How time flies when you’re having fun!

Hola Amigos!

Crazy to think we have been at RLT for 1 month already…and what a month it has been! A huge learning curve to understand everything we can about the reserve. Obviously, it will be an ongoing process for the next 4.5 months. Learning the different bird species by sight and some only by sound has been fun as there are so many different species of bird in the reserve; over 400 in fact. We have many regulars who come in for a snack on the plantain we lay out each day and others who just flit in and out of the trees in view from the cabaña and on the trails.

Here are just a few of our regular visitors:

We have been enjoying the regular bird counts and observations. The daily hummingbird count is a little variable depending on the weather. The hummers love the rain, so they go a little wild, a bit like a young child on a sugar high, feeding, flitting and perhaps a little flirting…It has been a joy to observe the idiosyncrasies of each species.

We have undertaken a few projects including some ‘unscheduled’ with a tree falling down directly on top of the Information sign. A quick cleaned up by James and the sign is standing sturdier than before despite the extra waves in the corrugated iron roof!

We put some screens on some of the cabaña windows and the double front doors. Now we can open the windows and doors to let some extra breeze through the house as well as those beautiful sounds of nature. With upstairs being open, it certainly isn’t insect (or rat and bat) proof but we can now bring the natural surrounds a little more into the house.

Ollie, also from Australia, was a great help as our first volunteer assisting with the screens, track maintenance and signage upgrades.

We had some visitors both for the day and staying overnight. All our visitors have had a keen interest in the natural environment and have all been interesting to chat to over a cuppa and freshly baked biscuits. The younger generation we have had here particularly enjoyed the off-grid experience and asked many questions about our nomadic lifestyle. We enjoy the unintentional inspiration they derive from their visit and the conversations we have.

A major source of enjoyment for James here (and in other similar roles we have had) is engineering in a practical sense. A great example is this trolley James made to transport the gas bottles, one at a time, to and from the road (2km) outside our property. Despite being a little rickety with wooden wheels, she works a treat!

Be sure to follow RLT on the socials for daily updates and of course photos and videos of the beauty that is Reserva las Tangaras.

Karen and James