Jan 22--Last Day at La Mono

Sunday, January 22, 2006 
La Mono

I can’t believe that an entire week has gone by! This is our last day at La Mono. Tomorrow we finish our vegetation mapping and then move camp to Dusti’s original cabin (simply called La Casita) on the ridge higher up. Today, we run the morning mist nets for the last time in this location. The nets are fairly unproductive by this time as the birds have “gotten wise” to their existence. Nonetheless, we net a beautiful Spotted Nightingale Thrush [1] (actually a common bird in the mist nets), Slate-throated Whitestart [2], Orange-crowned Euphonia [3], and a Swainson’s Thrush [4], the last a North American migrant requiring a U.S. Fish and Wildlife band. Then we close the nets preparatory to vegetation survey/mapping of the 200 square yards around each net.

Spotted Nightengale Thrush, Slate-throated Whitestart,  Orange-crowned Euphonia, Swainson's Thrush

After lunch, we are divided into three teams. The Plot Dimensions Crew (Cathy, Chas, and Marlene) goes in first and maps out the perimeter of the survey area around each net, marking its borders with hunter’s orange plastic tape. Then my team, the Psychotria Marking Crew (Susan and me and Erica), goes in and identifies and ties a pink plastic ribbon to each Psychotria alba rubiaceae bush within these survey plots. Then the third team, the Mapping Crew (Donna, Dawn and Ricardo) goes in and draws a visual of each Psychotria on a piece of graph paper, noting the bush’s height, width, and bloom stage. Later in the week we spend an afternoon or two at the new site drawing a blueprint and keys of each plot, using colored pencils. Susan needs this information to determine whether hummingbird numbers are tied to the Psychotria plants on which they feed and to determine the difference between moist and dry environments on feeding and hummingbird numbers.

Psychotria alba rubiaceae

When the plot Dimensions Crew is working on the West net sites, Ricardo spots a Fer de Lance not a foot from the end of Mist Net #3W. It is small and young, but its parent is there also and slithers off. Carlos looks in vain for the parent but cannot find it. The crew is spooked, so Mauricio and Pascual finish that plot for them.

After the third team has finished at a net site, Mauricio and Pascual dismantle the mist net, collect the net and its bamboo poles, and load them onto the mules for the move to the ridge. Darkness falls and there are still five net sites that have not been plotted. Susan says that these can be done in the morning as our move to the ridge will be leisurely. In fact, we get to sleep in until 6 am tomorrow morning as we do not need to open mist nets.