Hand-collected seedlings in Osa Conservation's tree nursery

By Max Villalobos

The arrival of May brings heavy rain to invade the forests of the Osa Peninsula. It is a time of great change and exceptional beauty. Millions of tiny trees and leaf litter form a living carpet across the colorful forests. These seemingly insignificant small seedlings are invaluable because they represent the renewal of a healthy ecosystem and over time, they will slowly become the forest of tomorrow.

Native tree saplings ready to plant in Osa Conservation's restoration plots

Rainy season has meant a lot of activity at Cerro Osa because it is the time for one of the most rewarding tasks of our work in conservation and land management, tree planting. This year we will plant 8,000 trees of 50 different native species in our forest restoration plots. These new trees will begin the process of ecological succession that will allow us, after several decades, to recover biodiversity in these degraded areas and get a forest that serves as habitat to such important species as the Spider Monkey, the Puma, the Peccary and hundreds of birds.

So I invite all those who are interested to have fun restoring the Osa rainforest with us as volunteers in our forest restoration programs.

Contact reservations@osaconservation.org

Our executive director Manuel Ramirez and conservationist Theo Gund planting a tree in our forest restoration plot.

Hello!!

My name is Jo Garrett and I’m a television producer based in Madison, Wisconsin. I am also a BIG-TIME Osa admirer since I had the pleasure of traveling there to shoot a documentary called, “Our Birds.”

We produced the documentary for Wisconsin Public Television and you can view it at this link:

http://wpt.org/ourbirds/

The “we” is our production crew: location sound recordist, Kerman Eckes, me, and our videographer, Frank Boll.

So why was a Wisconsin television crew in the Osa? Our documentary began as an investigation into some of the problems confronting Wisconsin’s migratory birds.

Every spring and fall more than 240 species of birds travel to and through Wisconsin as they migrate between their summer breeding grounds in the north and their wintering grounds in Latin America.

These migratory birds are very treasured in Wisconsin. It’s a big deal when these beautiful birds arrive every spring. Wisconsin residents put up feeders outfitted with orange slices and grape jelly to feed hungry Baltimore Orioles, birders join “warbler walks” to catch sight of these beauties, and even the tiny hummingbirds are treated to sugar water served in bright red containers. Spring is a delight when they arrive and we miss the birds when they leave in fall.

We love “our birds” and conservationists in Wisconsin are working hard to tackle problems such as habitat loss and collision with windows. Some of that work is profiled in the documentary. (There is a very happy ending for a Canada Warbler that crashes into a skyscraper in the city of Milwaukee!! Check it out!).

But it became clear that an important part of the story of Wisconsin’s migratory birds was to look at what happens to the birds while they’re in their wintering grounds.

We came to the Osa to profile some of the amazing programs that Osa Conservation and partners are engaged in to save “our birds” AND, to show how important it is that we work together if these birds are to survive and thrive.

Conservation Birding is a concept whereby people who come down to the Osa on fantastic birding trips agree to make a donation to Osa Conservation to support protection and restoration of bird habitat and avian programs. These trips result in the raising of critical funds to protect not only migratory, but resident endangered bird habitat as well (in addition to supporting local jobs in eco-tourism and bird guiding!)

A picture is worth a 1,000 words so here are a few production stills from our trip

If you save the ocelot, you save the oriole. We explored that connection with Wild Cat Researcher Ricardo Moreno seen in the image above. He and fellow researcher Aida Bustamante have set up one of the largest camera trap grids in the world to capture photos and garner information about Costa Rican wild cat populations.

Ricardo got a photo of a margay that day. What a rare occurrence. Reason? Margays live in the trees of the rainforest and seldom, sometimes never, touch the ground. Amazing. The canopy cat.

Early morning. Rio Tigre. Barefoot. Working. I think this is a great production photo. Frank and Kerman are intent on their job, gathering images and sound, and all around them the day is unfolding

We were all changed by this trip. Kerman was so inspired by our shoot in the Osa and Thompson’s birding conservation trips that she returned to bird with Osa Conservation the next year!!

Frank has retired from Wisconsin Public Television but please note that he’s now in Peru on a three week shoot, volunteering his time as a videographer to document other conservation efforts. I know that the dedication of the folks in the Osa was SO inspiring for him. We talked about it when we retuned back home. He spoke of how determined he is to “give back” to conservation groups in his retirement, in part because of his experiences in the Osa and with Osa Conservation.

As for me, I have a renewed focus on how best to communicate the importance of caring for “our birds:” preventing window collisions, saving habitat, planting our backyards with the native plants and bushes that give these spent, exhausted migrants the food and shelter their need during their migrations.

I am writing this blog entry from Madison, Wisconsin on November 8th. We’re under a “winter storm watch” and the snow is tumbling down, winds are howling, and I’m so glad the birds we share (the Baltimore Oriole, the Indigo Bunting, the Scarlet Tanager, and all those many, many Warblers) are all safe and sound in the forests and wilds of the Osa.

Take good care our little feathered friends!! We’re counting on you!

We’ll do our best to watch out for them in Wisconsin.

Thank you!!

-JoAnne Garrett
Wisconsin Public Television

Let emily.angell@osaconservation know if you are interested in birding opportunities in the Osa!

In order to restore these incredible forests, we must diversify the native tree species used as much as possible.  This is a laborious process because most of the sought after tree species are very scarce and searching for them requires long hours walking through the dense forest paying close attention to tree trunks and leaves.  Once located, you have to periodically visit the trees to determine their flowering and fruiting seasons. Many trees produce very few fruits or very small fruits—so finding native tree seeds requires a lot of patience and very careful observation.  Also, due to the abundance of fauna in the area, many of the seeds and fruits are dispersed, predated upon or parasitized once they hit the forest floor (or even while still on the tree) affecting the number of seeds that can be collected.

We estimate that many of the seeds collected over the course of our reforestation project will be species that have never before been cultivated in the history of mankind. So overcoming these challenges is an exciting step toward restoring the Osa’s magnificent forests and conserving the many endangered species therein.  In addition, this Project will allow us to generate very valuable information for future projects or reforestation efforts not just for the Osa, but for other tropical rainforest ecosystems as well.

A Bombacopsis sessilis seedling in the nursery of the Greg Gund Conservation Center. This species is endemic of Pacific Costa Rica and Panama.

- Juan Manuel Ley, resident botanist from the University of Costa Rica

Male White-crested Coquette

Of all the hummingbird species, the coquette males that are most highly adorned with ornate feathers that are there to likely help in territorial defense and enhance species recognition.  The White-crested Coquette (Lophornis adorabilis) is the only coquette found here on the Osa Peninsula and is regionally endemic to south western Costa Rica and Western Panama.

The male of this species, which is also sometimes called Adorable Coquette, is known for its white crest and long green cheek tufts and may be arguably one of the most sought after birds to see when one visits this region.  They wander through forests high in the canopy and low along forest edges feeding on the nectar of flowering Inga, Vochysia, Stachytarpheta and Lonchocarpus plants and will also take small spiders and insects.  They hover with their tales cocked upward while feeding.

Male White-crested Coquette showing cheek tufts.

While courting a female the male will make short arcs side to side not much more than about a foot in either direction in front of the female.  He uses his colorful good looks to defend his flowers within his territory and the female takes on all nest duties with no help from the male.  The small lichen covered nest holding two minute white eggs is placed on the fork of a branch along the forest edge or a clearing and is not very well concealed.

They are said to be found from 300 meters up to 1220 meters but we have seen them here at the Piro Research Center which is near sea level as well as up along the Greg Gund Conservation Center’s northern border at Cerro Osa which sits at about 300 meters all within the last month.  At the moment they are engaged in reproductive behavior which takes place during the rainy season from December to February with courtship seen as early as October.   The male will lose his ornate regalia when the breeding season is over.

Gray-headed Tanager at Playa Piro

So how do birds survive in a tropical rainforest when it rains a lot?  Let me be clearer; when it rains nearly every day for 2 weeks straight?  The rainy season here in Costa Rica lasts from May to November increasing in the amount of rainfall as the season progresses.  October and November are notorious for being the wettest months of the year.

Well, the pattern seems to be holding up this year as expected.  Over the last few weeks the rain has let up very little and as it went on and on, I started to wonder; how do birds keep themselves fed with so much rain, and intense rain at that?  Obviously when there are gaps in the rain the birds can take advantage to hunt or search for fruit, but when it rains hard for hours or days at a time the opportunity to feed becomes limited, fat reserves would likely decrease and stress levels increase.

When birds are faced with seasonal rains many of them will migrate downhill where, as it turns out, there is less rain.  It rains quite a bit more at higher elevations than it does at lower elevations and we have seen that pattern play out right here between the Piro Research Center located just above sea level, and the Greg Gund Conservation Center at Cerro Osa which sits at about 250 meters.  The difference in elevation wouldn’t seem that dramatic, however in the month of October alone Piro received 74.9 cm (29.5 inches) of rain while Cerro Osa received 145 cm (57 inches).  That is nearly double and impressive considering that Cerro Osa is only a mere 2 km uphill from Piro.

Seasonal migrational movements are common in tropical bird species which roam the forest in search of food resources during the non-breeding season while temporary migrational movements may also be just as common place for those birds escaping inclement weather here in the tropical rainforest.  Food resources are not generally more abundant at lower elevations but the feeding opportunities that less rain provide may offset that enough for birds to get through the rainy season.

Male Orange-collard Manakin

You can go to Friends of the Osa website for up-to-date weather data or to see maps of Piro Research Center and the Greg Gund Conservation Center and the connectivity between the two areas via our interactive trail maps.

The Gray-headed Tanager (Eucometis penicillata) photograph was taken here near Playa Piro between storms by Friends of the Osa’s Sea Turtle program coordinator Manual Sanchez as he was headed out to the beach for turtle beach patrol.   Sitting under a large palm leaf is probably a good way to keep somewhat dry during a downpour.  The Orange-collared Manakin (Manacus aurantiacus) comes from Gianfranco Gomez at the Drake Bay Rainforest Chalet.

Both birds are common resident species found here on the Osa Peninsula and here at Friends of the Osa.

Male Turquoise Cotinga. Photo by Ulises Quintero

This week as promised I am bringing you the Turquoise Cotinga (Cotinga ridgwayi).  This is definitely one of those species of bird that makes you go “WOW” when you see it.  This is also one of Costa Rica’s most sensitive species to loss of forest habitat.  BirdLife International has this Cotinga species listed as Vulnerable which puts it one step away from be considered Endangered.  It is a regional endemic only found on the Pacific slope of central and southern Costa Rica and western Panama.  Its population is estimated to be between 2,500 – 10,000 birds and declining.

So why the decline?  As with many species, the Turquoise Cotinga is faced with deforestation and severe habitat fragmentation.  This coupled with an already naturally small range makes it difficult for the Cotinga population to remain stable.  This is also true for its closest relative the Yellow-billed Cotinga also found here on the Osa Peninsula whose population is estimated to be much smaller between 250 – 1,000 birds (more on this species in the weeks to come!).

Because of the Turquoise Cotinga’s conservation concern and its rarity, it is a special occasion when we see one.  Now you must know there are certain areas on the Osa Peninsula where this bird is quite common such as Carate and Corcovado National Park and folks flock to these areas to see them.  Since we at Friends of the Osa are in the middle of our seasonal avian monitoring we have had the distinct pleasure to have encountered several Turquoise Cotingas in the last two weeks within our monitoring points and just up the road from the Greg Gund Conservation Center on Cerro Osa.  It is possible that Turquoise Cotingas are more common than once thought on Friends of the Osa property especially outside of the breeding season when they are seasonally migrating in search of food resources.

This passerine species is found mainly in the canopy of humid rainforest and secondary growth and can also be seen along forest edges and in tall trees within shade grown coffee plantations.  They will wander throughout the canopy of wet forests and are known to rest on high exposed perches.  They consume the fruits of fig trees, Cecropia and parasitic mistletoe Psittacanthus and will go down low to gather pokeweed berries Phytolacca in clearings on occasion.  In case you were wondering it weighs in at about 50 grams, just under the size of a Red-winged Blackbird.

The males and females apparently do not form pair bonds.  The males gather in group display leks to attract females.  The female then builds the nest and rears the two young all on her own.  Nesting takes place between January and May.

Conservation measures are to investigate current distribution and discourage the conversion of shade coffee to full sun grown coffee.  Unfortunately very little information is available on the behavioral ecology of this species so the more we learn the more we will bring to you.

White-whiskered Puffbird by Gianfranco Gomez

Not only does the White-whiskered Puffbird (Malacoptila panamensis) rank pretty high on the cuteness scale, it is also an interesting species from an ecological perspective.  Puffbirds are most closely related to jacamars, toucans and woodpeckers.  They are primarily insect and arthropod eaters and are considered to be flycatching birds along with tyrant flycatchers, and nunbirds.  Even though they eat spiders, frogs and lizards taken from the ground they are known for sitting perfectly still in the forest understory until a flying insect meal passes by when it darts out to catch its prey in midair.  It will then take it back to its perch to beat it against the branch before swallowing it.  Their apparent lethargy, as they sit and wait for prey to come by, is really a honed hunting behavior.

You can find either White-necked Puffbirds or White-whiskered Puffbirds here on the trails of Friends of the Osa’s Osa Biodiversity Center between Piro Research Station and the Greg Gund Conservation Center.  Both species separate themselves vertically in the forest.  You’ll find the White-necked Puffbird higher up in the canopy and the White-whiskered Puffbird down low where they don’t directly compete with each other for food resources.  In either case however they are difficult to see for their stealthy style.

Puffbirds build their nests in active termite nests or dig out a burrow in the ground or on the side of a small hillock with a short entrance tunnel with twigs and dead leaves extending out an additional 3 inches.  The actual nest is lined with leaves.  Those that build in termite nests seem to tolerate termites crawling all over them during incubation (From Alexander Skutch’s book of Birds of Tropical America, 1983).  Ground burrows can be as long as 22 inches.

So why are they called puffbirds?  As you can see from the photo, they are stout birds with fairly large heads and their feathers have a puffed-out appearance.  When they get excited they puff out and swing their tail back and forth.  Their abundant puffy plumage makes their short legs almost invisible.  Note the striking red eyes as well!

We would like to thank Gianfranco Gomez for allowing us to showcase his photographs.  You can find more of his work at The Drake Bay Rainforest Chalet website.

Blue-crowned Motmot by Alan Dahl

The Blue-crowned Motmots (Momotus momota) have been spending a lot of time around a Nance tree (Byrsonima crassifolia), a prolific fruit producing tree in the garden here at Friends of the Osa’s Osa Biodiversity Center.  Lately there have been quite a few hanging around giving their distinctive soft low pitch “moot moot” call at dawn which has sounded like a large choral group, each bird with its own perfectly timed solo, and the group never missing a beat.  With the Nance fruiting right next to the house, one of them actually flew through the front door the other day making me realize that it was time to share this species with you on the blog.  Oh and by the way, he or she did find its way out of the house fairly quickly.

In this species the male and female look alike and as you can see from Alan Dahl’s photograph, they are brilliantly colored.  Motmots in general have two very distinct features worth noting: the racquet-shaped tail and a heavily serrated bill.  The tail is more than half the birds total length and has two long central feathers.  During feather preening sections of the tail barbs fall off leaving the exposed vane.  The tip of the feather or the racquet remains intact forming what looks like a racquet head.  Motmots are famous for slowly and methodically swinging their tail feather back and forth like a pendulum.

The bill has tooth like serrations allowing them to take small snakes and lizards as well as other insects and tear them apart.  They also accompany army ant swarms picking off what the other birds kick-up from the ground.  And yes, they like fruit.

A third and very interesting characteristic of the Motmot is the fact that they dig their nest into burrows.  They are most closely related to Kingfishes and todies which also dig into burrows.  Motmots excavate tunnels in the bank of a road or stream or in the side of a pit or hollow in the ground.  Their nests are unlined and can wind as far back as 5 – 14 feet (1.5 – 4 meters).  Now I don’t know about you all but I have a hard time seeing such a beautiful majestic bird digging a long tunnel in the dirt and coming out looking that good, but I truly hope to see it someday.

You can see the Blue-crowned Motmot all over Costa Rica, and at least at the moment, all over Cerro Osa on the Osa Peninsula.  You can also find them from Mexico down through Argentina and in just about any type of habitat most often perched in the shade saying “moot moot, moot moot”!

We would like to thank Alan Dahl for allowing us to showcase his photographs.  You can find his work at Focused On Nature.

Violaceous Trogon by Tyler Reynolds

This week’s bird, the Violaceous Trogon (Trogon violaceus) jumped out at me (not literally) as I was having my morning coffee on my front porch here at Friends of the Osa’s Osa Biodiversity Center on Cerro Osa.   I was watching all the typical dawn action, mainly the Tropical Kingbirds and Gray-capped Flycatchers being overly vociferous when I saw another yellow bellied bird perched calmly on a Virola tree branch.  This particular belly though was accompanied by a violet head, a beautiful long black and white barred tail and the distinctive yellow eye ring of the Violaceous Trogon.  The female Violaceous is distinguished from her mate by her gray head and elliptical eye ring.  I have since noticed that this male trogon as of late is always perched on that same branch every morning in its upright posture, not for long, but long enough for me to finish my coffee and get a good look.

There are 40 trogon species in the warm regions of the world, ten of which are found in Costa Rica.  Four species can be found here on the Osa Peninsula: the Black-throated Trogon, the Slaty-tailed Trogon, Baird’s Trogon and the Violaceous Trogon.  You can see all four species here on Friends of the Osa properties.  You just have to look very carefully as they can be somewhat still.

You can find them in wet lowland forest and also along edges and open areas.  They will hover to pluck fruit or insects from the vegetation and are known to eat wasps.  In fact, Violaceous Trogons have been known to nest inside wasp nests, termite nests and arboreal nests of Azteca ants.  Naturalist Alexander Skutch observed a pair actually nesting inside a wasp nest (vespiary).  The Trogons built their own nest inside the vespiary in the early morning hours before the wasps became active.  During the day the Trogons would hunt the wasps taking them from the air or from the surface of the vespiary.  Interestingly, the wasps never drove the Trogons from their nest nor did the Trogons ever eliminate all the wasps, but they did successfully fledge young.

You can find the Violaceous Trogon on either coastal slope of Costa Rica and it ranges from Mexico down through Amazonian Brazil.  And yes, for those of you who may be wondering, the Resplendent Quetzal is also in the Trogon family and found in the Tilaran, Central and Talamanca Cordilleras here in Costa Rica.

Keep an eye out down the road as I will also devote a page to the Baird’s Trogon since it is endemic to Costa Rica and Panama and vulnerable to extinction according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

This week’s photograph was taken here on the Cerro Osa property just today by Friends of the Osa’s Tyler Reynolds.

A group of 8^th graders from Crane Country Day School recently traveled to Costa Rica and fell in love with the country during their ten day stay. The class of forty students ventured all the way from Santa Barbara, California to the Osa Peninsula!

Once the students made it back to California, they realized they wanted to help out in some way. Their trip to Costa Rica had inspired them so much that they decided to raise money for Friends of the Osa. Their efforts proved fruitful as they managed to raise $400.

The class chose to support our forest restoration effort on the Osa Biodiversity Center’s Cerro Osa property: our new program plants one native tree for every $10 donation. With the money raised by these students, 40 new trees were planted.

We are glad that these students felt so inspired by the trip and hope that they will continue to conserve natural habitat wherever they are. We really appreciate the effort made by the Crane 8^th graders and send a big thank you out to these students for their support!