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.
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.
Land Conservation and Forest Restoration / 30.08.2011

[caption id="attachment_2228" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Alex Henríquez (General Manager or Trust of Banco Nacional de Costa Rica), Ana Lorena Guevara (Vice Minister of Environment), Carlos M. Rodriguez (Representative, Conservation International), Manuel Ramirez (Executive Director, Osa Conservation)"][/caption] In a historic moment for conservation in Costa Rica, Osa Conservation (OC) and Conservation International (CI) signed the world’s first public-private Biodiversity Trust Fund in San Jose, Costa Rica on August 8TH.  Both OC and CI each contributed $500,000 to the Fund, which was matched with a $1 million contribution from the Costa...

Community Outreach, Science and Research, Sea Turtles / 15.09.2010

By Phoebe Edge, Research Field Assistant of the Sea Turtle Conservation Program We are officially half way through this year´s turtle season and it has been a very busy 3 months indeed! Within this time, we have been continuously patrolling our beaches morning and night to help our favorite reptiles. There seems to never be a dull moment, even the walks to the beach prove exciting! Already, we´ve been fortunate enough to have encountered jaguarundi, coati, caiman, anteaters, armadillos, as well as a variety of beautiful and rare frogs...

Birds / 05.09.2010

[caption id="attachment_1239" align="alignleft" width="240"] White-whiskered Puffbird by Gianfranco Gomez[/caption] 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...

Uncategorized / 04.09.2010

El mes pasado compartí con ustedes los datos totales para nidos in situ, nidos depredados  y salidas falsas para el mes de Julio, y mencioné que estos datos eran sin ajustar por el esfuerzo de muestreo. Por esfuerzo de muestreo me refiero a la cantidad de tiempo y/o distancia que se ha invertido en cada playa para obtener los datos.  Por ejemplo, en Piro nosotros monitoreamos 2 km de playa y en Pejeperro, monitoreamos 4.5 km. No es lo mismo recorrer Piro una vez y encontrar 2 tortugas,...

Science and Research / 15.08.2010

By: Zia Mehrabi, University of Oxford. The Osa Biodiversity Center (OBC) provided a brilliant opportunity for biological research at an accessible location bordering Corcovado National Park (CNP). CNP represents the largest remaining tract of tropical lowland forest left standing on the pacific coast of Central America. The Osa Peninsula is phytogeographically unusual with high floral species diversity of an estimated 500 species of woody plants and exhibits high primate abundances as well as being home to charismatic large felids such as puma and jaguar.  The work undertaken at the OBC...

Uncategorized / 01.08.2010

Este año hemos iniciado la temporada de tortugas marinas con un gran reto, expandir nuestro proyecto a las playas de Río Oro y Carate en la parte sur de la Península de Osa. Con un excelente grupo de Coordinadores de Campo (Geri Cubero, Erick Gómez y Greivin Barroso) y Asistentes de Campo (Phoebe Edge, Heidi Montez, Courtney Thomas y Carlos García), bajo la dirección de Manuel Sánchez y Guido Saborío, hemos asumido el reto con gran entusiasmo.  Contamos también con la ayuda de Frontier, un programa de voluntariado...

Birds / 05.07.2010

[caption id="attachment_1011" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Dahl_Vermiculated Screech Owl Pair"][/caption] Owls may arguably be the most interesting family of birds.  There are actually two families of owls, but the Vermiculated Screech Owl (Otus guatemalae) belongs to the Strigidae family of typical owls.  Owls are unique to other birds in a multitude of ways.  They have specialized wing feathers allowing them to fly silently which enables them to hunt by sound and catch prey easier while avoiding detection.  They can actually hear sounds 10 times fainter than a human can and have...