The Sea “Eats” the Beach

I remember, many years ago, that the forest reached much lower. It is a shame that no one has taken the task of measuring how much the sea has penetrated the land.The only explanation I can find is that this has to be due to the increase in the water level in the sea and the tides reaching higher and eating up the beach.

In some places I remember trees that were once far away, like the strangler fig tree, and that we had to go into the forest to see it, incredibly the sea reached where it was and took it away.That tree is no longer there. The sea washed him from underneath and he fell. Now the sea begins from where that fallen tree is.

Migratory birds impacted

I have been here on the Osa peninsula for more than 20 years and what I have noticed and seen is that in some sectors the sea is eating away at the beach and the trees more and more. The sea goes in and in.

Another example of the impact of climate change: this year we had very early rains in January and February and that is not normal. Those are very dry months here in the Pacific.

I am concerned about the effect this may have on the flowering of some trees (which is earlier) and on the. migratory birds, because they have to return to their nesting sites in North America.

I have noticed that before a species of bird that comes down from the North of the continent to South America and on its return, always made a kind of stop in Corcovado. Because here there are some small trees that give special fruit.

Trees don`t harvest

But it turns out that this year, because of the rains, those trees almost didn’t harvest. Surely the rain washed away the flowers and there was almost no food for those birds on their return to North America.I think of those birds that need to accumulate a lot of fat and gain weight to make the return trip.

The same thing happens when a person wants to eat and arrives at a restaurant and it is closed or there are only very small portions and one does not fill up very well.

Let’s not go too far: frogs. If it does not rain the amount it needs to, the lagoons do not fill enough and those frogs will no longer be able to reproduce. Or if it rains too much, heavy rain can wash away the eggs.All of these changes, just to name a few, affect nature in Corcovado.