Blog Archives - tropicalbats.com

DRONE FAILURE UPDATE #1

5/26/2015

These updates will read better if you start from the first Drone Failure post. This is first update.

So, the recovery team headed out this morning with a world of gear to try and figure out where the drone was and what it would take to recover it. Greddy Arias, the FCRE property manager and his assistant Carlos went along to do all the logistics as for landowner permission and access and all that. Neither Don nor Guy speak much Spanish, and Greddy and Carlos speak very little English.

The hike to the tree that the GPS said the drone was in was brutal, or so they say. Someone had to work with the students while this little side adventure was going on, so I had an enjoyable day chasing down leaf cutter ant nests with MJ and Amanda.

And the initial recon proved that the airplane was so high up in the top of a dominant canopy tree that they couldn't even see it. They verified that it was there by having it run and could hear it up there somewhere. As seen in the previous post, yes, it is right up on top.

So the tree would need climbed and... this was no ordinary tree. It has thousands of giant thorns all over the trunk and main branches. The team returned back and got lots of ropes and cobbled together some tree-climbing gear and eventually headed out again. Here is a still shot from one of the videos of Guy van Rentergem climbing.

Guy van Rentergem well up the tree with the drone stuck at the top.

And here is one of the videos. There is a much better one but it is too long to post from here. I'll link to it when it is available. The video was shot by Don McFarlane and is posted on Guy's YouTube channel GVR63

More to come on this tomorrow.

SPECTACULAR DRONE FAIL IN COSTA RICA!!!

5/26/2015

Much time was spent yesterday building a high-end drone capable of doing some really amazing photography or video of the FCRE property.

Don and Guy building the Aeromapper Talon, which is not a simple task at all.

This morning was the test launch to just get it up, go around a bit, and come down where it is supposed to come down. But here is a photo taken from near the launch site of the surrounding terrain. It is very steep and rugged with some areas of dense jungle.

View of the rugged terrain in Baru, Costa Rica taken from near the launch site

And here is a shot of the same hillside taken with a 450mm telephoto lens, just to show how steep, dense and complex this area is.

Really rugged terrain with dense jungle. You wouldn't want to make a mistake with the drone here

But wait, what is that odd-shaped whitish thing almost dead center?

Oh nooooooo!!!!!

Yes, it is the drone, stuck high up in one of the tallest trees in the forest. Ouch

Recovery operations are underway, but it is now raining hard and who knows if the tree they are climbing will still have the drone in it tomorrow? The hillside is now obscured and probably won't be able to know any more until tomorrow. I will keep posting on this as things progress with the rescue.

Getting around the FCRE

5/26/2015

Today we took a walk, to show everyone the amazing diversity of habitats on the property. This is not a really good bit for photos, as we are focused on orientation and education about the various habitats. But I did take a few pictures along the way.

First up is a shot of the students at our most striking waterfall, which isn't striking at all as the area has been in a drought for some time and just a trickle of water is actually falling.

Don, in orange, talks about the geography/geology of the falls area. Left to right are MJ, Emma, Kennedy, Don, and Amanda

A basilisk lizard on the hike up to the top of the property

A really pretty butterfly chrysalis. Unsure what butterfly will come out of it.

We are just getting started here, so a lot more pics to come. Tonight's night walk was rained out, but that happens.

Random stop to check out Pacific Ocean

5/26/2015

We were not pressed for time, so just took a few minutes to stop and enjoy the Pacific Ocean.

Guy van Rentergem filming on the Pacific coast

A boat near the Pacific coast with a squadron of birds on the rigging

Back to the Tarcoles River

5/25/2015

A couple of pics from our stop where we checked out the crocodiles.

This green kingfisher was really too far away for my lens, and the old tire does not make this a great shot. But a beautiful animal

Don McFarlane doing what he does best. Standing around while others get things done

Woman waiting for the bus

Costa Rica! Current trip blog photos hopefully every night. Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology

5/25/2015

Just arrived at the FCRE today. A few pics to get started, but lots more to come over the next week.

So, we stayed at a fine hotel in San Jose after arriving from Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Belgium. The view out the window.

Hotel window view

This isn't really fair, as the hotel is under new management and undergoing a big remodel. We got some very reasonable rates for all the not-so-perfect bits. Should be a very nice hotel again once they are done with things.

The hotel was in an art-house area of San Jose. You make your own assessment of this bit.

On the way to the FCRE we stopped to pay our respects to the crocodiles at Tercoles

I am skipping a bunch here, and will try to make it up, but it is very late and very little sleep.

Three nymph grasshoppers (Tropidacris cristata). If they make it to adulthood, they will become what is considered the largest grasshopper in Central America. Big bugs

Kwamalasamutu, Suriname

5/22/2015

Epipedobates femoralis, now likely known as I don't know what. The frogs are under much scientific re-naming. This frog is from Suriname.

A lot of calcite in a Mexican Cave

5/21/2015

Laura Rosales standing on the caver's trail that goes around this massive bit of calcite in Mexico. Some caves have so many formations that you just have to tread lightly on the same path as the original explorers to avoid damaging things.

Coatlicue. Laura Rosales in some very pretty passage

Vega Islands, Norway

5/20/2015

Norway's Vega island.

Frog from the FCRE

5/19/2015

A frog from the FCRE

granular poison dart frog