Author Archives: AWOlivieri

The Children’s Forest of Coto Brus, Part 1

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Dr. Lilly Briggs is up to something very wild in her new digs at Finca Cantaros: she’s working to create The Children’s Forest of Coto Brus — or, perhaps a little more melodically speaking, El Bosque de los Ninos de Coto Brus.

We talk endlessly about our Detectives de Aves environmental education program from the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology. In fact, Lilly is one of the co-authors of this curriculum, Lesson 9 of which is a Community Project.

This Flows So Well

In the first two weeks of July, students from six participating schools chose to plant trees as their Community Project — so they, and we, are part of the reforestation effort that will ultimately create The Children’s Forest.

Alexandrina is all smiles with her ‘personal’ part of the future forest. Photo by Peter Wendell.

The staked out young trees have been GPS-ed by SVBC President Peter Wendell and every student was photographed with his/her planting. Lilly is encouraging them to come back whenever possible to check on the tree’s growth and — one day — to bring their children and grandchildren to see their trees in the future mature forest.

Each school heard a talk on the history of Finca Cantaros, given by former owner and reforestation leader Gail Hewson Hull, followed by a discussion of the importance of trees for healthy environments and habitats, and, lastly, a brief demonstration of tree planting techniques.

Escuela Copal from Concepcion; Director Jairo Murillo accompanied his students. Photo by Peter Wendell.

The students fanned out in the pasture directly east of F. Cantaros to find their own personal sapling that they then planted with shared shovels, big smiles and great vigor!

As of the end of July 2019, 110 trees were planted by an equal number of students.

To date, participating schools include Escuelas Santa Rita, San Marcos near Sereno, Copal in Concepcion, Los Angeles, Linda Vista and Gonzalo Acuña in Sabalito. We will update this list as the forest grows!

Hello and Goodbye: Please Welcome Dr. Lilly Briggs!

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Most of our readers are familiar with the beautiful Finca Cantaros, a public center of activity in San Vito that until recently was owned and operated by Gail Hewson Hull and Harry Hull. This magical place has hosted many of our bird walks, research projects by international scientists, educational opportunities and other events that SVBC-ers cherish and, yes, we all cried at the Hull’s Farewell Party.

In her element. Photo by Michael Olivieri

But please join us in welcoming the new owner of Cantaros, Dr. Lilly Briggs from the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology. With Jennifer Fee, of the Laboratory of Ornithology Education Department, Lilly is the co-author of the BirdSleuth-International (aka Detectives de Aves) curriculum with which SVBC members work daily and happily!

After earning her PhD in 2016 at the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell, Lilly now works as a Postdoctoral Associate in Education and Citizen Science Programs. To learn more about Lilly’s career and see her publication list, visit this page.

Their legacy lives on in San Vito; we send every good wish to the Hulls.

‘Goodbyes’ are hard — sob, sniff — we miss the Hulls and wish them well in their new desert habitat in New Mexico.

‘Hellos’ are fun — whoo hoo! — please join us in a warm welcome and a huge hello to Lilly!

 

 

Tree Planting Photo Essay, June 30, Concepcion

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Thanks to an army of volunteers last Sunday, the Restoration Project in Concepcion on the Gamboa Property was a huge success!

Rodrigo de Sousa organized this large group for a morning of grunt work that resulted in 450 new trees planted, new fencing installed to curtail bovine wandering and reforestation to benefit the community’s future.

Troops fanned out going out and around the pasture and watershed; a morning well spent.

Even the youngest members of this volunteer group worked all morning, digging holes, staking young trees and ensuring an enhanced habitat for wildlife. Special thanks to San Vito Bird Club stalwart supporter Terry Farling for these photos!

We’ve Got Mail from Our French Friends!

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A most welcome letter from Jean-Philippe Thelliez (“JP”) and Christopher Stamp who visited us in April: among the most accomplished and energetic birders and photographers we’ve ever encountered:

Jean-Philippe Thelliez and Christopher Stamp, our bon amis de France

What a wonderful chance or was it destiny that put JP (Jean-Philippe) in touch with Peter?
Whatever it was, thanks to that contact one Frenchmen and his Franglais sidekick, Christopher, had the pleasure of meeting Peter and joining the San Vito Bird Club for its Sunday visit to the Wilson Botanical Gardens on the 6th of April.

What a wonderful experience it was. First, the warm welcome by members of the group, most of whose names are remembered (more than can be said for the names of the birds! Thankfully, others have recorded the names for us).  We have never been to a place where so many birds could be seen at the same time. It was impossible to capture them all on celluloid as they whizzed here and there and at the end we felt veritably shell shocked – rather like small children being let loose in a sweets factory. But we went back for second helpings!

The following day Peter took us up to Las Tablas with Marco Mora, one of the SVBC Detectives de Aves teachers. The Resplendant Quetzal and Three-wattled Bellbird were on the menu, among others, and we had good weather until the heavens opened on the trip back down but — fortunately, according to Peter — not until after we had already negotiated the slippery bits.

Great Green Macaws in Ara Manzanillo on the Caribbean coast. Photo by Jean-Philippe Thelliez

We enjoyed a couple of days exploring the Coto Brus area following Peter’s advice and met up again with Jeimiry Badilla from Finca Cantaros. He proposed a trip to his home near Cuidad Neilly on a holiday Thursday. So us two, Jei, his wife Marylin Saldana and their daughter Georgea were jimmied into our rented “Jimmy” for an exciting road trip.  What a trip! Jei and his wife are formidable birders; highlights of the trip were a Savannah Hawk, Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, a nighthawk, three trogons and three manakins (we told you we couldn’t remember all the names…).

On the social side we apéroed chez Judy and chez Jo and Peter, where the latter kindly introduced us to their pet armadillo! We ate at Rancho Amigos with Alison, Jo and Peter; Peter then joined us at Liliana’s for a final meal and helped us plan the rest of the trip.

We thank you all — and especially Peter, who helped us with initial planning and without whom our Costa Rica safari would have been much less memorable and colourful in both human and avian terms.

Oh! and the San Vito Bird Club now has two new French members who would be delighted to welcome visiting SVBC members to share the French birding experience. I think the only bird that we have in common is the House Sparrow — Moineau domestique — but WHAT are you waiting for?

Many thanks

JP and Christopher

Great Day at OTS/Las Cruces on Saturday, June 1, 2019

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The SVBC activities at the Annual OTS/Las Cruces Dia de Las Puertas Abiertas were better than ever this year due to our stellar volunteers.

Here, for example, is the Bake Sale table that brought in more than $100 — the most we’ve ever made in more than five years of rustling up muffins, cookies, bird nest delicacies, cakes, cinnamon rolls and more!

Kathy Bauer, Karen Kennedy and Betty Peterson enhanced the day with painting activities including the ever-popular face painting so that by the end of the day we saw butterflies, puppies, parakeets and hummingbirds running around the trails.

Bird Walks and a mini-course on bird bill evolution were conducted by our own SVBC President Peter Wendell and Detectives de Aves Instructor Marco Mora, seen below preparing to push off with a family group. Thanks to one and all for volunteering your time and expertise.

Marco Mora, second from right, Peter on right. Photo by Jo Davidson

Join Us for a Fun Family Day at OTS/Las Cruces! Dia de las Puertas Abiertas sabado 1 junio!

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Please come to the Las Cruces Biological Station this Saturday for a fun-filled family day! The Las Cruces staff will provide events, workshops, music and more for every member of the family. As usual, the SVBC will host an Annual Bake Sale, Face Painting, an Artistic Mural for all to create plus an environmental education activity. See the schedules below for detailed information! Hope to see you there!

Friends From Afar — We’ve Got Mail!

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Greetings, members of the SVBC:

We wish to convey to you all our sincere thanks for the welcome that the SVBC members extended to us during our recent visit to San Vito this past March. Our little group of six was comprised of short term visitors (a few days for four of us; an additional couple of weeks for two of us). Although there was only one formal SVBC member among us, we were all treated as regulars and included in a delightful variety of birding adventures: the walk and brunch at Cecilia Sansonetti’s beautiful finca; the walks at Cántaros (with the opportunity to meet new owner, Lilly, and managers, Yei and Marylin); the tense photo competitions, the awards, the refreshments, etc.

Greg Homer took two of us on an early morning walk to Tres Rios in search of, among other birds, the albino vultures. Peter Wendell gave us a primer on using eBird. Alison Olivieri gave us perfect directions to Rio Negro. And everyone else was equally gracious. We were also impressed with the club’s industriousness—from its nascent effort to merge with the Pajareros del Sur, to the continuing inclusion of young birders, the involvement with the local schools and the Detectives de Aves education progam. You folks gave us all great memories of San Vito, its birds and its birders. Thank you! 

David and Audrey Fielding, on our own behalf and on behalf of our friends: David Rorick, Sandra Braden, John Denvir and Miriam Rokeach.

David and Audrey Fielding, members from San Francisco

 

PS – It must be about time to renew our membership, so for David & Audrey Fielding, our check is in the mail (via Paypal).

The SVBC responds: this is the nicest news we’ve had in forever, so thank you both for your note and your Membership Renewal.

Bird Quiz Winner: Randall Jimenez!

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Felicidades a Randall Jimenez for correctly identifying the Buff-fronted Foliage-gleaner! An uncommon to rare resident of the Cordillera de Talamanca on the Pacific slope, this individual was photographed on the road to Las Tablas in March 2019.

An educated guess says this hole on the roadside embankment is probably the bird’s nest entrance. Note it is an oval shape, wider than it is tall, typical of the members of this group that nest in burrows, like the more commonly seen Chiriqui Foliage-gleaner and our special resident of San Vito, the Ruddy Foliage-gleaner.

Special thanks to Ellen Beckett, Jean-Phillipe Thelliez, Tom Wilkinson, Roni Chernin, Nancy Nelson, Dorothy MacKinnon and Sara Clark for playing along with us!

Please Join Us for 2019/Afiliarse con nosotros 2019!

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Birding with the Pajareros Del Sur at the Wilson Botanical Garden. Photo by Jo Davidson

It is time to join the San Vito Bird Club for the first time OR to renew your membership for 2019!

Benefits of membership include bi-monthly Bird Walks at the Wilson Garden/OTS Las Cruces Biological Station, invites to the members-only Annual Meeting at Cascatas Del Bosque, day trips in and around the Coto Brus Valley and occasional overnight jaunts throughout Costa Rica in search of rarities like the Lanceolated Monklet. Plus your membership support helps us bring BirdSleuth-International, an environmental education program from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, to local schools as “Detectives de Aves”. Please read President Wendell’s post about the Detectives de Aves year 2018 here.

Detectives de Aves teachers Carla Azofeifa and Paula Mesen with SVBC President Peter Wendell. Photo by Alison Olivieri

Part of your membership dues will be donated to the Organization for Tropical Studies Las Cruces Biological Station that provides us with an exciting place to bird and free coffee and camaraderie after the walks.

We are keeping dues at 2018 rates: C11,000 or $20 per person for International Members and C14,000 or $25 per person for residents of Costa Rica. Family membership are priced for two people but always include children.

Without you, we are nothing so please join today! You can give your dues to Peter at the Bird Walk on December 9 or to Randall Bourbon Jimenez or to any other executive committee member: Greg Homer, Alison Olivieri or Harry Hull.

A New Bird Quiz: Let’s Go ‘Urban Birding’!

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Quiz Bird #1

City parks are often sites of great birding adventures. In New York, Central Park is a famous spot with more than 230 documented species. It is particularly ‘hot’ during spring and fall migrations and is the subject of a wonderful documentary called ‘The Central Park Effect’. Likewise, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco is another birder’s dream and hosts 175 field trips per year for all birding skill levels. In Costa Rica, La Sabana Metropolitan Park has been reforested with native trees and now boasts about 200 species of birds.

Recently, in an enormous park in Mexico City – Parque Chapultepec  — we ventured out to bird one morning and took some amazingly not-great photos BUT they are good enough to make a new Quiz Bird post for you!

Quiz Bird #2 — just the families will win the game!

Just name the five families and the first person who figures them out correctly will win either 6 Currant Scones or a six-pack of Imperial, Costa Rica’s national beer (your choice). If you can name all five species, you’ll get an extra surprise. Send your answers to: eltangaral@gmail.com. If you live in San Vito, your prize will be delivered at our next Bird Walk on Sunday, November 4 at 7:30 a.m. at Las Cruces. If you live anywhere else, we’ll mail you a non-comestible prize.

Quiz bird #3

In Cornell University’s local environmental education program, Detectives de Aves or BirdSleuth-International, any of the students would ace this quiz. Lesson 7 features bird family silhouettes and these photos, although they appear to have been taken by our anti-photographer, are perfectly adequate for you to correctly identify these groups. All our Detectives de Aves students are eligible to win this contest but no beer for them; instead, a dozen homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies. Attention Detectives: please include your name, school and grade level for proper eligibility.

Quiz Bird #5 — and it’s a gimme!

Quiz Bird #4