First Full Day at La Selva

Today was our first full day at La Selva.  After breakfast we started the day in the classroom with icebreakers and introductions to TEAM protocols and Conservation International.  

The lesson was quickly interrupted with our first sighting of a peccary.  It is a hoofed mammal, rare most places, but plentiful here.  By the end of the day we were really used to seeing them roaming around the field station. Still, we all had to go out for a photo opportunity.  

We also saw this Great Curossow while we were out.  This one is a male, though we saw a female later in the day and she was a much lighter shade of brown.  Apparently this bird tastes like turkey and is therefore most common in preserves.   

Next we had time to go out and start placing our camera traps.  We placed 4 in old growth forest and 4 in new growth.  Working together, we marked the trail location and GPS coordinates of each camera as we put it out in the jungle.  

At one point while we were busy working on the project a peccary shot out of a hollowed log, kicking up mud and scaring us all as he sprinted across the trail.  I can't remember the last time I was so startled.  After getting past the jumping and screaming we all thought it was hilarious.  

When the traps were all in place we slowed down to enjoy the hike back to lunch.  That is when we started spotting the blue jean frog.  Once we got the hang of it we saw them almost everywhere we looked.  He is also called the Strawberry Poison Dart Frog, though he isn't poisonous enough to be toxic to humans.  

We also spotted a few butterflies like this Great Owl Butterfly.  The inside of his wings were a bright blue color, though he seemed happy enough to sit with them closed while we waited.  

On the way back to the classroom after lunch, we saw a family of Howler Monkey's.  This was one of the babies hanging out in a tree next to the bridge.  

His dad was sitting on one of the cables holding up the bridge.  He didn't seem at all disturbed to have us stopping and taking pictures of him.  

We did vegetation sampling after that and a classroom quadrat sampling activity.  We were going to have a movie night tonight, but instead we has a special guest speaker.  The former GIS coordinator of the property was back to visit and spoke about his research project doing hyperspectral analysis of carbon sequestration in peat moss ecosystems.  It is only 9 here, but it is already 11 back home and we are all ready to call it a night.  Teachers in our district go back to school for preplanning tomorrow.  Instead we will be out climbing a canopy tower and learning more about camera traps.  

Volcan Poas - Day 2

Today we drove from San Jose to La Selva, the biological preserve where we will be staying for the next two weeks.  

Along the way we stopped at a Coffee Plantation growing along the side of the road.  

 Our main stop was to visit Volcan Poas.  Poas is a huge active stravavolcano that last erupted in 2011.  Unfortunately, today it was completely obscured by cloud cover.  We did get to spend some time hiking up and down the volcano though, and saw lots of birds along the way.  There is a contest to see which group can identify the most birds while we are here, and I think we are going to win.  

This little guy is a Fiery Throated Hummingbird

Here is a shot of a Ringed King Fisher.  Ryan has a monstrous telephoto and has caught some fabulous shots.  

There was an adorable squirrel at the caldera.  

 Lunch was at Freddo Fresas. They specialize in strawberries.

 There were huge tracts of land covered with screening material.  They grow house plant underneath for export.  The screen keeps them shaded and protected.

 We also stopped at the Poas Waterfall.

 We spent lots of time taking photos and sharing them with one another.  We got a safety briefing when we arrived at La Selva and learned about bullet ants and the 7 species of venomous snakes found here.

San Jose - Day 1

Our first day in Costa Rica was spent at the Adventure Inn, awaiting the arrival of all four groups of teachers.

 The Erie PA group got here just before us and we all gathered to walk to a local supermarket and chocolate shop.

This is a painted mahogany tree that we saw as we walked.

I spent some time reading by the pool before dinner.

Ryan was out taking photos of local birds.  This is a Muscovy Duck

The Frogger Loggers are a group of teachers from different states, they arrived in time for dinner.  The last group is from California and should be arriving around midnight.  Tomorrow we will all pack up to head to Volcan Poas and then La Selva

Headed to Costa Rica

The Space Coast Eco Geeks are off to Costa Rica.  

Suntree Property Tour

Anita invited me out today to take a look at the Suntree Property that we would like to include as a research site for our follow up project after Costa Rica.  When I spoke to our group about the possibility of using the project, the biggest concern was the safety of the camera traps, so I paid special attention to fences and gates.  The first gate was unlocked, but looks like it could be secured during the study.  

There was another fence inside of that, and again it looked like it could be easily secured.  

I went out with a camera and a notebook,  but I should have worn long pants, the grasses were quite high.  The county used to mow the area, but they stopped when they considered putting it up for sale.  Wouldn't this be an interesting succession study? 

It is hard to see what the property really looks like in a photo, but it is technically a Rapid Infiltration Basin (RIB).  My understanding is that it was left undeveloped to act as a reservoir for water during storms.  The last time it was used was during Tropical Storm Fay which was in 2008.  There are 6 large basins of equal size laid out in a grid.  Around each basin is a raised area where the gopher tortoises prefer to burrow.  

I counted 35 burrows while we were there, though we only walked around the edge of half of the 114 acres.  

I made sure to get a photo of any gates or breaks in the fence.  This was the first one I noticed.  It is still behind the wooden fence, but looks like it could easily be closed and locked.  

In some areas the fence backed right up to backyards, but for the most part there was a buffer of scrub and trees.

So many burrows!

It looked like there were some paths that the county used when it came in to maintain the land.

And still more burrows.....

 Another break in the fence...

More paths for vehicle access....

Several miscellaneous plumbing fixtures.

A giant burrow!

One more gate.

A very large stack of plumbing that apparently sprung a leak recently and had to be repaired.

Several signs warning of reclaimed water.

This was my interesting find of the day.  I was concerned about a break in the fence,  though it seemed to back up to trees and scrub.

I thought there might be a path though, so we followed it through.

And popped out in someone's back yard.  This is apparently the easement that the county used to access the property.  Anita thinks it would make a great access point for a walking trail.

Finally we made it all the way down to the other end of the property.  Anita has so many plans as to how to put this land to use for education and preservation in both the long and short term.  I am a bit more focused on the short term goals of security and study, but I am so glad that here energy and enthusiasm are driving this project.

New Opportunity?

On Tuesday I was invited to a ladies luncheon.  Just a bunch of teachers on summer break getting together to socialize and catch up before school starts again.  Linda, my next door teacher, wanted to make sure that I heard Anita's story.  Anita retired a few years ago and has recently been on a quest.  There is an undeveloped plot of 114 acres near her neighborhood in Suntree, which is just north of where I live.  The county recently realized that it was worth quite a bit of money if sold to a developer, though the only access point was at the end of a cul-de-sac on a single unbuilt lot.  So Anita got busy and started to gather support to petition the commissioners NOT to build on the land.  When I talked to her on Tuesday, they had officially voted against selling the land, but were looking for ideas as to what to do with it instead.  So Anita has developed a five year plan as to how to use the 114 acre plot of land as a site for conservation and education.
It turns out that this land is absolutely full of gopher tortoises.  Gopher Tortoises!  What a coincidence I remarked, because I am part of a group of teachers traveling together to Costa Rica very soon, and our plan is to use our knowledge to study the burrowing activity of Gopher Tortoises when we get back.  Such a small world!  I am hopeful that we will be able to use this land as a second study site.  Right now there is someone who has offered to look at requirements for permitting and find a biologist who would be willing to work with us.  

Planning Progress

 We were able to get together as a team and do some planning for camera trap deployment while we are in Costa Rica.  This was the first version.  We tried to represent different ecosystem types throughout the preserve.

Then we started to worry about how accessible all of these areas would be in the limited time available to us for working on our individual project while we are there.  So we moved everything in just a bit closer, just in case.  Hopefully, once we are there, we will be able to hit the ground running.