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...

Uncategorized / 22.09.2010

El pasado 16-19 de Agosto, La Leona Lodge organizó un taller de mariposas diurnas frugívoras con el entomólogo y curador de lepidóptera José Montero del INBio. A este taller asistimos varias personas de la zona, entre ellas guías naturalistas y empleados de La Leona Lodge. José Montero nos enseño la metodología que él ha estado utilizando en diferentes lugares del país con gran éxito por varios años y que ahora La Leona lodge ha empezado a usar, como un esfuerzo de generar información sobre este grupo de mariposas...

Miscellaneous, Science and Research / 20.09.2010

In 2008, in order to determine the distribution and abundance of leaf litter amphibian species, I began a monitoring program around the Piro Research Center along with Federico Bolaños and Gerardo Chaves, herpetologists from the University of Costa Rica. In 2010, with the support of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZ), I expanded this project to Los Charcos and Petosa, a private property owned by Bert Kerstetter, an important supporter of Friends of the Osa. The information generated by this project was included in the latest update workshop...

Uncategorized / 20.09.2010

En el 2008, con el objetivo de determinar la distribución y abundancia de las especies de anfibios de mantillo, inicié junto con Federico Bolaños y Gerardo Chaves, herpetólogos reconocidos de la Universidad de Costa Rica, un monitoreo de estas especies en los alrededores del Centro de Investigación Piro. En el 2010, con el apoyo del Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZ), expandí este proyecto a Los Charcos de Osa y a Petosa, propiedad de Bert Kerstetter, aliado importante de Amigos de Osa. La información generada por este proyecto fue...

Birds / 19.09.2010

[caption id="attachment_1416" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Chestnut-backed Antbird. Photo by Alan Dahl "][/caption] Chestnut-backed Antbirds (Myrmeciza exsul) are common residents of the Osa Peninsula and one of the most abundant species found here.  It is difficult to walk outside here at Friends of the Osa's Osa Biodiversity Center and not hear two or three individuals counter-singing.  Often times when the rest of the forest has become fairly quiet you can always count on a Chestnut-backed Antbird to let you know that all is as it should be. The signature look of three...

Community Outreach, Sea Turtles / 17.09.2010

On Sunday September 12 we celebrated the Second Annual Osa Peninsula Sea Turtle Festival on Carate Beach. The objectives of this annual event are to raise community awareness about the importance of joint actions in the conservation of the sea turtle species that frequent the beaches of the Osa Peninsula in the months of nesting, and to share the objectives and results of Friends of the Osa’s Sea Turtle Conservation Program with the community. [caption id="attachment_1360" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Children made sea turtle sand sculptures"][/caption] This year at least 120 people from...

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...

Uncategorized / 14.09.2010

Este domingo 12 de septiembre se realizó el II Festival de Tortugas Marinas en Playa Carate. Los objetivos de esta actividad anual son sensibilizar a las comunidades sobre la importancia de realizar acciones conjuntas en la conservación de las especies que frecuentan las playas de la Península de Osa en los meses de anidación, como también dar a conocer los objetivos y resultados hasta el momento del Programa de Conservación de Tortugas Marinas Piro-Carate. Este año contamos con la participación de al menos 120 personas de las comunidades de...

Birds / 13.09.2010

[caption id="attachment_1341" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Riverside Wren nest by Cheryl Chip & Jim Tamarack"][/caption] For those of you who may remember, I posted a feature on the Riverside Wren (Thryothorus semibadius) back in April.  It was one of my first postings for the then new Friends of the Osa's blog The Osa Chronicles and a few of you commented on both the nature history and photography by Gianfranco Gomez. One of the species ecological behaviors I wrote about was of reproduction and nesting.  When I spoke about the nest of...

Science and Research, Sea Turtles / 07.09.2010

Last month I shared with you the total data for in situ nests, nest predation and false crawls for the month of July, and mentioned that these data were not adjusted for sampling effort. By sampling effort, I mean the amount of time and / or distance that was invested on each beach to get the data. For example, we monitor 2 km of Piro beach and 4.5 km of Pejeperro beach.  So, it isn’t the same to walk Piro beach and find two turtles as it is to walk...