(from SVBC member Judy Richardson)

I’ve been waiting anxiously for Mrs.Common Tody Flycatcher to take up residence in the nest that took ages to build. Last week, all went quiet,  no action for several days. I was sad, and kept looking as they are such adorable birds, so busy and friendly.

I was rewarded as I saw them back, but working on a new nest just 6 feet away. This time the nest is hanging in plain view from the arbor at the pool!

I figure it must be the same pair, birds being territorial when it comes to breeding. Could it be that Mrs. didn’t like the first nest? I know Wrens make several from which the female chooses. Is it another pair and the first abandoned the site?
For sure a mystery that could only be solved if the bird was banded. This Bird Bander is frustrated!

I will have to be happy watching the action from here on!

Common Tody Flycatcher: (eBird)

You may have seen me, Greg Homer, along with a whole bunch of other folks sitting and standing along the highway lately…between the Pina Colina gate and the Las Cruces bus stop.

Why?

There is a very special tree leaning out over the highway and it is just full of fruit; aguacatillos, to be exact. These fruits (little avocados) are very desirable to many different kinds of birds. The larger variety of aguacatillo fruit found up in the cloud forests is often a good place to fine the Resplendent Quetzal.

The aguacatillo tree in question is just FULL of small (about the size of a green Skittle) fruits. And so…many of us have been camped out in front of this tree to view the feeding frenzy. A wonderfully diverse birding experience.

By far, the most common bird family feeding on these aguacatillo fruits are the Flycatchers (pecho amarillos). Flycatchers are challenging to identify; due to the great number of species and the similarity of their markings.

Bird watching at this aguacatillo tree has been a wonderful classroom; an invaluable opportunity to differentiate many of the flycatcher species. Subtle differences between:

*Streaked Flycatcher and Supher-bellied Flycatcher

*Social Flycatcher and Gray-capped Flycatcher

*Great Kiskadee and Boat-billed Flycatcher

*Piratic Flycatcher and Streaked or Sulpher-bellied Flycatcher

Somewhat of a paradox, eh? Flycatchers gorging of little avocados.

A good lesson for all us perhaps. Eat a varied and well-balanced diet.

Aquacatillo tree in fruit. Photo courtesy of Greg Homer.

Every September we look forward to the many species of migratory birds as they begin to arrive in San Vito. Their arrival helps us mark the passage of time. (In years past, the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit edition was another such marker of time’s passage.)

Now, it is April and so we must say ‘adios’, ‘goodbye’, ‘adieu’, ‘arrivederci’, ‘sayonara’, and ‘aloha’ to our avian chums as they head north (and some of them south) to raise their families; a long and perilous journey.

Be assured, we will keep the metaphorical ‘Welcome’ sign in the metaphorical window as we look forward to their return next September.

Tempus fugit (time flies).

Cedar Waxwings, northern migrant birds. Photo courtesy of Helen LeVasseur.

(from SVBC members David and Audrey Fielding)

Five of us were birding together along the dirt roads of a tiny Mexican village near
the town of San Blas—three to four blocks of makeshift houses, dusty yards,
scruffy trees, blossoming grasses and bushes with the promise of maybe a painted
bunting. Suddenly, one of the group let out a cry, “HUMMER!” We all converged
to peek around a bush in the backyard of one of the houses in search of the flutter
of a close-by hummer. Jane was the one who called it out. And for the rest of her
life, Jane has never lived down the ignominy and spirited laughter of the rest of us
when we rounded the bush and there found a contented pig, nuzzling a pile of
garbage while gently snorting, sounding not unlike the familiar wingbeat of a
hummingbird.

Photo courtesy of David and Audrey Fielding.

(from SVBC Member Judy Richardson)

Relaxing on the sofa one afternoon, I spied a Golden hooded Tanager peeking in a hole below a Bromeliad, about 20 feet up. Then I realized that it was inspecting it for a nest. The mate sat on a branch above, awaiting the decision. Seems that she liked it , I was secretly crossing fingers, as today they were back but with bits of plant material in their beaks! Aren’t I lucky to have a front row seat to watch the action!

But wait, today I was at the pool and couldn’t miss a tiny Common Today Flycatcher weaving a hangy down nest from a branch only 5 feet above the ground! Only half done, it’s nearly in the same spot as last year’s. A lot of plant fibers and spider webs are holding it together. I’d like to be a baby rocking in that nest when he’s done.

It seems everywhere I look, new families have moved in, all furiously working on the new generation.

(from SVBC members and supporters, David and Audrey Fielding)

So, we were birding in the town of San Sebastian in the mountains just east of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, hoping to see Green Jays. It was morning and the birds were using the tree foliage off our porch as a highway to local fruit trees. Suddenly, we heard a cacophony of birdcall headed our way. The calls varied: harsh, tuneful, peeping, squeaky, mockingbird-like. And then, there they were! Green Jays, deep green, blue, yellow and black, hopping here and there. The same thing happened two or three more times, mainly in the mornings—first, the peeps and squeaks, melodic and just a bit mournful. And then the gang of Green Jays! We learned to listen for the morning concert, then run out to the porch to catch the Green Jay parade. We felt pretty smug about our ability to ID the Green Jay by its song.

. . . One morning, however, a brown bird we didn’t know perched directly in front of us on a branch and began singing the exact same song! Merlin helped us identify it—a Brown-backed Solitaire, famous for its song. So THAT was what we had been hearing—not the Green Jays after all, but the contrapuntal symphony of tinkling glass falling in minor chords of the Brown-backed Solitaire!. Who knew!!!

Green Jay and Brown-backed Solitaire photos, courtesy of David and Audrey Fielding)

We have exciting news to share with all our members from last Sunday’s Annual Meeting 2023. A unanimous vote cast by attending members forged a strategic alliance with the Finca Cantaros Environmental Association (FCEA) to present the ongoing Detectives de Aves education course in local schools.

It is a happy and natural fit. The sole mission of the FCEA is environmental education and, as you will see in the video below, they are coming at it in many different and innovative ways.

Your restricted gifts over the years to support this effort will be — as always — channelled directly to teachers, transportation and supplies.

Meanwhile, the San Vito Bird Club will remain involved and work closely with the team at FCEA. Please contact us if you have any questions or comments; we always want to hear from you.

Here is a message from Dr. Lilly Briggs, the Director of the Finca Cántaros Environmental Association:

Finca Cántaros Environmental Association (FCEA) considers the San Vito Bird Club (SVBC) one of its most important allies, and we are grateful for all the ways that SVBC members have supported our work. Learn more about how FCEA got started thanks to connections through the Club in the following video, and about how we are fulfilling our environmental education goals through the themes of forest restoration and birds.

HERE is a link to the video!

We are very excited about the positive changes that this collaboration will bring to the Cantón of Coto Brus, and to all of us as well who have had the pleasure and honor to work together to build a better community.

From Randall Jimenez.

This hybrid has been visiting us since 2018 at Zoncho Lagoon in Finca Cántaros, it is evident how year after year it chooses our lagoon, this is beautiful because the conservation efforts we make help to conserve its migration site. I like to think that after flying thousands of kilometers our cute duck says “hogar dulce hogar”

Blue/Green Wing Teal hybrid: Photo courtesy of Randall Jimenez.

Wednesday, Feb. 22nd, 7:00 pm at the Reception Classroom at Las Cruces Biological Station, 7:00 pm

The Glory of Biodiversity in the Tropics

Speaker:  Gail Hewson Hull 

Ms. Hull will show photos of birds and other creatures on 17 acres of land she owned between 1994 and 2019 in Linda Vista de San Vito, Coto Brus County. The presentation will focus on how quickly complex life can return to land degraded by cattle and coffee farming using reforestation and understory restoration with native species.

The San Vito Playhouse (not affiliated with the San Vito Bird Club) cordially invites you to attend our very first performance.

We hope you can join us!

San Vito Playhouse