TORTUGuiones has increased its presence on social media and recruited volunteers to keep an eye out for hatchlings and educate the public. In March, volunteers watched for signs of baby turtles emerging from nests laid in the beginning of February. The hatchlings did not disappoint! A total of 11 different sightings of hatchlings and 5 reports of nesting sea turtles were reported. On one happy morning 36 hatchlings made it from the main beach entrance to the ocean.

Hatchling tracks, about the size of your palm, are typically smaller and more directed than hermit crab tracks.

Even though these hatchlings made it to the sea, others are threatened. You can help them in at least two ways.

First, one major threat comes from dogs, both domestic and feral, that dig up nests or eat hatchlings on their way to the ocean. The evidence? Eyewitness accounts, paw prints, and eggshells on the surface of the sand (eggshells of a naturally hatched nest remain below the surface of the sand). So when you go to the beach, please keep your dogs on a leash if you can. At the very least, keep them within sight, and chase away any other dogs you see digging near nests.

Second, what’s another threat? Bonfires. Although beautiful and exciting, bonfires on the beach disorient hatchlings – who crawl into the fire and die. TORTUGuiones can confirm that at least one beach bonfire in March disoriented hatchlings.

These fires are also a safety hazard to other animals, including humans, and to the vegetation such as our lovely BarriGuiones plantings. This is especially true during the dry season — and as we all know this season has been especially dry.

Since nesting at Playa Guiones seems to peak during the last quarter moon, look out for hatchlings during the full moon and avoid bonfires then. Keep your Luna Tica party dark and enjoy the night sky!

In fact, did you know that domestic animals (including dogs and horses) and bonfires are prohibited within the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge? Although most people are not aware of these restrictions, and the regulations are not regularly enforced, that may change as more and more turtles are reported on our beaches. TORTUGuiones is creating a brochure on the subject. Watch for more information later this month.

Claw and paw marks visible in the sand, eggshells strewn about the surface; this looks like the work of a dog.

Volunteer with TORTUGuiones! Learn some basic sea turtle biology and find out how to identify and report the tracks you see on your beach walks!

Report any sightings of sea turtles and their tracks by clicking on www.tortuguiones.org

TORTUGuiones is a community- and volunteer-based sea turtle conservation project founded to monitor nesting activity, conduct outreach, and provide educational materials to ensure the conservation of sea turtles and protection of their habitat within this part of the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge.

March was a busy month for BarriGuiones!

First, the BarriGuiones staff and volunteers made many trips around Guiones and its nearby beaches to collect seeds to germinate in its tree nursery. They found Sardino, Guácharo, Poro poro, Mangle de Botón, Panamá, Guácimo, Gallito and Saíno and are still hoping to spot some main species: Ceibo Barrigón, Pochote, Roble de Sabana, and Chirca.

More volunteers are needed to find and collect seeds before the dry season ends. To become part of the seed collecting team, email gerardo.bolanos@costasverdes.org

Volunteers collecting seeds

Every March BarriGuiones starts working with the local public schools. During the week of March 28, the group gave workshops at the schools of Las Delicias, Garza, and La Esperanza. Each school received 30 trees of Frangipani, Almendro de Playa, and Brasil. The students committed to take care of them and, later on this year, to plant them on Playa Guiones. After an educational talk on how to identify each species, the students and BarriGuiones staff watered the trees and put a name tag on each one.

Each school also got a Ceibo Barrigón, the BarriGuiones Project’s favorite tree, to plant on school grounds later this year, where the students will water it over the years and it will become a symbol of restoring Guiones’ coastal forest.

The majestic Ceibo Barrigón

Finally, not only do TORTUGuiones and BarriGuiones share this blog, they also work together. Volunteers from both organizations put up signs at the beaches in March to raise awareness of the ways we can protect, restore, and conserve our Refuge. When the goal is the same, ‪#‎somostodos‬‬ un solo equipo.

All part of the same team #somos todos

BarriGuiones is a local offshoot of Costas Verdes, whose mission to restore Costa Rica’s coastal ecosystems by actively involving schools, communities, and local authorities in generating local environmental, social, and economic benefits.