Tag Archives: Organization for Tropical Studies Las Cruces Biological Station

A Special Thank You

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To all our contributing bakers, thank you from the bottom of our sheet pans for the delicious cookies, brownies, bars and cupcakes we had the privilege of selling at the San Vito Bird Club Bake Sale yesterday at the Las Cruces Dia de Puertas Abiertas.

Arranged in first name alphabetical order, ALL HAIL:

Dulce Maday Cueva Salas

Ellen Beckett

Joe Ippolito

Kathy Bauer

Peter Wendell

Here is a photo of the ‘table team’ — Alison, Nancy Warshawer and Peter Wendell:

It’s a shame you can’t really see the goodies . . . we netted more than $100, beating our high sales from last year of $75. All proceeds go to Las Cruces and it is our pleasure and privilege to be part of this wonderful, annual event.

We also had ‘Lucy Loves Nature’ books for sale from the amazing Dr. Lilly Briggs, longtime friend of the SVBC and Executive Director of the Finca Cantaros Enviromental Association. These educational and fun books are available in English and Spanish, hard cover and paperback editions. For more on these new books, visit https://fincacantaros.org.

Peter, highlighting the books:

As always, with annual events, a sense of nostalgia and a feeling of renewal occur simultaneously. To be honest, this writer is not even sure when the bird club’s participation in the Las Cruces Open Doors Event began. We are so fortunate to have this enduring relationship with the Tropical Studies Las Cruces Biological Research Station.

It is our good luck to continue this special activity. Next year, we hope to see you too!

Where We Bird — the Wilson Botanical Garden

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Entrance to the Wilson Garden, photo by Alison Olivieri

The San Vito Bird Club’s roots are here in the Robert and Catherine Wilson Botanical Garden at the Organization for Tropical Studies Las Cruces Biological Station — this is a long name for a magical place. Birders come from all over the world to this spot with its list of half of the country’s land birds. We have been offering bi-monthly Bird Walks here, free and open to the public since 2004, binoculars included!

In and around San Vito, we have many ‘specialties’ — birds not easily found elsewhere. Two of the most sought-after are reliably found here where you can stay in comfortable cabins with three meals a day included, a birder’s dream destination.

Ruddy Foliage-gleaner, Clibanornis rubiginosus, photo by Randall Jiménez Borbón, aka Ciccio

The Ruddy Foliage-gleaner can be found in early morning at the beginning of the Rio Java Trail. The best way to find it is to learn the call as it is usually vocalizing as the flock moves along the forest edge.

Another, smaller beauty — the White-crested Coquette — is also here in the Pollinator Garden and can be found at virtually any time of day. It is endemic to southern Costa Rica and western Panama

White-crested Coquette, Lophornis adorabilis, photo by Pepe Castiblanco

from the canopy to forest edge and gardens. You’ll have to be on your game as this exquisite creature is ‘bee-like’ in flight.

We are sure these coquettes are stealing your heart and reminding you to clean your binoculars.

And the female White-crested Coquette in this lovely photograph by Yeimeri Badilla

 

Continue to scroll down from here to see just a few more photos from of this special site. The lovely garden vista was designed by Roberto Burle-Marx, a renowned Brazilian landscape designer who was a board member of the Wilson  Garden in its very early days.

This is followed by the Canopy Tower donated by the SVBC in 2011. If you get lucky up there, you might even see a field mark on a fast-flying swift.

Meeting spot at The Wilson Botanical Garden, photo by Alison Olivieri

The Canopy Tower at Las Cruces, photo by Harry Hull III

The last beauty shot of the Wilson Garden Mirador, photo by Alison Olivieri