Author Archives: AWOlivieri

A Birder’s Bird

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A guest “Viewpoint” written by Greg Homer, a birder’s birder who has led many trips to Costa Rica over the years. Greg and his wife Helen are our newest members. . . . .

It’s possible — even probable — that in the entire history of the world no non-birder has ever uttered the phrase “Ooh look, a Thrushlike Schiffornis!”.  But this wonderful creature, described by field guide author Richard Garrigues as “. . . a non-descript olive-brown bird . . . ” and somewhat more generously by the great Alexander Skutch as ” . . . not brightly colored”, is most definitely a joy to behold when seen by a birder.

Greg Homer, on deck at his new digs near the Wilson Botanical Garden.

Greg Homer, on deck at his new digs near the Wilson Botanical Garden.

Toucans, motmots, most parrots and many tanagers fall into a category of birds often referred to as Charismatic Avifauna (C.A.).  These birds are so colorful and/or charming that both birders and non-birders alike stop what they’re doing to give them a look. It’s extremely easy to love a Bay-headed Tanager or Fiery-billed Aracari.

But the Thrushlike Schiffornis most certainly does NOT fall into the C.A. category.  Not only is the Thrushlike Schiffornis non-descript and not brightly colored, it does not live a particularly exciting or charismatic lifestyle (at least not to all of us non-Thrushlike Schiffornises).  The terms ‘sluggish’ and ‘secretive’ and ‘solitary’ are often used to describe its behavior.  The song of the Thrushlike Schiffornis is unlikely to ever become a Top 10 ringtone.  And, on top of all that, there is the name — to me, ‘Thrushlike Schiffornis’ sounds more like a medical diagnosis than a bird.

“Mrs. Hartoonian, we have the results back on that culture we did on your eye.  You have thrushlike schiffornis.”

 “Is that bad?”

“Well, it isn’t good; but these days it is treatable with antibiotics.”

And get this. . . in my copy of A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica by F. Gary Stiles and Alexander Skutch (first edition 1989), the Thrushlike Schiffornis isn’t even called a Thrushlike Schiffornis.  Back then it was listed as a “Thrushlike Manakin . . . which may possibly be a Thrushlike Mourner.”

When I was a kid back in the citrus belt of California, family, friends and neighbors used to look at me, smile and then tell my parents, “Well, there’s a face only a mother could love.”  And so it goes for the Thrushlike Schiffornis — a bird only a birder could love.

Wilson Walk Washout!

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The Bird Walk scheduled for last Saturday, Nov. 2, was rained out — the first time this has happened since we began leading regular bird walks years ago. With all the rain we get annually in San Vito, it’s surprising this doesn’t happen more often!

Raining, pouring and heading your way. (Photo by Michael Olivieri.)

Raining, pouring and heading your way. (Photo by Michael Olivieri.)

We will reschedule for this coming Saturday, Nov. 9 and hope for better luck.

In the meantime, it might be fun to start listing the species that are visiting your bird feeders. Migratory species that spend the spring and summer in North America are back. Species like Baltimore Orioles, Summer Tanagers and Tennessee Warblers all readily come to fruit feeders so you should be seeing them regularly now.

Spending a few minutes each morning jotting down the birds on your bananas will sharpen your ID skills and, if we start a little competition, might encourage getting more feeders into action.

Here’s my list from the weekend, a total of 15 species including 7 tanagers (Blue-Gray, Golden-hooded, Silver-throated, Cherrie’s, Summer, Speckled and Palm), 2 toucans (Fiery-billed Aracari, Emerald Toucanet), 1 saltator (Buff-throated), 1 euphonia (Thick-billed), 1 honeycreeper (Green), 1 woodpecker (Red-crowned), 1 thrush (Clay-colored), and Blue-crowned Motmot,

We’ll be waiting for your list, so send it along by clicking here to contact us!

English Language Students Attend Bird Walk

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We were happily overrun with students from the CaRob Instituto de Ingles in San Vito on a recent Bird Walk at Finca Cantaros, a change in venue from our regular twice-monthly outings at the Wilson Botanical Garden.

Lush trails at Finca Cantaros. Photo by Barbara Barton.

Lush trails at Finca Cantaros. Photo by Barb Keeler-Barton.

Alma Dionisi, one of the Instituto’s English teachers, brought her class of 10 via minibus for a two-hour bird walk followed by an English language practice session. Wendy Russell Bernstein, Barb Keeler-Barton, Roni Chernin, Caroline Torres, Susan England and Judith and Joe Ippolito were all on hand to help out – both with bird spotting and practicing conversational English.

The idea for this walk came from Wilkin, one of Alma’s students. Wilkin is a passionate birder, a friend of SVBC Member Cecilia Sansonetti’s and has birded with us several times in the past. Unfortunately he cannot attend more of our walks at the moment because his Saturday mornings are occupied with learning English!

Chatting in English in the Rancho Grande. Photo by Barbara Barton.

Chatting in English in the Rancho Grande. Photo by Barb Keeler-Barton.

It was a large group but we nonetheless managed to see 28 species of birds including one neotropical migrant, a Black-and-white Warbler, sighted by Susan England. Thanks to Alma for organizing this fun morning and also to our loyal volunteer helpers.

Birding from the Canopy Tower

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On a recent Bird Walk at the Wilson Botanical Garden, our group of 10 climbed the Canopy Tower to look for returning migrants. Although we did not see any of those, we did see two Masked Tityras, spotted by Caroline Torres.

Masked Tityra. Photo by Mark W. Eaton.

Masked Tityra (Photo by Mark W. Eaton)

I’m not sure why but these birds always give me a jolt of surprise. Maybe it’s the incredible white plumage or perhaps it’s the bright pink orbital skin around the eye and face? Being close to them in the canopy was a thrill as their size is often diminished when they’re seen – typically high in the trees — from the ground. Here, on the Tower, we had the chance to view them at slightly lower than eye level, allowing us to experience them as striking-looking, big, white flycatchers.

When the Tower was inaugurated in May 2011 (click here to read more about this event), we decided to keep a list of all species seen and/or heard in the immediate vicinity. On our recent visit we added add two new ones to the Canopy Tower Bird List: Laughing Falcon (heard not seen) and Spot-crowned Euphonia.

Laughing Falcon (Photo by Alison Olivieri)

Laughing Falcon (Photo by Alison Olivieri)

The falcon’s resonant, slightly eerie call is described by F. Gary Stiles and Alexander F. Skutch in A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica, as “. . . . a long, rhythmic series of loud, hollow notes with somewhat the quality of a child’s shout.”  The local name of this raptor, Guaco, is synchronous with its call so once you learn and hear it, you can be certain it’s a Laughing Falcon. It is well known that this bird of prey’s favorite food item is any kind of snake so they are cherished by local people and those of us who wish they would visit often and eat their fill.

Our female Spot-crowned Euphonia perched quite close to the Tower, affording some of the group excellent looks at her distinctive field marks of rufous forecrown and belly. Identifying this species is easy if you are prepared to do a little work with your field guide. The males are the only euphonia with yellow spots on the crown patch but, if you are looking from below, it is often easier to identify the female. This is a puzzle where the range maps in the Garrigues and Dean field guide (The Birds of Costa Rica) really come in handy. You’ll quickly see another species with similar markings on the female, Olive-backed Euphonia, but a glance at the map will tell you the Olive-backed is found on the Caribbean side and Spot-crowned is the bird you see here.

To date we have 67 species on this list and 10 birders have contributed sightings. If you are curious and would like a copy, don’t hesitate to contact us. Likewise, please let us know if you see or hear a species we are missing.

Thanks to Caroline Torres, Roni Chernin, Jeff Wick, Barb Barton, Judith and Joe Ippolito, Donna and Tony Pagano and their surrogate grandson Rolando for joining us on this walk.

Festival Eco-Cultural 2013

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Rock Art rocks!

Rock Art rocks!

A big THANK YOU to all the SVBC volunteers who helped organize and implement all the children’s activities during the recent Festival Eco-Cultural at OTS Las Cruces Biological Station/Wilson Botanical Garden.

Rock Art with Wendy Bernstein and Face Painting by Kata Ulaenars, Barbara Barton, Pat Morgan and Liz Allen are always popular at this annual event and we try to introduce new crafts and other activities each year.

Lantern finished!

Lantern finished!

This year Roni Chernin led a craft table transforming recycled material into flower vases and Kelley Rasch and her neighbor Rosemari helped kids make gaily decorated lanterns.

Held in June during Environmental Awareness Week, Las Cruces is transformed into a hubbub of activities including musical events, videos, guided walks, local food, crafts, artwork, demonstrations, plant and seed exchanges and more. Traditionally, members of the SVBC have volunteered to run the children’s programs for both days of this much-anticipated celebration.

Please enjoy these pictures by Alison Olivieri from a two-day “photo op” and plan to join us next year!

Beautiful painted faces.

Beautiful painted faces.

Below is a report of this year’s Festival, in Spanish only, by Ariadna Sanchez, Environmental Education Coordinator at Las Cruces.

El ciclo de la vida comienza de nuevo!

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Para leer el articulo “El ciclo de la vida comienza de nuevo!” en espanol, por favor, haga CLIQUE AQUI!

Two Rufous-tailed Hummingbird nestlings. Photo by Alison Olivieri.

Two Rufous-tailed Hummingbird nestlings. Photo by Alison Olivieri.

Life’s Cycle Begins Anew/El ciclo de la vida comienza de nuevo!

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The windows on the side of our car next to the garden are covered with black plastic and both of the side-view mirrors sport jauntily-angled BM shopping bags: this is our standard car ‘look’ for April and May. In the morning, from about 10 to noon, if we removed these defenses, the car will be splattered with bird excrement almost immediately. It is under attack by a Silver-throated Tanager AND a Clay-colored Thrush, both of which are laboring under the same mistaken conviction that their reflections in the windows and the mirror are rival males muscling into valuable nesting territories.

Spot-crowned Euphonia female. Photo by Caroline Torres.

Spot-crowned Euphonia female. Photo by Caroline Torres.

At this time of year, nearly all our resident birds are courting, staking out fruitful patches of habitat, building nests, laying eggs and feeding young. During the Club’s bird walk last week at the Wilson Botanical Garden, we found paired up Gray-capped Flycatchers, a Common Tody-Flycatcher nest and a Spot-crowned Euphonia nest inside of which we could see two huge, gaping bills attached to two tiny nestlings. An extra bonus for us: we got to watch both parents feeding the chicks!

At home over coffee, we watched a family of four Rufous-breasted Wrens working the trees close to the house and later, walking the dog, we saw Tropical Kingbirds feeding fledglings on the electric wires along the road.

Clay-colored Thrush nestlings at 11 days old. Photo by Alison Olivieri.

Clay-colored Thrush nestlings at 11 days old. Photo by Alison Olivieri.

Birds try to be as inconspicuous as possible during the breeding season. Understandably, they don’t want you or other predators to see them or find their nests. So, when people tell us they see fewer birds in their yards or on their feeders in April and May, we say, “Good! Their strategies are working!”

And there is another reason for this noticeable drop in casual bird sightings: the migrant species are leaving, heading north to breed in North America where they face fewer predators and can (hopefully) find more food and more space to claim. Three common ‘feeder birds’ you will NOT see now are Baltimore Oriole, Tennessee Warbler and Summer Tanager.

Female White-winged Becard carrying nesting material at Finca Cantaros. Photo by Harry Hull.

Female White-winged Becard carrying nesting material at Finca Cantaros. Photo by Harry Hull.

Thrushes, flycatchers, warblers, orioles and tanagers are included in the neotropical migrant group that leaves the tropics around April and returns, after breeding in the north, in October and November. About 25% of Costa Rica’s bird species fall into this category. To provide a local perspective, we have 21 species of warblers that can be seen in or near San Vito with relatively little effort but only six are year-around residents.

At the same time, you will hear us exclaim over migrant species from the south that come here at this time of year to breed in Costa Rica. These include the lovely and ubiquitous Swallow-tailed Kites, nest-stealing Piratic Flycatchers and cheerful Yellow-green Vireos.

Piratic Flycatcher, an austral migrant. Photo by Harry Hull.

Piratic Flycatcher, an austral migrant. Photo by Harry Hull.

So even though some birds have temporarily left, with a little effort you can still spot the remaining ones that are deliberately hiding and observe their fascinating breeding behaviors. We say, “Get up and go outside with your binoculars”! You’ll never see any of this if you’re inside watching television (or reading this on your computer) but outside birds are putting on an incredible show and you really don’t want to miss it!

Espanol aqui:

Las ventanas y espejos retrovisores al lado de nuestro auto junto al jardín están cubiertas con plástico negro: este es el ‘look’ estándar de nuestro auto para los meses de Abril y Mayo. En la mañana, hasta alrededor de la 10 am, si removemos estas defensas, el auto terminaría salpicado con excremento de aves casi inmediatamente. Nuestro auto  está bajo el ataque de un Silver-throated Tanager y un Clay-colored Thrush, ambos de los cuales están empecinados y con plena convicción  que su reflejo pertenece a un rival de su misma especie intentando tomar su valuable territorio para reproducción.

Common Tody-Flycatcher at its nest. Photo by Harry Hull.

Common Tody-Flycatcher at its nest. Photo by Harry Hull.

En estos momentos del año, la mayoría de todas nuestras aves residentes están en pleno cortejo, y territorializando los pequeños  parches de árboles frutales, construyendo nidos, poniendo sus huevos y alimentando la siguiente generación. Durante la caminata del club de la semana pasada en el Jardin Botanico Wilson, encontramos una pareja de Graycapped Flycatchers, un nido de Common Tody-Flycatcher y Spot-crowned Euphonia donde pudimos observar con asombro dos picos gigantescos junto a dos minúsculos acurrucados en el nido. Como un bono extra para nosotros pudimos observar a ambos padres alimentando a los pichones.

En casa con una buena taza de café, pudimos observar una familia de Rufous-breasted Wrens trabajando en unos árboles cercanos a nuestra casa, luego cuando paseábamos el perro, pudimos observar Tropical Kingbirds alimentando a sus polluelos en uno de los cables eléctricos que sortean el camino.

Las aves tratan de ser tan poco conspicuas como les es posible durante la estación de crianza. Entendiblemente, ellos no quieren que otros predadores los vean en sus respectivos nidos. Así que cuando la gente nos comenta que ven menos aves en los comederos de su patios o jardines entre Abril y Mayo, nosotros decimos “Bien! Sus estrategias funcionan!’’

Clay-colored Thrush nestlings. Photo by Alison Olivieri.

Clay-colored Thrush nestlings. Photo by Alison Olivieri.

Además hay otra razón por la cual el detrimento muy notable de avistamientos casuales de aves: las especies migrantes están dejando el país, desplazándose al Norte para reproducirse en Norte América donde encontraran menos predadores y donde (afortunadamente) encontraran más fuentes de alimento y espacio donde puedan establecerse. Tres aves comúnmente encontradas en los comederos NO los veras más como es el Baltimore Oriole, Tennessee Warbler and Summer Tanager.

Thrushes, flycatchers, warblers, orioles and tanagers estan incluidos como los grupos de migrantes neotropicales que dejan los trópicos alrededor de Abril y regresan después de reproducirse en Norte America, en Octubre y Noviembre . Acerca de un 25% de las especies de aves de Costa Rica coinciden en esta categoría. Para proveer una perspectiva local, tenemos 21 especies de reinitas que pueden ser vistas alrededor de San Vito con un esfuerzo relativamente bajo, pero solo 6 de ellas son residentes anuales (se quedan todo el año).

A la vez, nos escucharan muy entusiasmados cuando se puedan observar especies migrantes del Sur que vienen a nuestro país en esta época del año a reproducirse en Costa Rica. Estas incluyen las adorables y omnipresentes Gavilán tijereta, roba nidos o Piratic Flycatchers asi como los joviales Yellow-green Vireos.

Golden-hooded Tanager at Finca Cantaros. Photo by Harry Hull.

Golden-hooded Tanager at Finca Cantaros. Photo by Harry Hull.

Aun así dado que algunas especies de aves nos dejan temporalmente, con un pequeño esfuerzo podemos observar a las que se quedan deliberadamente a escondidas en su época de reproducción y más aun pudiendo apreciar su comportamiento reproductivo. Nosotros decimos ‘’Levántense y vayan afuera con sus binoculars!’’ Nunca verán esto si están adentro viendo la televisión (o leyendo sobre el tema en su computadora) dado que fuera las aves están poniendo un show increíble que definitivamente no te quieres perder!

Documentary Film “Birders: the Central Park Effect”

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Birders-The Central Park EffectWith great pleasure, we announce the availability of an incredibly entertaining documentary video about the amazing array of migrant and resident birds in New York City’s Central Park and the birders who watch them. More than 100 species of birds and 20 birders are featured in the film, some rather surprising.

Our own Tony Pagano, peripatetic member of the SVBC, was the primary cinematographer for the film featuring stunning shots of warblers, tanagers, thrushes, hawks and more. It also delves into the often-asked question, why is it that people watch birds? Two humorous motives explored by the filmmakers are obsession and work-avoidance!

Anyone who has ever looked at a bird and said “Wow!” will love this movie. HBO Documentary Films bought it after its debut at the SXSW (South by Southwest) Film Festival in 2012, and it has been featured at many events and festivals since then. Visit the film’s website here for more information, including how to purchase the DVD.

Activities and Events in 2012/Actividades y Eventos de 2012

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For the first time last May the Club supported a Teacher Training Workshop given by Jennifer Fee and Lilly Briggs from Cornell University covering an environmental education class called “BirdSleuth” in English and “Detectives de Parajos” in Spanish, developed by Cornell’s Laboratory of Ornithology Education Department. We worked in collaboration with Ariadna Sanchez, Naturalist and Environmental Educator at OTS Las Cruces/Wilson Botanical Garden, to produce this workshop which was filled to capacity with 27 participants. Lilly, a graduate student at Cornell, gave the training in Spanish. Interestingly, many of the trainees work in local schools and at least half of them had taken last year’s Naturalist Guide Course at Las Cruces. The support materials were available to participants in English and Spanish.

I am pleased to announce that we introduced this class into the Linda Vista School at the start of the 2013 school year in February for 4th-6th grade students, taught by our intrepid Wendy Schultz.

The Club led 12 Bird Walks at the Wilson Garden and one on a Sunday at Finca Cantaros that attracted more than 40 participants. Needless to say we were a little short on binoculars that morning!

We ran three mist netting sessions as part of our ongoing research project, El Proyecto Monitoreo des las Aves de San Vito, in January, March and December. Two members represented this project at a national Bird Banding Conference at InBio Parque in San Jose in April, sponsored by Partners in Flight Mesoamerica and the Costa Rican Bird Observatory.

In February, we held our Annual Meeting and organized an overnight birding trip for 8 members to Drake Bay, guided by ornithologist Jim Zook.

In May, members including Wendy Bernstein, Gail Hull, Roni Chernin, Kata Ulenaers, Lisa Ann, Kate Desvenain and Chris Heist volunteered at the 50th Anniversary of the Wilson Botanical Garden/Festival Eco-Cultural.

During the course of the year we have shared a table with Finca Cantaros at two local Tourism Fairs, one in San Vito and one in Cuided Neily, and Heysen Esquivel and Alison Olivieri volunteered at an Eco-Culture Fair in Concepcion.

We participated in the first national Breeding Bird Survey at two local sites, Cantaros and the Wilson Garden, and two members participated in a Birding Club of Costa Rica overnight trip to Las Esquinas Rainforest Lodge in La Gamba in July.

 At the present moment, the Club has 46 members who have renewed their dues for 2013. Twenty are International Members, defined as those whose primary residence is outside of Costa Rica, 20 Resident Members and six Honorary Members.

Finally, we have a new Vice President, Heysen Esquivel, who has been working hard behind the scenes to make our website bi-lingual, translating all our posts and articles into Spanish. He attended nearly every twice monthly Bird Walk at the Wilson Garden last year and recently started to lead these walks. Years ago, Heysen worked as general manager of OTS/Las Cruces and Nancy, his wife, also worked there at that time.

 Espanol aqui:

Po primera vez el pasado mayo el club auspicio un taller de entrenamiento para profesores dado por Jennifer Fee y Lilly Briggs de la universidad de Cornell sobre educación ambiental curso llamado “BirdSleuth” en ingles o “Detectives de Parajos” en español, desarrollado por el departamento de educación del Laboratorio de Ornitologia de la universidad de Cornell. Trabajamos en colaboración con Ariadna Sanchez, naturalista,  encargada del departamento de educación ambiental de la OTS/Jardín Botánico Wilson, para ofrecer este curso impartido a una cantidad de 27 participantes. Lilly, una estudiante graduada de la universidad de Cornell, impartió el entrenamiento en idioma español.

Interesantemente, muchos de los  participantes trabajaron con las escuelas locales y al menos la mitad de ellos han tomado el último curso de guía naturalista impartido en las Cruces. Todo el material educativo estuvo disponible para los participantes en ingles y español.

Estoy muy contenta en anunciar a su vez que incluimos la primera clase en la escuela de Linda Vista a inicios de este año lectivo en febrero 2013 para estudiantes de 4to y 6to grado con nuestra intrépida profesora Wendy Schultz.

El club ha hecho 12 caminatas al Jardín Botánico Wilson y una en un día domingo en Finca Cantaros que atrajo a más de 40 participantes. Cabe mencionar que quedamos un poco cortos en binoculares esa mañana!

Hemos organizado 3 sesiones de anillado como parte de nuestro proyecto de investigación a largo plazo, El Proyecto de Monitoreo de Aves de San Vito, en enero, marzo y diciembre. Dos miembros presentaron el proyecto en la Conferencia de Anillado de Aves Nacional en el Inbio Parque en San Jose en abril, evento auspiciado por nuestros Aliados de Flight Mesoamerica y el Observatorio de Aves de Costa Rica.

En febrero, hemos organizado nuestra reunion anual y organizamos un paseo para observar aves a la Bahía de Drake, viaje que incluia estadia en el lugar donde asistieron 8 miembros del club. Viaje guiado por el ornitólogo Jim Zook.

En mayo, algunos miembros incluidos Wendy Bernstein, Gail Hull, Roni Chernin, Kata Ulenaers, Lisa Ann, Kate Desvenain and Chris Heist fueron voluntarios al evento de celebración del aniversario de  los 50 años del Jardin Botanico Wilson/Festival Eco-cultural.

En el curso de este año hemos compartido una mesa con Finca Cantaros en dos ferias de turismo — una en San Vito y una en Ciudad Neily, y Heysen Esquivel y Alison Olivieri fuimos voluntarios de la feria Eco-cultural en Concepción.

Participamos además en la primer censo de anidación nacional en dos sitios locales, Cantaros y el Jardín Botánico Wilson, dos miembros participaron en un viaje de varios días con estadía incluida hecho por el Club de Aves de Costa Rica, evento realizado en Las Esquinas Rain Forest Lodge en la Gamba en julio.

En estos momentos, el club tiene 46 miembros que han renovado su membresía anual para el 2013. 20 son miembros internacionales, refiriéndose a aquellos el cual su residencia primaria es fuera de Costa Rica, 20 miembros residentes y 6 miembros honorarios.

Tengo reservado lo mejor para el final: Tengo el placer de anunciarles que tenemos un nuevo Vicepresidente Heysen Esquivel, quien ha trabajado con nosotros muy fuerte tras bastidores para hacer nuestro sitio web bilingüe, traduciendo todos los artículos y anuncios al español. El ha asistido casi a todas las caminatas que se programan mensualmente y recientemente ha empezado a liderar las caminatas también. Hace algunos años atrás Heysen laboro como gerente en la OTS/Las cruces donde también su esposa, Nancy, trabajaba en ese momento.

Annual Meeting 2013/Reunión Anual 2013

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Bar and restaurant La Cascata. Photo: Alison Olivieri

Bar and restaurant La Cascata. Photo: Alison Olivieri

A record number of 26 members attended our Annual Meeting held, for the second year in a row, at La Cascata del Bosco on February 24. This year’s event had several new features including a Silent Auction of two beautiful pieces of artwork by member Gail Hull and a travel video by member Andrew Robertson of a recent trip to Ecuador.

However, the biggest news to come out of the meeting is that we have a new Vice President: Heysen Esquivel.

VP Heysen Esquivel. Photo: Michael Olivieri

VP Heysen Esquivel. Photo: Michael Olivieri

He has been actively involved with the Club for more than a year, attending and leading our twice-monthly Bird Walks at the Wilson Botanical Garden and making our website truly bi-lingual with his translations of all our articles, publications and posts.

Treasurer Fred Schroeder assured us that the Club is now solvent—in spite of having lost a little money last year! If you would like to receive a copy of our Annual Financial Report, please CONTACT US.

Wendy Schultz gave a report on her ongoing pilot program at the Linda Vista School called ‘Detectives de Parajos’ (Bird/Sleuth). This environmental education class, created by the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology, has proven to be extremely popular with the “pioneer” 4th, 5th and 6th grades at Linda Vista.

Bird/Sleuth Teacher Wendy Schultz. Photo: Jean Schroeder

Bird/Sleuth Teacher Wendy Schultz. Photo: Jean Schroeder

It’s our hope to expand the education offering into other local schools in the near future. We’re grateful to those Club members who have renewed their 2013 dues as these funds are paying Wendy’s salary and for course materials. If any of you would like to observe the class, please CONTACT US.

Finally, Communications Chair Harry Hull gave an update on the website launched in March of last year. Surprisingly, the site has been viewed over 12,000 times by people from 104 countries including Iraq and North Korea! We’ve received numerous inquiries via email of birders planning to visit Costa Rica and are gratified that we can provide this service for foreign travelers. If you have not already done so, please sign up to “Follow” this website so you will automatically receive notifications of all new “posts” (announcements), including the free Wilson Walks, events and other activities.

For a complete inventory of the Club’s activities in 2012, please see the “2013 Annual Meeting: President’s Remarks” in the Viewpoints category of the website.

Espanol aqui:

Una impresionante cantidad de 26 miembros asistieron a nuestra reunión anual del 2013, programada por segundo año consecutivo, en La Cascata del Bosco en Febrero 24. El evento de este año incluyo varias iniciativas nuevas como la subasta silenciosa de dos hermosas piezas de arte confeccionadas por uno de nuestros miembros Gail Hull y además fue exhibido un video por nuestro miembro Andrew Robertson de un viaje reciente al Ecuador hecho por algunos de lo miembros del club.

Member Caroline Torres. Photo: Michael Olivieri

Member Caroline Torres. Photo: Michael Olivieri

Sin embargo, dentro de las noticias más recientes subrayamos la inclusión de nuestro nuevo vicepresidente: Heysen Esquivel. Él ha participado activamente en las actividades del club por más de un año, asistiendo y liderando las caminatas al jardín Botánico Wilson efectuadas dos veces al mes por nuestro club, y colaborando con nuestro sitio web convirtiéndolo realmente en un sitio bilingüe, donde se incluyen las traducciones al español de todos los artículos y anuncios que aquí se publican.

Treasurer Fred Schroeder. Photo: Michael Olivieri

Treasurer Fred Schroeder. Photo: Michael Olivieri

Nuestro Tesorero Fred Schroeder nos asegura que el club hoy por hoy presenta solvencia económica — a pesar de haber perdido algo de capital  el año pasado! Si Ud. le gustaría recibir una copia de nuestro reporte Financiero Anual por favor CONTACT US.

Wendy Schultz también nos dio su reporte del proyecto piloto a largo plazo puesto en practica en la escuela de Linda Vista llamado ‘Detectivos de Parajos’ (Bird/Sleuth). Este clase de educación ambiental, creada por el laboratorio de Ornitología de estudios de la universidad de Cornell, ha probado ser extremadamente popular con los grupos pioneros de 4to, 5to y 6to grado de la escuela de Linda Vista. Es nuestra esperanza el expandir este programa de educación ambiental a otras escuelas locales en un futuro cercano. Estamos muy agradecidos a todos aquellos miembros del club quienes han renovado su membresía anual del 2013 ya que con estos fondos estamos pagando los honorarios de Wendy por el curso y los materiales didácticos que se utilizan. Si alguno de Uds. le gustaría participar como observador alguna de las clases por favor CONTACT US.

Finalmente nuestro Director de Comunicaciones Harry Hull, nos dio un reporte del rendimiento de nuestro sitio web puesto en marcha en Marzo del año pasado. Sorprendentemente, el sitio ha sido visto mas de 12.000 veces por usuarios alrededor de 104 países incluyendo Iraq y Corea del Norte! Hemos recibido numerosas preguntas vía correo de observadores de aves que planean visitar Costa Rica y están muy complacidos de que podamos brindar este servicio para viajeros extranjeros. Si no lo ha hecho aun, por favor suscríbase este sitio del red en ‘’Seguirnos’’. De esta forma recibirá Ud. automáticamente las notificaciones de los nuevos mensajes ‘’Anuncios’’ incluidas las fechas donde se realizan las caminatas libres al Jardín Botánico Wilson entre otras actividades.

Host George Alcock. Photo: Jean Schroeder

Host George Alcock. Photo: Jean Schroeder

Para informarse del inventario de las actividades del club en el 2012, por favor vea ‘’Reunión anual del 2013: Observaciones importantes del Presidente’’ En Categoría Opiniones (Viewpoints).