Bird Walk Sunday: A New Location

Posted on March 3, 2026 by greghomer

Please join Cecelia Sansonetti and the San Vito Bird Club for our next Sunday morning Bird Walk…March 8th at 7:00am.

The 74th anniversary of the founding of San Vito took place just this past week. In honor of that event, Cecelia Sansonetti (daughter of the original founder AND a long time supporter and member of the San Vito Bird Club) has graciously offered us a bird walk on her property.

Cecelia will lead us on a fairly flat and wide trail with mixed secondary forest on both sides. Should be easy walking.

As with all of our Bird Walks there is no charge and everyone is welcome. Binoculars and local birders are available to enhance the experience for you.

Many of you know where to find the Sansonetti Road; but if you do not, see the photo below. It is on the main road between Linda Vista and San Vito…just past Finca Cantaros.

Take this road until you come to the sawmill and the iron gates (less than one kilometer). We will meet up there prior to the walk. Parking should not be a problem.

Following the bird walk any or all are welcome to reconvene at the Mottola Cafe.

Questions? Contact Greg Homer at:

8543-6665

The ‘Red Box’ and the ‘Green Box’

Posted on February 22, 2026 by greghomer

The previous post mentioned a ‘Red Box’ and a ‘Green Box’.

Here they are. Green-y is for donations. Red-y is for your SBVC membership dues.

See you this evening.

This Sunday Afternoon: An Original Operetta by Jose Ippolito

Posted on February 18, 2026 by greghomer

Local musician, artist and friend of the San Vito Bird Club, Jose Ippolito, is pleased to present an original Operetta of his own creation, free of charge to our friends and neighbors of San Vito on Sunday, Feb. 22 at Cascata del Bosco…3pm.

Please join us for this romantic, unique and inspiring presentation.

Afterward, please join the San Vito Bird Club at the Wilson Botanical Garden (OTS Las Cruces), for a screening of the documentary movie, ‘Flyway of Life’…5pm. See this site for more information.

Truly, an afternoon of culture to be remembered; and good fellowship.

Bird Walk Sunday: Jan. 11, 2026

Posted on January 6, 2026 by greghomer

Please join the San Vito Bird Club for our first Bird Walk of 2026; Sunday, January 11th..

Starting at 7:00am, meet up at the Wilson Botanical Garden (OTS Las Cruces) recepcion office.

Please spread the word…all are welcome. Binoculars and skilled local birders will be on hand to assist you, if needed.

Wish to pay your San Vito Bird Club annual dues? We can help with that too.

Following the walk, join us for coffee and good fellowship. Tea is also available if you prefer; but really…TEA?

(Fiery-billed Aracaris:photo courtesy of Helen LeVasseur)

A Visit from Three Wise Men (actually storks)

Posted on December 26, 2025 by greghomer

In an earlier post…of a couple of weeks ago…I mentioned the arrival of some unusual big birds (BDBs or Big Damn Birds) that have shown in up lately:

The American Flamingo…over on the Caribbean coast last year.

The Sandhill Crane…currently in some rice fields between Tarcoles and Quepos.

The Jabiru Stork…in the wetlands of Coto 47, maybe or maybe not still around.

Here’s a fourth one but it is much closer to San Vito. This species is NOT a rare bird, oh no. This species is commonly found, even abundant, around the the rice fields of Las Pangas and Coto 47. I refer to the Wood Stork (see below).

The Wood Stork is a very successful and wide-ranging bird, found over much of North, Central and South America. However, the Wood Stork, to paraphrase Eliza Doolittle, ‘…stays mainly on the coastal plain.’ Three Wood Storks are currently paying us a visit up in the foothills. Where are they?

Three Wood Storks were spotted in our very own Humedal de San Joaquin. Look for them behind the Marisqueria Restaurant on the road to Sabalito, near the San Vito airstrip. Peter Wendell tells me he saw it the three Wood Storks ‘…behind the church in the same area.’ These birds are unmistakable; very big, standing about a meter high.

Will the three Wood Storks stick around for a while? Who knows, who can say. All I can say is, if they are smart Wood Storks, they will stick around. Who wouldn’t want to spend some quality time, some relaxing time in San Vito?

Wood Storks; photo courtesy of Peter Wendell

Congratulations to the Coto Brus Christmas Bird Count Team

Posted on December 21, 2025 by greghomer

The Magic Road delivered one-hundred and one Christmas presents (and by ‘presents’ I mean bird species) on Saturday, Dec. 20th to the Coto Brus Christmas Bird Count Team.

The Christmas Bird Count is a world-wide annual event, sponsored by the Audubon Society. Not surprisingly, Costa Rica always shines brightly in the Bird Count.

The Magic Road is a wonderful place to watch birds; check it out.

The San Vito Bird Club wishes all of our readers a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and Happy New Year.

Olive-crowned Yellowthroat, one of the 101 species identified during the Christmas Bird Count. Photo from eBird.

A Third BDB (Big Damn Bird) Shows Up

Posted on December 5, 2025 by greghomer

BDB #1: Fourteen months ago the first ever American Flamingo showed up in Costa Rica; on the Caribbean mudflats near Limon. You can find an article on this bird by searching our website.

BDB #2: Less than a month ago, in November, a good friend of the SVBC Pat O’Donnell, discovered the first ever Sandhill Crane in Costa Rica while on boat cruise of the Rio Tarcoles. This Sandhill Crane is still around.

BDB #3: Just yesterday, a Jabiru Stork was spotted down in the rice fields of Las Pangas, near Coto 47. The Jabiru Stork, a MASSIVE bird, is a regular species up in the far north rice fields of Guanacaste. So far as I’ve been able to find out, this is the first one seen in our area.

Sandhill Crane photo by Henri Sandi Amador. Jabiru photo (from video capture) by Noel Urena.

Bird Walk Sunday: Oct. 5th at OTS Las Cruces

Posted on October 2, 2025 by greghomer

Please join the San Vito Bird Club for our bi-monthly Bird Walk.

Where: OTS Las Cruces, a delightful place most of know as the Wilson Botanical Garden.

When: Sunday, Oct. 5th. Meet at the OTS Recepcion area at 7am.

Why: Why not? Migratory birds from the north and a few from south are now flowing into our area; not unlike a wide-open fire hose.

Who: You…and I.

What: A relaxing walk, watching for surprises, pleasant conversation (at low volume, please) and a hot beverage at the end.

Binoculars and local guides provided; all free of charge.

But watch out for bugs.

Bird Walk Sunday: Wilson Garden–Sunday, Sept.21

Posted on September 18, 2025 by greghomer

As the great Emily Dickinson once wrote:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all.

…whatever the hell that means.

My point is, please join the San Vito Bird Club for our regular every-other-Sunday bird walk, this Sunday, September 21st at 7:00am. Meet up, as usual, as the Recepcion office of the Wilson Botanical Garden. There is no charge.

No binoculars…not a problem; we’ll supply you with a pair.

Limited ability to identify birds…no problem; we’ve got local birders to help you.

No shoes…that’s a problem. Get some and join us this Sunday.