From SVBC member Harry Hull.

Not too long after moving from San Vito to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2019, I started hiking with a few other spry 70-year olds almost every Friday. Our preferred outing was to start at the Santa Fe Ski Basini n the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, just 30-minutes from town, and climb Deception Peak, a gentle mountaintop that, at 12,320 feet elevation is in the tundra above tree line. In the summer months, especially, we usually encounter the highly curious, intrepid Canada Jay, which I assume from years of sharing their forest habitat with skiers and hikers, have become quite bold in approaching us as we’re having a snack or lunch, looking for a handout. Now I know many people think indulging such bird behavior is inappropriate; and as I understand it, feeding wild birds is now illegal in Costa Rica. But after having had the magical experience of holding a bird in my hand during mist-netting sessions at Finca Cantaros, I find it impossible not to offer these Jays a few nuts or a crust from a sandwich.