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Day 81: The Wonder of a Washing Machine
Noah rearranges plans to maximize his time in Colombia.
March 22, 2015, Cerulean Warbler Reserve, Colombia — Jim, Bruce, Ryan and I went out on our own this morning into the oak cloud forest (Jose, the park guide, was busy with other things today), taking the same stone path we hiked yesterday. Again, we spent all day on this trail, hitting mixed flocks of birds along the way.
It was a great session of birding and we found nearly 100 species by mid-afternoon, though most were birds we’d seen yesterday or in the previous couple of days at Pauxi Pauxi. I had just three new additions today (good ones: Brown-billed Scythebill, White-mantled Barbet, and Uniform Antshrike). It’s tough to add new birds when you spend two full days in the same place.
I had planned to stay the next several days at another nearby reserve called El Paujil, but, looking at the bird list, I’ve already seen almost all of the expected species there, too. So, a last-minute change is in order: Tomorrow, Jim, Bruce, and Ryan will drop me at a bus station in San Vicente, and I’ll head back to Bogota early to spend a few days in Colombia’s east Andes while they are at El Paujil. We’ll meet up again on Saturday night before they fly back to the U.S., and I’ll continue on to Santa Marta. I am finding out that, for this big year project, it helps to stay flexible, and approach logistics with a sense of humor!
Meanwhile, I was able to do laundry today—the first time my clothes have seen a proper washing machine since the Pantanal, a month and a half ago. A shower, a shave, and a clean shirt… what a luxurious feeling.
New birds today: 3
Year list: 1775
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