Distribution of Toucans, Aracaris and Oropendolas in Ojochal and Playa Tortuga

In January of this year, members of the Reserva Playa Tortuga, together with volunteers and neighbors, began an investigation regarding the distribution of toucans, aracaris and oropendolas in Ojochal and Playa Tortuga, as part of the Birds Monitoring Project that runs all year long in RPT.

©Christian Seville

The methodology consists in walk the trails of the Reserve; along Playa Tortuga and some streets of Ojochal, especially in the upper part, at least twice a week, both in the morning and in the afternoon.

In these walks, when any of the birds mentioned above are spotted, the location is determined with GPS, and also note is taken of the activity they are doing: flying, eating (to identify the type of food) and/or nesting. The number of birds of the same species is also noted.

So far we can see that the toucans move mostly in pairs; the oropendolas in larger groups of couples; and the aracaris in groups of 4 to 7 birds.

Thanks to the help of neighbors from Upper Ojochal, a nest of oropendolas was already identify, close to Calle Papagayo.

Oropendola nest ©Christian Seville

This research aims to know more about the presence of these birds in the sector, and see if there is any relationship between the winter and summer seasons. At least, in the case of toucans, which have been studied for more than 2 years, it has seen a greater presence during the summer than in winter.

Thanks to the data obtained during the first 3 months of the year, a map was created in which the distribution of each of the birds can be appreciated.