Here are some pictures from my latest job. I'm currently working for the
Peregrine Fund in Panama, tracking Harpy Eagles in Soberania National
Park. My work schedule is 3 weeks in the park, followed by a week off
where I'm free to explore Panama. When I'm in the park, I live
in a cabin 17 kilometers into the park on a dirt/gravel/mud road. There
are 4 other Peregrine Fund workers there (2 Spanish, 1 Panamanian, 1
Hawaiian), as well as two Panamanian Ecological Policemen. The policemen
are in the park to serve as guides and to also be on the lookout for
people hunting illegally in the park. Almost every day is the same, I
leave the cabin around 6:30 AM to track down one of 5 radio-tagged Harpy
Eagles. Usually we know the general whereabouts of each eagle, as we try
to spot each one every three days. So at 6:30 I leave on foot (or on the
four-wheeler if the bird is near the far end of the road) with one other
worker or a policeman. Most days we hike on trails to high points in the
area where we think the eagle is. Once we get a direction of the bird
using our telemetry equipment, we set a compass heading and bushwhack
towards the bird. We stop to take signals every once in a while, until
(hopefully) we get close enough to spot the bird. If we spot the bird we
note the bird's
health, GPS
position, and some data on habitat choice. After that, we hike home, make
dinner, and get ready for the next day. My current success rate for
finding an eagle on a given day is 50%, with an average day including
about seven hours of hiking, plus or minus three hours. The living
conditions are basic; we do have running water and a gas-powered stove and
refrigerator at the
cabin. Solar panels connected to some marine batteries supply us with
about 3 hours of electricity each night, just enough time for the drybox
to get the moisture out of our equipment.
Some pictures:
The cabin:
Christmas dinner:
A nice view from an open ridge on the edge of the park. The water in
the background of the picture is the Panama Canal:
Edwin blazing a trail:
Laura using a natural bridge to cross a little ravine:
Machito, one of the Harpy Eagles in Soberania National Park:
To get real good looks at Harpy Eagles, it's best to go to the office
in Panama City to see Luigi, our education/demonstration eagle. I visited
the office today to take a few pictures.
Tim works with Luigi:
Luigi, about to land on Tim's falconer's glove:
Me and Luigi:
Luigi at the end of my arm, a la Goshutes pictures:
And that's about it. This is currently my week off, so I'm trying to
catch up on emails, see Panama City, and make arrangements to do some cool
things on my upcoming weeks off. Thanks for reading, I look
forward to hearing from you!