A Million Ghost Faced Bats

Sunday May 28, 2006, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Sunday we had breakfast and coffee and met an Audobon director, looked at the cabina owner’s photo slide show of snakes and a gruesome jackass that had been killed by a jaguar. We left Gomez Farias around 10 and headed to Quintero Cave. Along the way we stopped to examine and take photos of a very interesting tree. It flowered along the trunk, had branches and leaves similar to ocotillo. Air plants, or epiphytes, and flat cactus pads adorned the branches throughout. It was quite unique, decorated and draped by climbing, clinging, prickly arms. As we took it in, we admired one interesting growth after another. I pressed a couple of the flowers between a sheet of paper in my field guide and saved a small branch with leaves as well. Then on to the cave. Easy to drive to, steps to walk up, graffiti all around. Quite a popular destination. Inside the cave was pretty massive, and it was fairly extensive with domed spots used by certain bat species that like to roost in cup-like domes. Inside there was a huge mexican free-tailed colony, a small cluster of about 20 hairy legged vampire bats, we could see by their rounded ears. Also, glossophaga. The cave had at one time had quite a bit of standing water, as evidenced by the water line, several feet up the wall. But perhaps for 40 years since landowners down the hill had laid a pipe to send the water down to livestock, or agriculture maybe, the cave had dried up save for a couple pools in tiny ceynote like bowls containing endemic crustaceans moving their luminescent bodies like ghosts on curtain like appendages.
Next we headed to cave two of the day.

Quintero Gruta
Bat pollinated tree – hard fruits, look like citrus but more goard like, make maracas. Flowers from trunk, epiphytes adorn, flat long cactus intertwine, interesting leaflets like ocotillo
Red bellied squirrel
Chachalaca
Anis orioles
Kiskadee (like)
Target range
Cuevo Quintero ~ approx 12 species use through year; had ~100,000 Tadarida brasiliensis at site visit, also hairy legged vampire (15-20), and Glossophagus

The water level in some areas was several feet, but maybe 40 years has been dry piped for agriculture. Many domes, limestone cups smooth rocks.

We sat at the mouth of the cave and discussed how to go about affecting the practice of guano mining in Mexico. From my notes: there is a permit process in place in Mexico, maybe oversight is within their energy department. In the US, the Lacey Act is that which has the potential to legislate the movement of guano and appropriate collection practices.

Guano Exports – investigate DOI USFWS Office of International Affairs, Customs, Department of Ag
Recommended action: Take action with Position Paper, cover -
*Reason why this is an important issue
*Biological impacts
*Recommendation
*Be vigilant about the issue
*Document the size of the problem

as we drove to the next site, near Aldama, we listened to Louis Armstrong – when you’re smiling, hello dolly
Passed fields of blue agave
Tamaulipas crow
Fig tree
Black vulture
Black iguana
Heard Gypsy Kings along long bumpy gravel road to Rancho ???
Yellow necked woodpecker
Cahuamas (beer quart), Mayemos (pacifico…not sure what this note meant)

Stopped off at two large ceynotes, first containing 2 native fish, crustaceans, across way was elephant foot tree, a diver was killed there.
Second ceynote had a grebe and tree duck.
Mot mot
Elegant trogon
White tailed deer
Black tree duck
Red-billed pigeon
Parakeets
Chachalacas
Gray fox
Hawk with barred tail (roadside)
La asulfrosa ranch (the water has a lot of sulfur)
Los Cuarteles Cueva – Huge and extensive. Five species were there when we visited, plus opossom, and lots of dermestids canvassing thick, spongy guano. At least a million ghost faced bats fly in a large room, their naked babies clinging to the ceiling. I'd like to say that the little ghost faced bats were cute, but they were probably the strangest most ghoulish looking offspring of any creature ever. Their helplessness, however, endeared me to stay low, quiet and ready to help any that fell from the ceiling in the bat mayhem. The cave was very humid, warm, with a few openings where trees have fallen through, and other openings to the surface. It is the most impressive, extensive cave I've ever been in and I am a little freaked out that we may get lost forever in the maze. We don't. We capture 2 mormoops and 1 lesser mustached bat with a handnet and drove to Hotel Mansion Presas del Rey in Aldama, Room 107. Flew bats in the hotel room to photograph, with SportsCenter highlights of the Suns and Dallas NBA playoff series game in the background. No bats were injured during the photoshoot and they were released back into the night immediately after. That was a fabulous, one of a kind experience - flying bats in a hotel room, that is. Mormoops are gentle and mellow, have long legs. At rest, their bodies hang pendandant; uropotagium extends and tail comes out of membrane, can extend and pull back in.

Ghost-faced bat (Mormoops megalophylla)
Lesser mustached bat (Pteronotus personatus)Common Mustached bat (Pteronotus parnellii)
Lesser long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris curasoae)
Vampires (Desmodus rotundus)
Wind scorpions
Tiny frogs

Bat Falcon Love

Saturday, May 27, 2006, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Saturday we decided not to get up at the crack of dawn, but were ready to go at 10:00. We headed for Gomez Farias, which sounds like a person but is actually a place. Another long drive. We stopped off for Mango Pay (pie), which was so delicious I had two pieces. Then climbed a bit of elevation into moist tropical forest, and assured our rooms at a local guest house. After checking in we stopped for cokes, fantas, and modelos. Then headed to eat Langostinos, filets, rice and fries. After lunch we went on a boat and did some birding, which was fantastic. We saw birds in every direction. That night we went to Agua de Ojo (Ojo de agua?) and set up the photo tent and equipment quickly.

Side note on the value of taking a trip to mexico with high ranking people (branch chief and assistant director). It has allowed me to hear the casual conversations between two individuals who have influence. Even hearing the questions they ask about habitat, the comments they make, the general way they conduct themselves. My general impression: I am super impressed with Bruce’s photography abilities and his ability to make things happen. Somewhat amusing, he does not travel well. He likes things to run smoothly, and needs to have an assistant to attend to the details in life: like keeping organized, setting alarms, waiting at border crossings, tracking lists, making phone calls. On the other hand, he is king of delegation, at least of the details. He could practice a little self control when delegating the obvious (like his repeated command for me to catch the bats after each fly through the chamber). On not traveling well…when traveling in mexico, or anywhere in latin america (possibly all travels abroad, but I’ll withhold comment until I have the other continents on my list) one should expect a few delays, discomforts, inconveniences. For people who travel many times to these areas, this is part of the fun, of not knowing exactly what you’re going to get, and rolling with it. Predictability and smooth travels may occur in the most stringently planned itineraries with guide companies. I wouldn’t know, I prefer not to travel that way (well perhaps when I’m 90).

Ate mango pie; took frog photo; ate langostinos and tilapia
Male bat falcon gave female bat falcon a dragonfly

Butterflies: blue morpho, pale yellow, pale green, orange. Dragonflies: green, black

Blue-crowned mot mot
Anole
Bobwhite
Muscovy duck
Slider turtles
Orioles
Green jay
Mexican jay
Ani (groove or smooth billed?)
Chachalacas
Ringed kingfisher
Green kingfishers
Snake on bank shelf had just eaten
Green heron
A couple warblers
Orange/black oriole
Tamaulipan parrot snake (?) looked like a green vine, narrow (leptophis mexicanus)
Central american yellow bat (Rhogeessa tumida)
Tiny bat with black, frost tipped fur
Evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis)
Jamaican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis)

Military Macaws and Common Mustached Bats

Friday, May 26,2006, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Friday was an early start. We met at 06:00, headed into the mountains, watched the sun rise over the sierra madre; fog crawling along the spine of the mountain. We were in search of blooming agave, but the agave weren’t yet in bloom, so instead we drove past unadorned stalk after stalk. We parked and walked to look for anything in flower. Found a cactus poking out here and there among limestone rocky hillside. Next we went to a small community in search of birds. We found a beautiful flock of military macaws squawking and carrying on. About 48 of them. Feeding on pecans in huge shady pecan trees. That kept us all occupied for a couple hours. Watching and admiring. Afterward we headed back to the room for a siesta. That night we went to a nearby park – the same one arnulfo and I had netted at last year. The net site was parallel to the small river that runs through the park, and just downslope from the vampire cave. We set our nets and captured a Lucy’s warbler with a chestnut cap. Soon after dark we began catching bats. The first, a Common Moustached bat (Pteronotus parnelli). We caught several common vampires (Desmodus rotundus) probably from the cave. We also caught a Sturnira lilium (Yellow shouldered bat). We flew everything through Bruce’s flight chamber while he took premium photos. Then tore down, packed up and headed back to the motel. It was a long day after a long day before. And yet, to think I was getting paid to do the things I had done, not exactly the sort of thing to complain about.

Roadrunner (greater/lesser?)
Military macaw ~ 48 flock eating pecans in giant pecan trees
Common mustached bat (Pternotus parnellii)
Little yellow shouldered bat (Sturnira lilium)
Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) – in mistnet and cave
Lucy’s warbler - caught in mistnet

Ate cabrito (baby goat) and watched old Spanish movie, which Bruce insisted on narrating and predicting coming scenes

Chunky guacamole, chips
Cara cara

In search of Mormoops megalophylla, My weekend in Tamaulipas Mexico with Bruce and Jim

Thursday was a long travel day, spent in a cramped flight from phoenix to houston, where we hopped on a cramped flight from houston to brownsville. When arnulfo picked us up, I was cramped between gear and a student he had brought along. A bumpy mexican highway to Cuidad Victoria. We finally arrived and our hotel rooms had been given away so we had to find another.

Home

At the airport in Atlanta, the customs agent is very nice, we have a happy exchange and wish each other well. I recover my walking stick, pass through the customs baggage check and am waved through and welcomed back to the US. I joke around with James at Luigi's Pizza that I’ve eaten nothing but rice and beans for 4 weeks, and am really looking forward to a slice of pepperoni. I go about 20 gates out of my way to get starbucks coffee. I sit at the table nearly flinching from all the noise, lights, and activity. Concentrating on the tomatoey goodness of that pizza slice and the creamy carmely sweet iced macciato, I realize that I’ve heard nothing but crickets and birds for weeks. What a harsh transition an airport can be, chair legs scraping tile, babies crying, lights, signs, store fronts all competing for attention. Beep, Beep, Beep, a gate shuttle wisks past. It's good to be back.

Return to Base Camp, Party at Buenos Aires

Day 28, Monday, August 7
Today we return to Base Camp from Cantiles. I get up and head down to the latrine field for the last time. I have not even attempted to use the funnel (to pee) at this camp. At each camp, we are to pee in a pvc pipe that goes into the ground, and that is done separately from the area for "solids". But these urinals are very tall, obviously made by men who didn't consider that it is easier for a woman to squat, and are pretty much impossible for me to use. On the way down the muddy path, which runs with water from last night’s rain, I run into Steve who points out a female quetzal sitting in a tree. Her green, red, and white colors are hard to distinguish where she sits so high up and still. I am happy that this is my last trip to the trenches, but the quetzal is an awesome reminder of the beauty all around out here, even along a morning walk to the bathroom, I see one of the most beautiful birds in central america. I am excited to pack up and have been overtaken for days with thoughts that my month out here is coming to a manageable close. I can now handle any hike, or anything else that I have to do because I know I will be home in my own bed, talking with people who know me, very soon. We finally leave around 9 hiking at a moderate steady pace. I am light on my feet on the hike out of Cantiles. I talk with one of the students from UK about her travels to Africa, and talk to the primatologist Kim for a good portion of the hike. .At the river my foot slides off the rock and my foot is doused in my boot. Along the trail I slip my boot fully in the mud a couple times, but mostly I have sure footing and my legs and knees hold up well over the hike. As we near the end, we are told that the time has changed back an hour in honduras, which strikes us as being quite random. We are not sure if this has just occurred and there are rumors that honduras had gone on daylight savings a while ago, but had decided to change back, prompting this seemingly out of the blue conversion. At any rate and whatever time it was, we made it back to base camp and I felt euphoric that my hiking treks were done. Email checking and an eventual final bucket shower were next on the agenda, followed by clothes sorting and repacking. Had a rum and coke with Kym. Talked with Mandy and Sarah.

All that is left after I return to Base Camp is to reorganize my stuff for one last time and decide how best to spend my last night. I decide to walk the hour down the mountain to Buenos Aires, because there'll be a party at the Ecolodge. Sergio is going, and insists on carrying my pack since my knees are a bit sore from my long hike earlier today. My larger pack will go down on a pickup that is heading down later. That way, I’ll be ready to go to the town of Cofradia, and then the airport tomorrow. I hike with Sergio, Edwardo, and John, who has returned from his evacuation adventure and 2 day stay in the hospital. He is going to be fine. Also, the senior herpetogist, the NM herpetologist and Kim the primatologist. It is a nice group to walk with. I get the scoop on John’s evacuation and hospital stay, which was top notch. Along the way, we stop to visit a well liked family. A guide and his guide son (the young fast one that raced the antivenom serum back to camp after the snake bite). The guide’s wife, and their children, and her mother are all so gracious, invite us in for coffee. The mother wonders if I am from latin america. It is so beautiful to share a cup of coffee with happy gracious strangers, proud of their beautifully simple home and willing to share their time and smiles. On down the hill we go.

Party at Buenos Aires, sleeping bag blues (intoxicated Steve plays his guitar, supine in a sleeping bag); about 12 bottles of vodka and whiskey, as well as two cases of beer are consumed by young people who have had nothing but rice and beans and an occasional coke for the last few weeks. I doubt I need to explain the joy, intensity, urgency they had to make up for lost time. To somehow get it all back, that time they were without.

Tuesday, August 8, Early departure to San Pedro Sula.

Wake early despite very little sleep. The ecolodge is a mess of empty beer cans and two liter bottles of coke, and in the night some dogs have come and pulled everything out of the trash. One by one everyone is waking up, some have slept on floors, others on benches, outside and inside rooms, wherever there was an open spot. Amid the still passed out on the porch and the hung over faces of the arisen, I eat 2 fried breads plus some porridge and two cups of fresh coffee, which is quite good. I eat slow, drink my coffee and think, "I am here, right now." Then, I quickly pack my things, hike the very steep hill to the little toucan restaurant where I wait for my pickup with the others.

How to think like a bat

Day 27 , Sunday, August 6
Although we finished our netting last night, we decide to put up two nets, a 12 m and 6 m, to see if we can catch any bats. Sergio and I teach Helen and Fernie how to go through the thought process to put up nets, where to place them, what sort of things to think about. We describe to Helen and Fernie how to think about bat flight and where a bat typically would be flying. In the jungle, bats fly along trails and the open space above streams, using them the same way we use trails. A bend in a stream is a great place to put a net. As the bat flies around a corner it may not see or have time to maneuver around a net that is in its path. We set our nets at a bend in a nearby stream and capture 5 Sturnira ludovici. We go through the identification process and ecology of bats with the students back at camp.