Nature Journal

"Nature Journal" posts are all about creation and the natural world in Honduras.

This morning I took my first walk into the “jungle” here at camp. I somewhat dreaded the walk because I always get attacked by mosquitoes but today they were not a problem. It is so dry here that I could hardly remember what it was like to be in the woods with the normal high humidity. Every path was strewn with curled, dried leaves that crunched with every foot fall. So much for sneaking up on animals. Had I not been carrying books and binoculars, I would have been tempted to catch the falling leaves that the wind kept driving from the trees. (Okay, I was still tempted but unsuccessful.) The a pair of motmots (a beautiful bluish bird) flashed in and out of view, but they never sat still long enough for me to determine with certainty whether they were the blue-crowned motmots.

My first sighting that excited me was that of the ground anole. It has a bright red throatfan which it puffed out as it stood upside down on the trunk of a tree. I think that it was trying to defend its territory and perhaps scare me off, but instead I was intrigued. The forest floor was covered with small lizards that would dart too and fro and hide among the leaves. Unfortunately none of my resource books include a picture of the specific type of lizard that I kept seeing. Because they would dart out of sight whenever I moved close I decided to sit still for a while and wait until they forgot about me. As I was sitting on a rock beside one of the paths, a small lizard began to venture across but froze, staring at me. We stared at each other without moving for a long while, both determined to outlast the other. I won. Finally it advanced closer and actually ran right under me, out of sight again. (I should have taken my camera). After a bit it was off and running again so I continued on my path, only to run into the same lizard a few minutes later. This time it had won because it appeared to be finishing off a mid-morning snack of a cicada. Although its snack was in no way appetizing, I was reminded that I was also hungry and I began to head back to the main camp.

Progress was slow because I continued to look around. Just as I was about to exit the forest, I spotted a bright orange oriole overhead. I think it was either a streak-backed oriole or a hooded one. I need to see to see the backside. I look forward to the next trek into the forest for pictures

and further identification. I will certainly love this part of my job.