We are now within the confines of the of week Feb. 23-March 2.

A WEEK UNLIKE ANY OTHER.

During this very week the San Vito Bird Club asks all members to count bird species they see while sitting on their porch.

Sure, this sounds exhausting but…

…if you come to our Annual Meeting (Sunday March 2nd from 7:30am to around noon at Cascata del Bosco) AND if your list of porch birds has the most species, AND if you get that list turned in to Alison, Peter, Lydia or Greg before 8:00am, AND if we can read it, AND if you stick around till the end of the meeting (right before your complimentary brunch!)………

You’ll win a PRIZE! Perhaps not a devastatingly exotic or life-changing prize but a prize nonetheless.

The bragging rights for winning this contest?

PRICELESS.

Hope to see you there.

Have you ever purchased any San Vito Bird Club merchandise? Ever logged onto the sanvitobirdclub.org website? Of course you have…that’s how you got here. The San Vito Bird Club ‘Logo Bird’ was there…staring back at you (see below).

Back some years ago when the speedy and powerful Alison Olivieri formed the San Vito Bird Club, she and some close colleagues were trying to determine, ‘…which of the many San Vito bird species should we choose to represent our Club.’

The Turquoise Cotinga became the ultimate choice; a bird of rare beauty and even rarer number of sitings. The Turquoise Cotinga lives around here, yes it does. Personally, I have seen it only once in Coto Brus…on the Magic Road.

And so, when an opportunity to view a Turquoise Cotinga presented itself, we braved the one-hour bus ride to Palmira (with Sur Trips) and the 6am departure time and took off.

There is no reason to delay the payoff any longer. We had great viewings of both male and female Turquoise Cotingas. As you can see, the Turquoise Cotinga is primarily a fruit-eating bird and is very partial to Aguacatillo (little avocados) fruits.

We also viewed 44 other species of birds before sitting down to our wonderful breakfast.

Even where they live, the Turquoise Cotinga is not a common bird; but if you’d like a good chance to see one and experience a very nice outing to the scenic Palmira site please contact Sur Trips:

surtrips.com

Or if you know our good friend and local supporter of the San Vito Bird Club, Henry Barrantes, ask about this trip. Or any of his other great excursions.

ps: Here’s one way to know your hosts are very dedicated to birding.

Our good friend Karina Lopez and her staff at Los Chocuacos Tourist Center are hosting an informative and important lecture from author Maria Alejandra Maglianesi. Information included below:

https://forms.gle/dZtmsYx1uPAZKeur9

Attached below is a link to an eBird article listing name changes to several Costa Rican birds.

https://ebird.org/region/CR/post/taxonomy-update-2024-is-here

Remember a while back…a lengthy article we posted about taxonomic name changes involving getting rid of bird names that were named after people–people who might be flawed? Remember that?

This ain’t it.

But hey…the House Wren getting turned in to seven different species is rather cunning.

The title of this article is also a multiple choice question.

WHY DO BIRDS SUDDENLY APPEAR?

a. Just like me, they long to be close to you.

b . They get sucked into a mini-black hole and are deposited at random locations.

c. They just get lost sometimes.

It is possible any of the three answers above is the correct answer but the MOST likely answer is ‘c’. They just get lost sometime.

An American Flamingo got lost out over the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean Sea recently and showed up on a beach in Costa Rica.

This American Flamingo showed up on a Caribbean beach, near Cahuita, about two and a half weeks ago. Since that time almost every birder in Costa Rica has made the trek out to see it. (A Cahuita entrepreneur has become Costa Rica’s latest millionaire, selling hot dogs, soda, those little camera batteries and sunscreen to the throng.)

Any ‘first time ever’ bird showing up in Costa Rica becomes a big event; but when that bird is massive and bright PINK!!!! Well, you can imagine the excitement.

Why did this American Flamingo get lost? Maybe it just made a wrong turn somewhere but most likely those massive tropical storms and hurricanes out in the Gulf had a lot to do with it.

The Flamingo has been with us for over two weeks and seems quite content feeding along our Caribbean mudflat beaches. If you want to give it a look, I suggest you drive to the Cahuita area and look for a pod of people all carrying binoculars and cameras…eating hot dogs and drinking soda. Tell them hi.

American Flamingo, photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Author John Boorman’s great book ‘Deliverance’ gives us some wonderful advice:

“Sometimes you’ve got to lose yourself before you find anything.

Well, I didn’t get lost this morning, exactly–but I did take a walk along a stretch of road that I’ve zipped past in my car no doubt hundreds of times before…and so have you, I’ll bet. On that stretch of road grows an epic Ceiba tree. This tree lives in a small patch of greenery near a jolly little stream with a burbling cascade. Fruiting trees grows there, as do Cecropia trees, ferns, vines and epiphytes. As you’re heading down to Sabalito, you’ll see this spot (see below) on the left side of the road about 40 meters past the Pali and Frio Sur..

Photos courtesy of Greg Homer. Oct. 2, 2024

There are no signs announcing this place; no benches…no trails. But the hour I spent birding there this morning proved to be one of the better birding experiences I’ve had.

My point? We have great birding spots ALL OVER Coto Brus; and not limited to the well known National Parks, Gardens and Reserves. These diamond-in-the-rough spots can be most enjoyable and may give you some never-to-forget natural history moments.

If you have the time, check out the spot I have just described. You know what? We should get some benches put out there and give it a name.

Please share with me any Diamond in the Rough spots you enjoy.

Greg Homer

eltangaral@gmail.com.