First Night in the Field

Contrary to my first opinion, the field (particularly in the forest) can be a noisy place, full of unique sounds and experiences which can be quite strange on your first time. A regular day in the field, depending on where you are, can start in the morning with the calls of Little Chacalacas (Ortalis motmot, colloquially referred to Annakwa) or Red Howler Monkeys (Alouatta seniculus). They are soon replaced by Screaming Pihas, whose name accurately describes the only thing they do all day. Surprisingly, these birds are in fact quite dull and cryptic, though, you always know they're there.

(the sound of the Red Howler Monkeys)

This is a recording of the call of the Little Chacalca

(from: Xeno-Canto)

As day shifts to night, the wildlife slowly calms and the natural sounds are replaced by the low hum of the generator in the background and the shuffling of teams returning to camp. This is the sound of science, and is accompanied by those hard at work processing samples or specimens and making notes. Eventually, the rigors of the day finally wear everyone down, and soon, they're off to bed.

On my first night, I was settled in my hammock and ready to sleep, when the generator was turned off and the camp was pitched into darkness. I found myself completely alone, and very terrified. The worst was the silence. With an active imagination, in the darkness, the sound of a falling leaf could be the soft footfalls of a jaguar with its eyes on you as a fresh meal. In my mind, nature itself was all out there to kill me. It wasn't long before I was overtaken with sleep, and I reasoned that if anything wanted me that badly, staying awake wasn't going to do much to dissuade it; the prospect of waking up at 5 am with little sleep was far more terrifying. 

For the rest of nights I was always way too tired to even bother with any stalking jaguars. As I got more accustomed to the forest, I became more comfortable with it, and fear soon gave way to curiosity. Wildlife, was in fact probably the least dangerous thing about fieldwork. As I would soon come to learn, wildlife was, in fact, probably one of the rarer things to see in the field. This, though, is what makes any encounter a great experience.