March 02, 2016
After a nice breakfast, we packed and started moving out. As G and I walked down the trail to the car with our big bags, G said, “Well, we’re leaving Senda Darwin without the Treerunner. I’m starting to think it’s a myth like the Pincoya and Trauco.” The Pincoya is a local myth about a mermaid, and El Trauco is a mythical old man that lives in the forests that impregnates young girls out after dark. We returned to grab our lasts bags and scopes and walked away from the house for the last time… when a bird called.
G stopped dead in his tracks. “It’s the Treerunner.” It was calling from the forest several hundred meters away. We were already leaving a little late. I had my binoculars but G didn’t. I wanted to see it, so we started walking quickly back down the trail to get to the forest. Thats’s when G spotted it flying away. We got brief looks of it in flight calling but couldn’t see where it went. At last, the Treerunner, but it wasn’t the looks either of us wanted. We still have good chances at seeing it before we leave, so I’m holding out hope.
We had another good scan day after a bit of adapting. The low tide was really high and our planned survey site had no godwits or mud, neither did our backup location. So, we drove to another site and spent a half scan surveying and re-found one of my favorite males - giving us a third bird with five observations!
Nothing too much more exciting about the day except.. One week! We officially have seven nights left in country!
After a nice breakfast, we packed and started moving out. As G and I walked down the trail to the car with our big bags, G said, “Well, we’re leaving Senda Darwin without the Treerunner. I’m starting to think it’s a myth like the Pincoya and Trauco.” The Pincoya is a local myth about a mermaid, and El Trauco is a mythical old man that lives in the forests that impregnates young girls out after dark. We returned to grab our lasts bags and scopes and walked away from the house for the last time… when a bird called.
G stopped dead in his tracks. “It’s the Treerunner.” It was calling from the forest several hundred meters away. We were already leaving a little late. I had my binoculars but G didn’t. I wanted to see it, so we started walking quickly back down the trail to get to the forest. Thats’s when G spotted it flying away. We got brief looks of it in flight calling but couldn’t see where it went. At last, the Treerunner, but it wasn’t the looks either of us wanted. We still have good chances at seeing it before we leave, so I’m holding out hope.
We had another good scan day after a bit of adapting. The low tide was really high and our planned survey site had no godwits or mud, neither did our backup location. So, we drove to another site and spent a half scan surveying and re-found one of my favorite males - giving us a third bird with five observations!
Nothing too much more exciting about the day except.. One week! We officially have seven nights left in country!