Join us this Sunday, October 4 at the Wilson Botanical Garden, aka OTS/Las Cruces, as we check the trees and bushes for returning migrants!
Already seen: Wood-Peewees, Empidonax Flycatchers, Yellow Warblers, Black and Whites and Blackburnians.
Join us in our exciting search for Thrushes, Ovenbirds, Kentuckys, American Redstarts, Golden-wingeds, Mournings, Chestnut-sideds (above) and MANY more.
We’ll have binoculars to lend, as always, and the walk will be followed by a coffee social hour, hosted by SVBC Stalwart Terry Farling.
These twice-monthly Bird Walks are free and open to the public so brings your friends, neighbors and family!
Let’s go look for returning migrants at the Wilson Botanical Garden/OTS Las Cruces this Sunday, September 6 at 7 a.m. We will meet at the Reception Building, as usual, and have binoculars to share.
Early fall migrants often include wablers and flycatchers and, of course, we are always hoping for a ‘fall out’ where we are surrounded by a group that flew in overnight!
On our last walk we saw some fascinating sights, including nesting Gray-headed Kites, newly-emerged butterflies ‘having a moment’ and a pink spider that had caught a bee. This tells us you just never know what you are going to see if you go out to look.
A Common Tody-Flycatcher — not a warbler but small and captivating nonetheless.
Our Bird Walks are free, open to the public and last about an hour with a sociable coffee hour afterward. Catering King Terry Farling regularly brings a bakery treat and the Las Cruces kitchen staff provide coffee and tea. Hope to see you there.
Exciting news around here lately — Gray-headed Kites have nested at OTS Las Cruces Biological Research Station/Wilson Botanical Garden in a huge tree (local name ‘Mayo’, genus: Vochysia) and we are all agog! There’s even a semi-visible chick, hidden by branches, perched on a nest that looks almost too small for its family.
These birds are beautiful raptors, described in eBird and local field guides as found in lowland tropical forests. (As most of you know, Las Cruces is not in the lowlands but change is the only constant so this is our good fortune.)
Seen here is a photo from our most recent Bird Walk, Sunday, August 23. NOTE: the lizard dangling from the kite’s right talon.
Photo by David Rodrigues, Biologo Regente, Finca Cántaros Environmental Association
More photos from David are below: in the next one, it appeared that one of these butterflies had just emerged from its chrysalis and wasted no time starting new life!
As for the next photo, it’s a confusing sight but you can see a pinkish-white spider on a porterweed flower that had just captured a bee!
With 14 participants, it was a lively walk with interesting natural history moments and plenty of laughing and talking. We welcomed Tina Christoper back to San Vito and wished Helen and Greg Homer safe travel to their home base in the US.
We urge you to join us on these walks — they are free, we have binoculars to lend, and clearly you never know what you are going to see. The next walk will be Sunday, September 7; meet at the Las Cruces Reception Building at 7 am.
To all our contributing bakers, thank you from the bottom of our sheet pans for the delicious cookies, brownies, bars and cupcakes we had the privilege of selling at the San Vito Bird Club Bake Sale yesterday at the Las Cruces Dia de Puertas Abiertas.
Arranged in first name alphabetical order, ALL HAIL:
Dulce Maday Cueva Salas
Ellen Beckett
Joe Ippolito
Kathy Bauer
Peter Wendell
Here is a photo of the ‘table team’ — Alison, Nancy Warshawer and Peter Wendell:
It’s a shame you can’t really see the goodies . . . we netted more than $100, beating our high sales from last year of $75. All proceeds go to Las Cruces and it is our pleasure and privilege to be part of this wonderful, annual event.
We also had ‘Lucy Loves Nature’ books for sale from the amazing Dr. Lilly Briggs, longtime friend of the SVBC and Executive Director of the Finca Cantaros Enviromental Association. These educational and fun books are available in English and Spanish, hard cover and paperback editions. For more on these new books, visit https://fincacantaros.org.
Peter, highlighting the books:
As always, with annual events, a sense of nostalgia and a feeling of renewal occur simultaneously. To be honest, this writer is not even sure when the bird club’s participation in the Las Cruces Open Doors Event began. We are so fortunate to have this enduring relationship with the Tropical Studies Las Cruces Biological Research Station.
It is our good luck to continue this special activity. Next year, we hope to see you too!
Recently, we’ve noticed we can’t use our phone/computer/tablet without being told to go outside and look at birds. Since we have been saying that for years, we’ve decided to change the subject.
Please contribue to the SVBC Bake Sale at the OTS/Las Cruces Dia de Puertas Abiertas on Sunday, June 14 with:
Cookies: chocolate chip are favorites but any cookie will be welcome
Brownies: another favorite with or without nuts
Fresh Homemade Chocolate Brownie against a background
Cakes — any kind of cakes!
Bars — lemon, oatmeal, nutty
YUM YUM YUMMY!
You could deliver your baked goods to us on the morning of June 14 at the Wilson Botanical Garden OR we can arrange to pick them up. Send me a note at: alison.w.olivieri@gmail.com
Even better, please come help out at our Bake Sale Table! You might create signs, slice cake, make change and chat with customers (or us). We’d love to see you there.
Failing any of the above, you could send a contribution — all proceeds are donated to OTS/Las Cruces — via our website (www.sanvitobirdclub.org) by clicking on ‘Support the Club‘. Many, many thanks!
PS Please let us know if your baked goods are gluten-free. It’s a plague out there . . .
Please join us for a Bird Walk this Sunday, May 17 at the Wilson Botanical Garden. We will meet at 7:00 at the Reception and there will be binoculars available, as usual.
Are you a grandparent, grandchild, grandperson, grandpoobah? Whoever you are, we have a treat for you!
We’ll read to you! Ha ha, not really, but YOU can read a new, magical children’s book to anyone you please: it’s a very cute story and the illustrations are wonderful. Further, it’s all in and around San Vito because the author is none other than Dr. Lilly Briggs, Executive Director of the Finca Cántaros Environmental Association. The beautiful pictures were drawn by well-known Costa Rican artist Vicky Ramos.
If you are local, you can buy Lucy Loves Nature: The Search for the Mysterious Potoo, as a hardcover or soft cover copy, at Finca Cántaros whenever in the “Abierto” sign is up — usually Monday to Friday from 8 am to 4 pm — in English or Spanish. Or you can order a copy at one of our regular free Bird Walks at Las Cruces/Wilson Botanical Garden and we will hand deliver it.
If you are from away, you can order softcover copies in English or Spanish from Amazon.ca or Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. The title in Spanish is: Lucy Ama la Naturaleza.
For hardcover copies and more information, please go to the Finca Cántaros website: fincacantaros.org. You can contact a staff member by email (info@fincacantaros.org) or WhatsApp (+506 8878 1919).
It is important to note that the story of a little girl going fearlessly into the woods is an excellent and empowering message. It sits at the intersection of the pillars of FCEA’s work and supports the role of girls and women in conservation and science. All proceeds from Lucy Loves Nature go to supporting that work.
If you are feeling adventuresome and frisky, try reading it in Spanish!
In December, many of us gathered at Cascatas del Bosque to celebrate Roni’s 70th Birthday. It was a fun and funny party, perfectly in keeping with her unique personality.
Her death on March 12 was a terrible shock to many, many people here because she moved so easily from group to group. She was above all an artist but also a leader, a teacher, a student, an animal lover and a wacky, fun, beloved woman.
Her connection to the Bird Club was long and deep. She was the first teacher of Detectives de Aves — BirdSleuth International — 15 years ago. We were her taxis at the time as she was carless, leading to many lunches and laughs. In local elementary schools, the students were given something new and exciting: a school program with outdoor games, thought-provoking questions and best of all: binoculars! It was a heady time for us and, I think, a great experience for the 5-6th graders. Our special friends became the school directors who welcomed this educational oddity.
Undoubtedly, a gathering of memories and well wishes will be held in the next few weeks and we hope to see you all there.
With three Events of the Arts in a week, including last week’s ArtsFest 2026; the upcoming Italo-Argentino Operetta at Cascatas del Bosque at 3:00 pm February 22, and the SVBC Movie Night/Annual Meeting, you’d think San Vito had transmogrified into a high-falutin’ International Arts and Music destination (!).
Reminder — let’s make it even better: members and guests are invited to the Wilson Garden/Las Cruces Reception building around 5:00 pm this Sunday, February 22, where you can meet Filmmaker Tomas Koeck who will host his beautiful and riveting movie “Flyway of Life”.
Soda, cookies, appetizers, beer and wine will be served. We’ll start with a brief wrap-up of the club’s 2025 activities.
Please remember to bring your 2026 dues ($30 individual, $50 family — or the colones equivalent) for the Red Collection Box at the door. And, please, drop a helpful donation for the aperitifs and savories into the Green Collection Box.
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