at a reasonable hour (meaning I had enough time to get out of Managua). 

Florida Keys. Flew over them. They're down there, I swear.

Hitched a taxi to Matagalpa because I wasn't feeling the bus scene. Stopped at a gas station to add minutes to my phone. Failed. Borrowed the taxi drivers phone and promptly killed it. There are two cell phone companies here. If you have one service and call a number on the other service it uses up minutes like no tomorrow. How you are supposed to know which number is which is one of the great unknowns. 

Passed a pineapple truck. 

Stopped at some other roadside stand to put money on the taxi drivers other phone (most people have two phones, one for each company to avoid the crazy overcharging). Then managed to let people in Matagalpa know I had, in fact, made it and was on my way. Two hours later....tried giving the taxi driver directions of where to go in Matagalpa. Failed. 

Parked on the busiest street possible, in what I think was not a parking space and bordered on the middle of the road, and waited to get picked up.

Recognizable faces! People I knew! 

Headed up to the Finca and....Made it!

Hello life of luxury! I swear I'm working. No, really... 

I lived it up for a week in one of the super sweet cabins on the hill, which have a fairly epic view.

That's the walk down the hill (insert upward pointing arrow), here's the view:

Sunsets here are generally fantastic. Who needs an apple a day, when you can have a sunset? I have, quite literally, a bajillion sunset pictures at this point. 

WHaaat? is that a time lapse sunset I just watched (I know that's what you're thinking)? 

Technology is just so crazy these days.  

Sunrise ain't half bad either especially when you're above the clouds....

Oh right, and then I did some work. Looked for some birds. Found some birds. Caught some birds. If they were lucky enough, I gave them a radio transmitter. Wait, no, if I was lucky enough, I gave them a radio transmitter. Details. 

Female G-dubs

And then there are all the other random things I encountered whilst wandering/crashing about in the woods. 

There's this guy, who technically is probably a girl since there is a baby clinging to her. How did you get such a fabulous picture, you might ask. Binoculars and an iphone. True story. I think that may be my new profession. Photography through binoculars. Yes?

And this guy...thought he was hiding, all camouflaged and stick like, but I found him and proceeded to harass him by taking oodles of pictures. It is seriously difficult to focus on those beady little eyes, let me just tell you. 

Eh, some indian pipe thingys....

 Might as well be wildlife...

ANTS!!! Ants carrying flowers = adorable. Yeah, I said it. 

Granted, these videos are 100x better on my phone and I'm too lazy to figure out how to make it look decent here, but you get the idea. 

Oh hey, and then after my week on the hill, I moved down the hill to the Garden Cabin. Perhaps slightly less luxurious but, I get to hang out with kale trees and agoutis. 

Garden Cabin.

Ginormous kale tree. Seriously, it's at least 3 ft tall.

I don't want to spoil all the fun so I'll save some more for later, which I may even post before I get back. Seeing as it's a rainy day today, I might get crazy and do it today, but no promises.