Science Officer: Negros Rainforest Conservation Project
Added to website: 09 January 2004
A typical day in the life of a terrestrial science officer on the Negros Rainforest Conservation Project would have to be on survey in the montane cloud forests of the Negros Nature Forest Reserve.
I lie suspended about three feet above the forest floor between two sturdy trees in the all - weather hammock that is my bed for three nights a week. It just happens to be the most comfy place in the world right now. It’s 5am and the alarm on my watch has just alerted me to the fact that another busy day of surveying is imminent. I gradually come to my senses, thinking about what needs to be done today, as the sun rises and the birds begin their dawn chorus. It’s hard to imagine a more pleasant way to be woken in the morning. As I listen I make a mental note of all birds that I recognize by their species - specific calls for later inclusion in a Mackinnon list (a bird surveying technique we use in the forest consisting of a list of 10 different bird species identified by either sight or sound).
At 5:15am I force myself out of my sleeping bag and climb carefully out of my hammock. Then follows the unpleasant business of changing out of my dry bed clothes into the dirty, often wet clothes and boots of the previous day. Five minutes later I’ve forgotten about it and I’m busy rousing the volunteers. When everyone is gathered we move off for the first activity of the day – opening the mist nets. These are set at various heights in the forest to intercept birds flying below the canopy during the day. Early morning weariness is soon dissipated by the fresh air, the activity and the rapidly increasing light levels.
Then it’s back to camp for Milo (a hot chocolate drink revered in these parts and an essential component of every survey!). Bird observations follow, either from camp or other suitable spots in the vicinity. Eyes and ears are pricked to detect any birds seen or heard and it’s a good opportunity to teach the volunteers to identify more birds themselves.
By now everyone is getting decidedly hungry so I delegate a few volunteers to making breakfast and the rest are sent off to check the three small mammal trapping lines. If I’m not checking a line myself I wait for the familiar shout “MAMMAL!” and then fight my way through the tangle of vines, palms and ferns of the forest understorey to the appropriate trap. With the help of the volunteers I record the biometrics of the capture, together with other relevant information and then set it free. A few more similar captures are dealt with the same way before we make our way back to camp, by which time a Filipino-style breakfast is just about cooked. Hardly a scrap is left over as ravenous volunteers and staff alike gobble down the dish in seconds (manners are not a priority in the wild!).
After everyone has had their fill I send a few volunteers off to do the washing up and accompany the rest to check the mist nets for any birds that may have flown in during the early morning hours of activity. Any birds found tangled in the nets are carefully removed, their biometrics and other info recorded, and then released. This has to be one of the many highlights of the job - handling beautifully coloured tropical birds, seeing them up so close. I don’t think I could ever tire of it. The mist nets are checked periodically throughout the day, between other activities, although most captures are in the early morning or late afternoon as this is when the birds are most active.
As I walk back to camp I consider the weather and consult the Filipino guides as they can usually tell what the weather will do over the next few hours. It’s sunny this morning so I split the group into two and we each walk a butterfly transect, looking out for butterflies and catching them in nets if possible for closer inspection and identification. This takes us up to lunch, again generally a rather uncivilized affair, but who cares?! We’re already caked in mud, sweat and general grime!
The afternoon turns out to be cloudy with spots of rain so I decide to get everyone doing herpetile searches and then a fruit and flower tree survey (identifying the different trees in the forest is one of the hardest parts of survey, but ultimately satisfying). As the sun starts to begins to set and light levels in the forest decrease, the last few activities of the day are performed - checking the mist nets, checking the butterfly canopy traps and releasing any butterflies found, and rebaiting the mammal lines.
Dinner follows (spaghetti Bolognese, jungle style!) and gives everyone a chance to have a well deserved break. The evening hours are then spent checking the mist nets every half hour for bats. Any caught are removed and measured in a similar way to the birds. This is another favourite activity of mine - holding a wriggling bat between two hands, seeing these fascinating creatures up close. The mist nets are finally closed at 10pm and everyone rushes off to their hammocks to get as much sleep as possible.
We’re all asleep within five minutes, helped along by the cacophony of chirping insects all around us.
- Steven Ward
