Refugio news - July

The Tambopata Macaw Project based at Refugio Amazonas would like to cordially thank the Tambopata Reserve Society (TReeS) for their financial contribution to the project. The money has been used to buy the items shown in the photo, namely a laptop, telescope, binoculars, tripod, digital camera, gps, dry bag and compass. The focus of the contribution was to support Yesenia Quispe's project looking at the impact of tourist groups on the behaviour of flagship species in the vicinity of the towers at Posada Amazonas and Refugio Amazonas. Evelien Spijkman (pictured) will be comparing activity patterns around these two towers as part of her internship with the project. Evelien has been with the project for nearly 5 months, and we will all miss her when she returns to Holland. Other key projects include the monitoring of the El Gato clay lick, which is now accessible by trail from the lodge, although the walk takes 2 hours and at this stage is only for those who enjoy army assault courses. Tourist access to the clay lick is made easier by a journey in boat and then a 40 minute walk. Julie Shapiro of Harvard University is the very capable and energetic project member who views the transit to and from the clay lick as ample training for the Boston Marathon! Also at Refugio at the moment are several students from Stanford University, with two projects having an avian focus. Danny is looking at the birdlife around the 3 oxbow lakes accessible from the lodge, and has been fortuitous enough to have lost count of the number of times he has seen the family of 5 giant otters at the lakes. Matt, who will be looking at forest bird communities in anthropogenically affected forest types is still getting to grips with the hundreds of bird calls from the area. With good omens in the form of two Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) sightings and fantastic photo opportunities with a Black-Hawk Eagle from the tower, the project is off to a good start. Chris Kirkby was also up at Refugio recently with Claudia Torres, finalising the location of their monitoring plots. Chris will be using TEAM protocol to monitor the impact of the construction of Refugio Amazonas on a range of wildlife in the area, ranging from fish, to butterflies and birds, and mammals. This is a long term monitoring project that will be recruiting a host of specialists and will make the researcher environment at Refugio all the more interesting. Again, good omens for that project with a jaguar sighting! The University of Alberta, Canada, has also been represented by 2 MBA students who have been lending a practical hand measuring Carbon with the help of local experts. How to use biodiversity as a currency in the world of Carbon credits is the focus of their work, although the plan to sell the idea to the oil conglomerates of Alberta have still to tightened up. As we can see, research galore this month with the lodge running at 100% occupancy. The manager has promised to get the budge for the upcoming hear for substantial improvements to researchers quarters, including running water, electricity and internet. And finally, for anyone thinking of starting a project looking at the impact of celebrities on wildlife, the actress Cameron Diaz was reported passing through recently on her way to TRC. Any takers?