Explorer´s Inn RN Monthly Report: April 2008

RNs: Anne Lieflaender, Robin McDaniel, Laura Rantala

Volunteers: None

Notes:

• Anne in Puerto Maldonado April 10th – 12th and 22nd

• Robin in Puerto April 17th – 19th and 28th – 29th
• Laura in Puerto April 16th - 17th and 30th
• Anne left on April 25th
• Hungarian Cult members visited the Inn in early April, making for a very strange and entertaining five days.
• Thomas the Chestnut Fronted Macaw passed away in the Discovery Centre at the end of the month …cause of death?  Unknown.

TRAILS

Trails have continued to dry through the month of April. Trail markers on High Forest Loop were replaced. Swamp, Katicocha, Caipironia, Terrace, Heliconia, Tangle, Tapir, Bamboo, Laguna Chica and the upper part of Quebrada trails were cleared of vegetation. The lower part of Heliconia is very overgrown, could not be found and needs to be re-tracked. The part of Katicocha that meets Swamp trail is also in rough shape after the wet season and needs to be re-hacked.  Elisban, Robin and Laura mapped three mammal clay licks at Lake Cocococha on GPS.

LIBRARY

Doors were built for the library’s shelves and as a result the library looks very good at the moment. We have also bought locks for the doors for better security and these will be put in place shortly. Library was used sparingly by guests in the month of April.  We hope that the upcoming conference in May/June will result in more books being donated to our library.

LANGUAGE TRAINING

Guides and staff (Erika, Dolores, Jaime and Alexis) have received informal English lessons from Anne, Robin and Laura. Laura has continued to receive help with her Spanish from guides and staff.

MEDICINAL GARDEN

The garden was weeded and raked thoroughly in April and it now looks very good and tidy. The garden was regularly visited by guests and guides in the past month.

DISCOVERY CENTRE

The Discovery Centre has been regularly broomed and dusted. A new poster on ongoing scientific research projects at the EI ( ‘Taking the pulse of the Amazon’ ) was prepared and placed in the dining room.

CONTACT WITH TOURISTS

Laura assisted guiding groups on April 12th and 13th. Robin guided one passenger on April 30th.  

RESEARCH ASSISTANCE

• Anne, Robin and Laura collected leaf litter for Filio on April 6th and 7th
• Robin and Laura assisted Tiffany Wire with collecting soil samples on April 11th
• Laura assisted Filio on April 18th, 20th, 21st, 26th and 27th
• Robin assisted Israel with his project on April 21st and 22nd
• Laura measured walking palms for Jorge Vivanco on April 28th
• Robin and Laura set up and measured Tangarana experiment for Jorge Vivanco April 29th – May 3rd

NEWSLETTER

March-April newsletter was written, printed and distributed into rooms. Planning of the next newsletter has already begun.

OTHER/ PERSONAL PROJECTS

Robin is continuing to prepare a display panel and talk about socio-environmental threats to the Madre de Dios (The inter-oceanic highway and oil exploration). She expects that this project will be completed within the first two weeks of May.  In addition Robin made a display panel that is now in the Comedor; this panel discusses various projects currently taking place at the Explorer’s Inn. 

Robin and Laura visited the parrot Collpita in order to get an overview of the animal activity on the lick, as according to staff some mammals had been seen at the lick. A total of 11 hours on three different days was spent at the lick. Parrots and squirrels were seen, but during the monitoring period only one Red and Green Macaw was seen at approx. 09:15; no large mammals were seen. Parrots used the clay lick mainly before 7 AM.  Robin and Laura discovered that they have a lot of respect for wildlife photographers.
 
In addition Robin and Laura are planning on utilizing their creativity by writing a children’s book about the life-cycle of a Castana tree.  Hopefully this wonderful new paperback will be in available shortly. 

Laura has started a primate survey in order to get an overview on the locations of present populations around the EI and to compare her results with a previous study conducted in the year 2000. The methodology consists of walking trails at different times of the day, mainly in the mornings, and gathering sightings information from visitors, guides and other RNs.

Anne collected Castana shells for flower pots. They were planted with ornamental plants and are waiting for placement around the porch surrounding the dining room.

MONITORING PROJECTS

Caimans- Cocococha

Caimans were monitored at both sides of Lake Cocococha on April 7th, between 19:15 and 21:13. Moon was new and the sky was clear with only a few clouds. In total 19 caimans were seen, many of them close to the Agami Heron colony:

Caimans- Tambopata

Collpita

Collpita monitoring was done 9 times this month.

*We believe that the data sheets should be altered in order to include the weather in the last 48 hrs., as we believe that past weather affects feeding patterns.

INDEX:
BHPA=Blue-headed Parrot (Pionus menstruus), CFMA=Chestnut-fronted Macaw (Ara severa), DHPA=Dusky-headed Parakeet (Aratinga weddellii), MEPA=Mealy Parrot (Amazona farinosa), OCPA=Orange-cheeked Parrot (Pionopsitta barrabandi), RGMA=Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloroptera), WEPA=White-eyed Parakeet (Aratinga leucophthalmus), and YCPA=Yellow-crowned Parrot (Amazona ochrocephala).

Rare species sightings

The following rare species were seen in the month of March:

WEATHER DATA

April witnessed two friajes, 15th – 17th and from the 30th on.