On 11-May, Kristi, Ernesto Garcia, Erin Manzanero, and I headed out to explore the areas north of Kinlock Camp. We rented an old Isuzu Trooper to brave the road to Kinlock Camp that caused us so many problems last year. Once off the Brunton Trail area, we drove past the old spot where we got bogged down in the prior year.
Several spots were absolutely terrible but passable ruts. Eventually we hit a wall of dumb cane and vines. Ernesto, Erin, and I chopped for 2.5 exhausting hours to re-open the road to the river. Hearing the sound of the river, we broke through, stumbled, and fell into the refreshing embrace of the Macal River.
After this refreshing respite, I walked across the river to visit an old nest from 2010. I discovered it to now be occupied by a hive of bees. Erin and I piled into our inflatable kayaks and paddled upstream a couple of kilometers upstream to visit another nest from 2010. Unfortunately, upon arriving, we noticed that the top part of the tree had cracked off in a storm at some point the past year.
On the trip back to camp, we noticed a pair flying around a Quamwood. So, we stopped and soaked in the river while watching for them.
After about ten minutes later, Erin spotted the female's head sticking out of the cavity entrance.
Not wanting to disturb them further, we made our way back to camp by early evening. Kristi and Ernesto had spotted another pair in the area nearby.
After camping for the evening we left the following morning knowing that we had at least one other nest.
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