Birds, Land Conservation and Forest Restoration / 07.12.2012

The Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) is a species in danger of extinction. In Costa Rica, there are only two healthy populations of scarlet macaws, the largest of which is located on the Osa Peninsula. This population is estimated to be between 800 and 1200 individuals (Dear et al 2010). This population was almost completely eliminated due to the illegal removal of trees for timber and agriculture, hunting for food, and illegal trade of Macaws as pets. During the last two decades, commercial logging and hunting of birds has decreased significantly, and the population of Macaws of the Osa Peninsula has increased rapidly. However, the loss of natural cavities in the trees used as nests for these animals has greatly limited the recovery of their populations. A study in recent years recommended long-term conservation that combines environmental education in local schools, community involvement, and stricter penalties for hunters and the Lapa Roja habitat destroyers (Guittar et al 2008).
Birds, Land Conservation and Forest Restoration / 05.12.2012

By Carolina Herrera, NRDC Wondering where that brightly colored songbird that visited your yard during the summer disappeared to when the temperature dropped? Many songbirds and other migratory birds spend the cooler months in Latin America’s tropical rainforests, so preserving their winter habitat is essential to their survival. That’s one reason why NRDC partnered with the group Osa Conservation to help Revive a Rainforest on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. With the support of our members we’ve been helping to restore 50 acres of degraded tropical rainforest by planting carefully selected native tree species. Six hundred and fifty species of birds make North America their home and breeding ground. While some of these birds are permanent residents many are migratory, with migration paths varying from short, medium to long. Approximately 350 species breed in the US and Canada and then winter all the way in Latin America and the Caribbean where they need to find sufficient food and safe nesting locations. The Yellow Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, and the Canada Warbler are just three of the many species that journey long distances during their seasonal migrations to Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula.
Birds / 16.11.2012

[caption id="attachment_4672" align="alignleft" width="493"] Photo by Manuel Sanchez Mendoza[/caption] If you've ever spent the night in the rainforest you know how deceptive sound can be. Unlike the intriguing daytime peeps, flaps, buzzes and calls that inspire one to explore deeper into holes, hollows, and underbrush, the haunting sounds that pierce the blackness of night cause the uninitiated like me to wholeheartedly question their disbelief of ghosts, goblins and spell-casting forest witches. Nighttime at Piro has a way of transforming torrential downpour into slowly approaching footsteps, guttural howler calls into sinister forest cries. Especially haunting is one sound that I really would have sworn was a ‘bruja’ laughing slowly and eerily into a wooden whistle repeatedly throughout the night.
Birds, Environmental Education / 07.09.2012

As part of conservation efforts for the Scarlet Macaw, artificial nests have been installed in two colleges and five schools. In each school, trees with easy visibility were chosen for students based on  characteristics of diameter and height for the installation of the nests. Students of these schools attended a workshop on ecology, life cycles and the importance of conservation of the species Ara macao. Students from the 5th, 6th, and 9th grades are in charge of monitoring macaw activities and noting events such as flights and perching near the nests and when a macaw investigates the inside of a nest. They also monitor the activity of other species near the nest.
Birds / 17.07.2012

[caption id="attachment_3961" align="alignleft" width="257" caption="A Black-cheeked Ant Tanager. Photo: Norbert Sayberer"][/caption] By: Carolyn Sedgwick Imagine being woken up each day by the sudden deep howl of a troop of howler monkeys and the positively curious sound of a singing Gray-necked Wood Rail. Time for work! This spring, I was lucky enough to spend a few months working at Piro Biological Station, Osa Conservation’s research center. My main objective was to get a better understanding of the habitat use of the Black-cheeked Ant-tanager (Habria atrimaxillaris), an endangered bird found only on the Osa Peninsula and the Golfo Dulce of Costa Rica. These birds have not been extensively studied and their population appears to be declining due to habitat loss. I set out to see how Black-cheeked Ant-tanagers used habitat around Piro—were they found in primary forests? Secondary forests? In transition zones? What were the characteristics of the zones they used during the time of year when I was there? I set about this by walking routine transects through different forest types around Piro each day and when I was lucky enough to encounter a Black-cheeked Ant-tanager, or even a small group of three or four, I took the opportunity to gather as many observations as possible and map where groups were found with my GPS.
Birds, Volunteers and Visitors / 03.07.2012

Spend this holiday season where the rainforest meets the sea, in the most spectacular and underbirded corner of Costa Rica. [caption id="attachment_3853" align="alignleft" width="204" caption="A Gartered Trogon sits perched atop a tree in the Osa Peninsula"][/caption] The Osa Peninsula harbors over 460 species of birds including the healthiest population of Scarlet Macaws in Central America, three species of leking Manakins, Yellow-billed and Turquoise Cotingas, King Vultures and the Osa endemic BCAT. Migrant birds that frequent the Osa Peninsula include the Golden-winged Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Prothonotary Warbler and the Baltimore Oriole. Home to the largest remaining tract of tropical lowland rainforest and intact mangrove ecosystems along the tropical Pacific coast of Central America, the Osa Peninsula is the wildest and most magnificent region of Costa Rica. To get an idea, check out our 2011 Christmas Bird Count summary.
Birds / 16.03.2012

As Published in The Leader-Telegram They have a saying in Costa Rica: "Pura vida." It literally translates as "pure life," but to Costa Ricans, it can be inserted into many contexts and applications: "Thank you," "You're welcome," "So it goes," "Wonderful." It is used so freely here I wouldn't be surprised if it meant, "Pass the papaya, por favor." I'd dreamed of visiting Costa Rica since I was 12, and recently for two glorious weeks I got to sample the "pure life" - visiting the southernmost quarter of this West Virginia-sized nation - from San Jose down nearly to Panama. My introduction to the Pacific rain forest lowlands began with Roy Orozco, a soft-spoken, gracious naturalist out of Quepos. First light for birding in the tropics is 5:30 a.m., so Roy picked me up at 4 a.m. at the Costa Verde II parking lot near Quepos to drive an hour and a half up the coast to Carara National Park, west of San Jose. Carara, one of Costa Rica's marquee ecotourism destinations, is a unique mix of "life zones," where the drier habitat of the north meets the wet lowlands of the south.
Birds, Volunteers and Visitors / 01.03.2012

The 2011 Osa Peninsula Audubon Christmas Bird Count summary is finally in. This Christmas, participants included Osa Conservation, Bosque del Rio Tigre, Bosque del Cabo, El Remanso, Iguana Lodge, Luna Lodge, Lapa Ríos, SurcosTours and Blue Ave. Participants spent 78.5 hours monitoring birds in the Osa Peninsula, spotting a total of 4,506 birds. Click here for the full report!...

Birds, Volunteers and Visitors / 13.01.2012

[caption id="attachment_2346" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="CBC participant and guide Nito Paniagua"][/caption] It is that time of year again; time to count birds throughout the Americas in the name of conservation and science.  A more than 100 year tradition, the Audubon Society has led the charge to bring together citizen scientists, biologists and bird enthusiasts from Canada to the southern tip of South America to conduct one of the largest bird censuses on the planet – The Christmas Bird Count.  The count takes place during one 24 hour period between December...

Birds, Volunteers and Visitors / 08.11.2011

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO SPEND YOUR HOLIDAYS IN THE RAINFOREST! DECEMBER 17-22 Space is still available on our Holiday Birding Trip, so join us for spectacular birding through the tropical forests of the Osa Peninsula! This five-day trip includes extensive birding, forest hikes, and nightly talks and excursions with our staff of biologists and conservation professionals.  The trip culminates in the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count—where you, along with thousands of other citizen scientists throughout the Americas, can participate in the longest running wildlife census to assess the...