Come one, come all to the OTS Las Cruces Biological Station/Wilson Botanical Garden Festival de la Conectividad Saturday, June 28.
We will be painting faces and selling yummy cookies and cakes to support our education class ‘Detectives de Pajaros’! Hope to see you there!
Thanks to new member Jo Davidson for her photo of a female Blue-black Grassquit!
Female Blue-black Grassquit. Photo by Jo Davidson
Our contest had four entries — all wrong, so we are eating the cookies ourselves and hoping for better results next time.
Entrant #1 and #3 thought our bird was a female Indigo Bunting to which we say, “Good try, but please note the description in A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica by Stiles and Skutch saying ‘ . . . females below much less streaked than female Blue-black Grassquit.’ ”
Entrant #2 postulated a female Slaty Finch but, again, note bill shape and description, “. . . faint, sparse dusky streaking on breast and sides. . . Upper mandible blackish. . .”
Entrant #4 threw caution to the wind calling our grassquit a Bobolink. Bobolinks are quite a bit bigger than grassquits although I will happily admit discerning size in a photograph is often more difficult than in the field and all our contestant had to go on here for comparison were some leaves.
Gracias a nuestra miembre nueva Jo Davidson para su foto de una hembra Volatinia jacarina!
Todos los respuestos estaban incorrectos, entonces vamos a comer las galletas yo mismo y esperar una resultada mejor proximo vez: jajaja!
OK — ready? First person to correctly identify this bird wins a prize: one dozen home-made Chocolate Chip Cookies! Ummmmm, I can smell them right now baking away in the oven.
Quiz Bird! Photo by Jo Davidson
Listo? Identificar este ave y gana 12 galletas de chocolate, hizo de mano! Ellas estan en el horno ahora — mmmmm, huelan rico!
SEND YOUR ANSWER to: sanvitobirdclub@gmail.com or click here to contact us.
ENVIA SU CONTESTA a: sanvitobirdclub@gmail.com o haga clic aqui para contactarnos.
Help us teach environmental education and Citizen Science class ‘Detectives de Pajaros’ in local schools by placing your order now for our new 2014 SVBC tee shirts.
Little Black Tee Shirt SVBC 2014. Runway Model Michael Olivieri.
As you can see from this photo, the tee shirts are little black numbers sporting our stylish logo that is sure to be all the rage on the ‘birding shirt’ runway here in Costa Rica and beyond.
We ordered a total of 20, hoping for an instant sell-out so our supply is, as they say, ‘limited’. In men’s and women’s sizes we have 1 small, 4 medium, 3 large and 2 in extra-large.
For a mere $15 or C7,500 apiece, we think they’re reasonably priced and hope you agree.
To place your order, please email us at sanvitobirdclub@gmail.com. For residents, we will set them aside and deliver them promptly. For out-of-country orders, we will have to include shipping and handling costs @ $5 per shirt so all our profits will go to fund a ‘Detectives de Pajaros’ class in or around San Vito!
Ayúdanos a enseñar educación ambiental y las clases de Ciencias Ciudadanas “Detectives de Pájaros” en escuelas locales ordenando ahora sus nuevas camisas SVBC 2014.
Como puedes ver en la foto, las camisas son pequeños números negros que hacen nuestro elegante logo más deportivo y que de seguro estarán en la pasarela de “la camiseta para pajarear” aquí en Costa Rica y más allá.
Ordenamos un total de 20 con la esperanza de una venta total instantánea así que nuestras existencias son, como dicen, “limitadas”. En tallas de hombre y de mujer tenemos: 1 pequeña, 4 medianas, 3 grandes y 2 extra grandes.
Por sólo $15 o C7,500 cada una, pensamos que están razonablemente valoradas y esperamos que estés de acuerdo.
Por favor envíanos un correo electrónico: puede hacer clic aqui para ordenar. Para residentes, vamos a apartarlas y entregarlas prontamente. Para órdenes fuera del país, tendremos que incluir costos de manipulación y envío pues ¡toda la ganancia irá a financiar una clase de “Detectives de Pájaros” en o en los alrededores de San Vito!
Tropical Mockingbird, Julie Girard’s ace of trump. (Photo by Julie Girard)
Don’t forget to send us your Birdfeeder List for the Big Birdfeeder Competition by the end of this month — December 31, 2013. We’ll have a nice prize waiting for you at the SVBC Annual Meeting in February!
So far, we have three ‘official’ entries and two ‘unofficial’ entries so please send us your completed list TODAY!
You have only SIX days left to submit your list to us at: sanvitobirdclub@gmail.com
From now until December 31, we’re having a Big Birdfeeder Competition: count all the species of birds visiting your feeder between now and then and send us your list by clicking here.
The rules are simple! You can count any species you are able to identify with certainty that lands on your feeder or on the ground under the feeder provided it is eating fallen scraps and not insects or something else. In the interests of fairness, the birding experts of the Club will review the final lists and remove species they feel have been mis-identified based on their knowledge of the birds of our area.
Just to get your competitive juices flowing here’s the current score, as of this post: Finca Cantaros is in the lead with 22 species, Pat Morgan claims second place with 21 and our own Finca Corteza is in third place with 15.
But, we have a month and a half to go so put on your binos, grab a pencil and paper, take out your field guide and get to work!
Please submit your completed entry by midnight on December 31st via email by clicking here. The winner will be announced by January 7, 2014. A prize (or prizes in case of a tie) will be awarded at the Annual Meeting in February 2014.
With 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.
Member-volunteers will be on hand to help celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Robert and Catherine Wilson Botanical Garden on Friday and Saturday, May 4-5. We will be in charge of children’s games art table and crafts outside of the dining room on the terrace. Please stop by and say ‘Hola’!
San Vito Bird Club 
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