Sea Turtles / 11.09.2012

[caption id="attachment_4373" align="alignleft" width="300"] A Green sea turtle nests on Pejeperro Beach[/caption] With the same clumsiness as their mothers, the small reptiles descend slowly down the sloped beach. One by one they go, leaving behind a trail of life in the sand. Seven weeks ago, after a journey spanning hundreds, perhaps thousands of kilometers, an adult olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) pushed through the foaming waves on Pejeperro beach in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, to begin an ancient, unique and exquisite journey.
Sea Turtles / 05.09.2012

[caption id="attachment_4324" align="alignleft" width="300"] Osa Conservation staff taking a break during patrol training[/caption] This week, we had the pleasure of conducting our first Osa Conservation staff training for sea turtle patrols. The event was very productive for everyone, reinforcing knowledge for some, and training others for the first time. For me, the most interesting part of it all was the fieldwork, where for the first time this season, all of the land conservation staff, volunteers, Max, Manuel Sánchez, and myself (a total of 13 people) conducted a turtle patrol of Pejeperro Beach. We left the Piro Biological Station at 7:30 pm with our flashlights and our fieldwork equipment, and after we walked all the way to sector 10, we encountered our first nesting turtle that was just beginning to excavate her nest. While she was digging, Manuel demonstrated to us the data collection process, including tagging turtles, marking tracks, performing basic health assessments, and other things. After making these techniques clear to everyone, we were eager to perform the tasks ourselves.
Sea Turtles / 22.08.2012

By Jamie Cone [caption id="attachment_4122" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo: Claudio Giovenzana"][/caption] An anticipatory rumble of thunder sounds far away, off shore. It has an almost calming sound as we make our way through the dark squishy forest path, the sky patterned with silhouettes of tree leaves. The jungle is alive with night sounds, from the echoing song of the nightjar to the almost space-invader beep of frogs on Las Rocas trail. A silky white two-toed sloth is spotted, high up in a tree, taking the night off. I envy its slow slumber for just a moment before I remember that this trail is taking me down to the beach, down to witness a spectacular and sacred event, one that only a few people in the world have the chance to be a part of. Tonight, I am walking a stretch of beach along which nesting mother sea turtles will, with great care and diligence, lay their precious eggs in the sand.
Sea Turtles / 21.10.2011

September 18th represented the 3rd Annual Sea Turtle festival on Carate Beach.  About 100 members of Carate, Puerto Jiménez, and surrounding communities participated in sea turtle discussions, presentations fun activities with the theme of conservation. The festival began with an interactive discussion with children and adults about the principal biological characteristics of the Osa, the turtle species that nest here, and the objectives and activities of the Sea Turtle Conservation Program developed by Osa Conservation on the beaches of Piro, Pejeperro and Carate. Club Ambiental Las Abejitas of the Saturnino...

Sea Turtles / 16.09.2011

August 7th represented the second Day of Beach Cleaning along sea turtle nesting beaches in Osa.  With the participation of around 150 volunteers from the community, local hotels, personnel from Osa Conservation Area, Frontier volunteers and Osa Conservation employees, we were able to collect waste along 12 km of beaches, from Carate to Matapalo. Starting off early in the morning to take advantage of low tide, the groups divided up throughout the area with plastic bags, gloves, sun screen and lots of water.  The day of cleaning continued past...

Sea Turtles, Volunteers and Visitors / 12.04.2011

Sea Turtles have been around for over 100 million years, but all over the world their survival is being threatened. Volunteers are crucial to protect the sea turtles during their nesting season. Our program conserves and protects 10 miles of sea turtle nesting beach on the Osa Peninsula—a largely untouched, and amazingly beautiful tropical rainforest located in southwestern Costa Rica. This rewarding program allows you to monitor sea turtle movements, protect hatchlings and learn about sea turtle conservation—all on some of the most incredible beaches in the world, from Matapalo to Carate. Our sea turtle program relies on volunteer support to increase our presence on these beaches and help reduce poaching pressure. Spaces are available from July through December – please visit our sea turtle volunteer page to sign up, or send this info to people you think may be interested. Volunteering is a great way to experience this unique place while giving back through valuable conservation efforts.
Science and Research, Sea Turtles / 30.11.2010

Today SEE Turtles launched its effort to raise money for Friends of the Osa’s annual Sea Turtle Festival.  SEE Turtles is a project of the Ocean Foundation that promotes conservation tourism by acting as a resource for travelers to connect with volunteer programs or to donate to organizations protecting sea turtles and educating communities.  Through the matching fund launched today, you can donate to support FOO’s Sea Turtle Festival in 2011. [caption id="attachment_1857" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Children perform the life cycle of sea turtles at the Second Annual Osa Sea Turtle...

Sea Turtles, Volunteers and Visitors / 04.11.2010

We’ve completed another month of the sea turtle conservation program on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica and we’re getting close to the end of the nesting season. After 4 months of tireless work by our field coordinators, field assistants and volunteers, we have registered a total of 1233 sea turtle nests, between Piro and Carate (Fig. 1). As I mentioned earlier, for logistical reasons, we cannot gather daily information from all beaches and visits to Rio Oro beach have been very limited, so this number of sea turtle nests should...

Science and Research, Sea Turtles / 20.10.2010

By Phoebe Edge, Research Field Assistant (RFA) , Sea Turtle Conservation Program. What turtle has the best eye sight? A SEE TURTLE! And that´s why it´s so important that we make sure on night patrols that we spot the ladies before they spot us…the last thing we want to do is scare them back to the sea. A good turtle detective just doesn´t do that. An Olive Ridley could have swum thousands of miles to get to this specific beach  which is why here at Friends of the Osa we do...

Science and Research, Sea Turtles / 29.09.2010

By Phoebe Edge, Research Field Assistant (RFA) , Sea Turtle Conservation Program. [caption id="attachment_1494" align="alignright" width="300"] Park guards and lodge employees on the beach for the sea turtle workshop[/caption] On all of the morning and night patrols we collect quantitative data from the turtles we encounter, as well as from their tracks and nests. This year we have also begun taking a more active approach protecting as many nests as possible from both natural and unnatural predators. Metal mesh nets are used to cover each nest we find on Piro...