Congratulations to the following San Vito Bird Club members!

Judy Richardson: WINNER of the 2019 Bird Feeder Contest with 27 species!  What with the amazing bio-diversity of Judy’s beautiful property we can expect an even greater number of species in years to come.

Charles and Sarah Beeson-Jones: 2nd Place winners.  A total of 26 species for the Beeson-Jones’, including TWO hummingbird species.  FYI: Putting a hummingbird feeder on your regular feeder may be the wave of the future!

Jo Davidson: Winner of the Bird Feeder Photo Contest.  This beautiful but somewhat sloppy Speckled Tanager is our winner!  What perfect light.

Over 30 San Vito Bird Club members graciously attended our Annual Meeting on Sunday, February 25th at Cascata del Bosco.  Some highlights from the meeting (with photos below):

1. A recounting of some of the more unusual and exciting bird sightings from the previous year.  Birds such as: Lemon-rumped Tanager, Rosy Thrush-tanager, albino Black Vulture, Three-wattled Bellbird, Common Potoo and Blue-winged Warbler.
2. A recapitulation of our VERY successful Bird Sleuth (Detectives de Aves) education program and a preview of exciting events to come in 2018.
3. A stirring and inspirational keynote speech from SVBC member and local businessman/naturalist Pepe Castiblanco.  Pepe recounted his dedicated struggles to evolve from San Jose cab driver to San Vito naturalist/guide.  Plus, he shared some of his most recent and jaw-dropping bird photographs.
4. Expected bird taxonomy changes coming in 2018.
5. Winners of the 2018 Bird Feeder Contest!  First place: Gail Hull (2nd year in a row) with 25 species.  Second place: Judy Richardson with 24 species.  Third place: Jo Davidson with 23 species.
6. Announcement of our NEW SVBC President…Peter Wendell.
7. Recitation of moving poem by Gail Hull.
8. A SUPERB brunch provided by the Cascata del Bosco crew.
9. A silent auction of extraordinary artwork from some of our members.

To those of you in attendance…thank you for your continued support.  And personally, thanks very much for joining me on the Sunday bird walks.

To those members who live abroad or were unable to attend; your continued support of the San Vito Bird Club is ALWAYS APPRECIATED!

(photo courtesy of Jo Davidson: new SVBC President Peter Wendell and out-going President Greg Homer)

(photo courtesy of Alison Olivieri: keynote speaker Pepe Castiblanco)

(photo courtesy of Alison Olivieri: SVBC artist in residence Kathy Bauer)

Nuestra buen amiga y la duena de Finca Cantaros Gail Hull es el campeon del Concurso de Comedor de aves por 2017.  Por la primera vez, en la historia del concurso tuvimos mas que 30 espeicas.  Gail tuve 31 especias de aves!

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Our good friend and owner of Finca Cantaros, Gail Hull is the 2017 Bird Feeder Contest Champion.  For the first time in the history of the contest more than 30 species were recorded.  Gail had 31 species.

Lesson’s Motmot

Cherrie’s Tanager

Yellow-throated Toucan

Golden-hooded Tanager

Silver-throated Tanager

Summer Tanager

Blue-grey Tanager

Speckled Tanager

Buff-throated Saltator

Palm Tanager

Clay-colored Thrush

Chachalaca

Gray-necked Woodrail

Orange-billed Sparrow

Costa Rican Brush-Finch

Bay-headed Tanager

Green Honeycreeper

Red-legged Honeycreeper

Thick-billed Euphonia

Gray-headed Tanager

Streaked Saltator

Black-striped Sparrow

Gray-chested Dove

Red-crowned Woodpecker

Yellow-crowned Euphonia

Yellow-faced Grassquit

Great Kiskadee

Orange-billed Nightingale Thrush

Ruddy Pigeon

Fiery-billed Aracari

Gray-tipped Dove

(photo courtesy of Jeff Worman)

Bay-headed Tanager (photo by Jeff Worman)

Ever held a hummingbird in your hand and felt it’s heart beating at close to 1000 beats per minute? This week students from Santa Cecilia School had that very experience under the watchful and experienced eye of Pablo ‘Chespi’ Elizondo and his team of skilled mist netters from the Costa Rica Bird Observatory (CRBO).

Chespi Elizondo and CRBO conduct regular monitoring of bird species throughout the country using a technique known as mist netting. In mist netting, birds are humanely captured and collected after they become entangled in delicate and lightweight 10-meter long nets. The birds are gently removed from the nets and then taken back to a data collection station where they are weighed and measured. Santa Cecilia school students not only watched these scientific endeavors but also took part!

The young scholars also helped the CRBO crew in gathering more scientific data, such as each bird’s age, sex (if possible), breeding status and general health. The birds are also given a numbered band, which is attached to the leg. Not surprisingly, a significant number of the mist netted birds show up with a numbered band already in place! Collection of data from these previously tagged birds can provide great insight into bird migration patterns and longevity.

Earlier this year these same Santa Cecilia School students successfully completed the Detectives de Aves curriculum with instructor Eugenio Garcia and assistant Helen LeVasseur. But mist netting with CRBO has allowed the students that rare opportunity to get up close and personal with some of Costa Rica’s most beautiful and delicate bird species and to be a part of actual science in action.

A rare opportunity was also afforded the San Vito Bird Club, Pablo ‘Chespi’ Elizondo and his CRBO team of mist netters…the opportunity to observe that look of awe and wonder that shines in the eyes of a child.

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¿Alguna vez sostuvo un colibrí en sus manos y sintió que su corazón palpitaba a 1000 latidos por minuto? Esta semana, estudiantes de la Escuela de Santa Cecilia tuvieron esa misma experiencia bajo la mirada experta y vigilante de Pablo ‘Chespi’ Elizondo y su equipo de hábiles colocadores de redes del Costa Rica Bird Observatory (CRBO).

Chespi Elizondo y CRBO condujeron un monitoreo regular de las especies en el país utilizando una técnica conocida como “redes de niebla”. En las redes, los pájaros son capturados de manera humana y recolectados cuando quedan atrapados en la delicada y liviana red de 10 metros. Las aves son gentilmente liberadas de las redes y luego llevadas a una estación de recolección de datos, donde son medidas y pesadas. Los estudiantes de la Escuela de Santa Cecilia no solamente observaron estos esfuerzos, sino que ¡además tomaron parte en ellos!

Los jóvenes intelectuales ayudaron también al equipo de CRBO a recoger más datos científicos, como la edad de las aves, el sexo (cuando fue posible identificarlo), status reproductivo y salud general. Las aves fueron identificadas con un brazalete numerado, que se coloca en una de sus patas. Como era de esperar, ¡una cantidad significante de pájaros aparecían con un brazalete ya en su pata! La recolección de datos sobre estas aves previamente catalogadas puede aportar información sobre patrones de migración y longevidad.

Más temprano este año, estos mismos estudiantes de la Escuela de Santa Cecilia finalizaron exitosamente el currículo de Detectives de Aves con el instructor Eugenio García y su asistente Helen LeVasseur. Pero trabajar con las redes de niebla ayudó a los estudiantes a tener un acercamiento personal con algunas de las especies de aves más bellas y delicadas de Costa Rica, a la vez que toman parte de una empresa científica.

Una experiencia poco común fue también dada al San Vito Bird Club por Pablo ‘Chespi’ Elizondo y su equipo de CRBO, la oportunidad de observar esa mirada de sobrecogimiento y el brillo en los ojos de un niño.