Blogpost written by Eleanor Flatt, Restoration and Biodiversity Monitoring Research Field Assistant and Birder. [caption id="attachment_10882" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Black-cheeked ant tanager, endemic to the Osa Peninsula; photo by Manuel Sanchez[/caption] In the 1900's, the first Audubon Christmas Bird Count was conducted in 25 areas with 27 birdwatchers in the US & Canada. 100 years later, the tradition has expanded to over 2,200 areas in 20 different countries. The Osa Peninsula is one of these locations and this year marked its 8th annual Christmas Bird Count. Data collected from Christmas Bird Counts form...

Blog by Danielle Connor, Undergraduate Student at University of Exeter Earlier this year, I spent many hours following the endangered spider monkey in the Osa. As part of a new project being carried out by Osa Conservation and my own research with the University of Exeter, I looked for sleeping sites and latrines to better understand the ecological role of spider monkeys in seed dispersal and their potential to regenerate rainforests. [caption id="attachment_10440" align="aligncenter" width="422"] A spider monkey hangs from a tree[/caption]   Spider monkeys live in fission-fusion societies that split into smaller...

Blogpost by Manuel Sanchez, Sea Turtle Conservation Program Coordinator   Nature is not always kind; sea turtles face a multitude of life threatening obstacles that reduce their chance of survival throughout their lives. Predation of eggs, hatchlings and adults by numerous predators is just one of the risks. Raccoons, coatis, opossums, crabs, dogs, birds and ants attack nests to indulge in an egg or a young sea turtle. Once the hatchling emerges from the nest, the challenge continues as hawks, pelicans, frigate birds, crabs and fish await a bite-size meal....

Blogpost written by Eleanor Flatt, Restoration and Biodiversity Research Field Assistant Many intensely biodiverse tropical rainforests are not only inhabited by wonderful wildlife but also by people who call it their home. In these areas, farms offer opportunity to grow crops or maintain livestock in order to provide income for their families. In an ideal world, these two landscapes would be separated and conflicts would not exist. However, located where the rainforest meets farm, there is a matrix where the flora and fauna interact and where human-wildlife conflicts...

Blogpost by Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya, Biodiversity & Conservation Projects Coordinator and Botanical Assistant After a long but successful morning collecting specimens for the botanical garden we headed back to the station, excitement and rumbling stomachs in tow. Suddenly, one small plant close to the trail caught my eye. I curiously approached it, going in for a closer look. What was it? I called over our botanical assistant Marvin to pick his brain. Immediately he smiled with happiness and enthusiastically screamed: “It is a passiflora, collection number 11 for the...