Dracula Youth Reserve Expedition: Day 6
Looking down over the Peñas Blancas (“White Rocks”) boundary of Dracula Youth Reserve. Photo by Callie Broaddus
Sunday, November 15, 2020
Written by Natalia Espinoza
Our last morning at the Peñas Blancas campsite began with our now-routine activities of drone flying and bird monitoring. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny day, and Callie took advantage of the good conditions to give Milton and Geovanny an impromptu lesson with “Bebecito,” EcoMinga’s new DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone, while Javier opened the mist nets.
Callie, Geovanny, and Milton fly the drone over Peñas Blancas, taking the image above. Video frame by Natalia Espinoza
Our first three catches of the day were hummingbirds—an adorable female Violet-tailed Sylph, a stunning male Empress Brilliant, and a tiny Booted Racket-tail, so small that Javier couldn’t even weigh it. Pearson took notes as Javier softly called out each measurement. The hummingbirds were soon followed by an Olive-sided Flycatcher, an Ornate Flycatcher, and a Handsome Flycatcher.
Olive-striped Flycatcher. Photo by Callie Broaddus with lighting assistance from Pearson McGovern
Weevil! Video frame by Callie Broaddus
With a big day of hiking and moving camp ahead, we closed the nets early, and Callie and I stayed behind to photograph two stunning Sobralia flowers Javier asked us to document—later identified by orchid specialist Lucho Baquero as S. macrophylla and S. ecuadorana. To our absolute delight (but especially Callie’s) we found a weevil in one of the flowers, peeking out with its adorably long snout as if greeting us.
Sobralia ecuadorana with lighting assistance from Natalia Espinoza. Photo by Callie Broaddus
We took one last look at the beautiful scenery before us and made our way back to camp. Pearson, Javier, and I took our tents down and gathered our belongings while Callie and Daniel C. photographed a few orchids and a 4-cm catfish Mario had found in a nearby stream. Unable to recognize the fish, the scientists needed shots that would help them identify the species once back in Quito. Unequipped to photograph fish, Callie and Daniel C. rigged a sheet of plexiglass into a glass box, allowing them to minimize the space in which the fish could move by sliding the glass across the container. Though Callie claimed her photos wouldn’t win any awards, the level of detail was sufficient for Mario and Miguel to use for identification.
Astroblepus sp. Photo by Callie Broaddus with lighting support from Daniel Chávez
Finally, it was time to choose the equipment we would need on our return hike and pack the rest so Milton and Geovanny could get a head start. I tried picking up the basket Geovanny would be carrying—I could barely lift it. But in an effort that astonished even Geovanny, Milton bound two packs together, totaling over 120 pounds. In one deft motion, the packs were hoisted up, straps secured to foreheads, and Milton and Geovanny disappeared into the forest.
At Javier’s insistence, we finally left camp around 4pm after documenting some of the orchids around camp that we hadn’t had time to photograph in the week. With only two more hours of sunlight remaining, we needed to hurry if we wanted to minimize time spent hiking in the dark. We hadn’t been walking for 5 minutes when we made our first stop to photograph a new individual of the likely-new orchid species Javier discovered on last year’s expedition.
Javier Robayo. Photo by Callie Broaddus
Javier’s potential new species, in-situ. Photo by Callie Broaddus
As we got farther from camp and deeper into the trail, I couldn’t help but think about how peaceful everything felt. We were engulfed by sound, life, and endless green, and, paradoxically, it all felt still. Everything felt in balance.
Clitocybula azurea, found by Javier Robayo. Photo by Callie Broaddus
Scaphosepalum decorum. Photo by Callie Broaddus
We marched on, soon halted by a bright blue mushroom, then picture-perfect samples of orchids Scaphosepalum decorum and S. reptans, then Platystele filamentosa … Callie had finally put the camera away when we came to the tree where we’d seen the butterflies hanging in single-file on our first hike (see Day 2).
And there they were again—three butterflies, hanging on the exact same branch we had seen our first day! To our momentary disappointment, we accidentally scared them all away. However, as Pearson predicted, they all flew back to the same spot. We watched in wonder as two of them had a power struggle for the position at the tip of the branch—one finally winning, forcing the two other butterflies to scoot backward down the branch to make space. (Watch the video until the very end!)
Pearson, Natalia, and Callie
We made it to the ridge (our site’s property boundary) just as it was starting to get dark. In front of us, amongst the gaps left by some tree branches, we could see the clouds flowing by and getting ready for the night, slowly hugging the mountains surrounding us. Down below us we could make out the gravel road where our hike would end and that would take us back to Casa Dracula. We spent the next three-and-a-half hours hiking down in the dark, making frequent stops to catch the occasional frog or to photograph anything interesting that crossed our paths, including beautifully patterned moths, a winged stick insect as long as Pearson’s face, and tiny, hidden orchids.
Pearson and a winged stick insect (IDs welcome!). Photo by Callie Broaddus
400 meters before the end of our hike, we stumbled upon Don Hector and Geovanny lying in the middle of the path, peacefully chatting in the pitch-black night. They had decided to meet us halfway in case we needed help carrying any luggage, and they hadn't even brought flashlights! We walked down together and made it back to the car at around 9:30pm. The last 50 meters of deforested path were a stark contrast to the pristine forest we had spent the last few days in. It was a reminder of just how vulnerable these ecosystems are and, therefore, how important it is to protect them.
We jumped into the car, Javier and Don Hector in the front, Pearson, Callie and me in the back, and Geova in the trunk. Next to me, Callie had her hands full with collected potential new species of orchids. Don Hector gave us bananas and chips, a nice treat after hours of hiking, and told us that a man from Chical had brought a dead viper to Casa Dracula, which was now in alcohol for the scientist to observe once back. The man had been working with a machete on his land and the viper had tried to attack his son. Although no one was bit, the snake unfortunately did not make it out alive.
Dipsas elegans gives Pearson’s head several boops. Video frame by Natalia Espinoza
We drove straight to the local town of El Chical to pick up some delicious bolones and tilapia, which we enjoyed at Don Hector’s outdoor kitchen table while reminiscing on the week’s adventures. After dinner, we played with an adorable and curious Dipsas elegans, later baptized “Pierre” by Callie, and inspected the viper—our first venomous snake of the trip. Our day ended with a well-deserved shower and the comfort of falling asleep on a real bed after days of sleeping on hard, muddy ground.