Jan 24th--Bats and Bites

Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Casita #2

I’m up at 4:15 and eat a breakfast of granola, hot cocoa, cantaloupe and watermelon.

It is still dark when we open the mist nets after our steep climb up the mountain. We find a bat in the net at our first check. It is a medium sized South American Long-Tongued bat (Phyllostomadae Anoura latiudens), an odd looking creature with a leaf-like flap of skin on the end of its nose. We have no gloves, but Cathy knows how to free bats without getting bitten, so shows us how to hold its wings at the “elbows” so that it cannot turn its head to bite. It does not like being in the net and is pretty feisty, but finally we (mostly Cathy) free it and it flies off. Pascual tells us that a volunteer was bitten by a netted bat several years ago and had to go to Guayaquil for rabies treatment. Because of this, Pascual  is decidedly bat-shy; Mauricio less so, but both are glad to have Cathy’s confidence and expertise.

All of this happens first thing, so I have not had a chance to cool down and am drenched in sweat from the climb and excitement. It takes me over an hour to cool down enough to be comfortable in my filthy clothes. I am wearing my nylon shorts under my capris for the third day and have on one clean and one dirty pair of socks. (On the advice of my biologist sister-in-law, Sonja, and my basketball playing older brother, Phil, I always wear two pair of socks inside my rubber boots.) But then, all of us stink all day in this high heat and humidity so I have ample company.

Erica and Marlene have continued on to the hummingbird pasture to continue the hummingbird survey. The rest of us work the mist nets. It is another slow morning at the nets. Pascual has a headache and is not feeling well, but perks up a bit when the runners bring him an Olivaceous Piculet (Picumnus olivaceus), a tiny bird in the woodpecker family that pecks energetically at all who hold it. Its head feathers are speckled and very pretty.

Olivaceous Piculet

Because it is slow, Susan begins training Evelyng in hummingbird banding techniques. I again record data for Susan, who bands about 30 hummingbirds this morning, most of them Green-crowned Brilliants or Baron’s Hermits, though we do get a few Speckled and Violet-bellieds also.

Susan holding a wee hummingbird and showing Evelyng how to band a hummingbird; notice that she needs magnifiers to see the bird clearly and to band it; Marlene at right preparing nectar for the recovery; notice also that everyone is wearing long sleeves. This is NOT because it is cold but because it is buggy.

Evelyng checking a mist netted bird's wing feather growth

I am glad when our mist netting stint is over and we climb back down the steep mountainside to the casita. I decide that I need to take the afternoon off to lie in the hammock with my swollen feet elevated, which I do for part of the afternoon, snacking on coffee and crackers. Carlos and Evelyng go to the hummingbird pasture for the afternoon’s hummingbird survey, but the majority of us stay down at the casita.

Marlene returns from the pasture for lunch. She takes off her boots and reveals feet and legs that are covered with angry, raised red bites, from chiggers she thinks. She is very uncomfortable. I have been designated  “Expedition EMT” because of my Wilderness First Aid and CPR certifications, so recommend that she take a Benedryl and  apply cold compresses for the swelling, plus a topical anti-itch ointment.

Those of us who stay down at the casita this afternoon work on vegetation surveys/mapping and on translating Susan’s village hummingbird surveys. Dawn and Chas, enter collected data on the computer until the battery dies.

Meanwhile, Erica and some others, including Mauricio, go off to finish the vegetation surveys near the casita. It is not long before they return excitedly to camp. Erica has grabbed hold of a tree and has been bitten on the hand by something, which she fears is a scorpion. The bite is painful and she is white-faced with fear.

Mauricio and his wife apply sap from an aloe-type plant
 to a volunteer's hand

I look at the bite. It is localized on her palm and there is little swelling or redness. I ask her to tell me about the pain on a 1 to 10 rating. She describes it as about 7. I ask her to compare it to a bee sting and she says it is about the same, maybe a little more intense. I tell her that I do not think it is a scorpion sting and reassure her that even if it is a scorpion, their stings are rarely fatal and then usually only to infants or very old, infirm people. I also explain that if it was a scorpion, she would probably be feeling numbness or be exhibiting other symptoms. We examine the site for a stinger and find none.

Mauricio, who is interested in the medicinal properties of plants and has a garden with many interesting species, thinks that Erica was bitten by a large ant whose bite can be particularly painful. I again recommend Benedryl and an aseptic as well as a topical anti-sting ointment. Erica calms down and in less than an hour she is feeling fine and the bite is barely visible. [Thus proving that the bite was not a bullet ant as Mauricio suspected. Their bites are horribly painful--feel like being hit by a bullet--and can take a week to recover from.]

Mauricio's medicinal garden at the bakery.