Tag Archives: Wilson Botanical Garden

Upcoming Art and Nature Events: Saturday and Sunday

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On our last Bird Walk (Sunday, January 12) we were surprised and delighted to have seen a White-winged Tanager. These beautiful birds stay high in the canopy and are easy to miss, but this one was lower than usual and gave us a thrill.

Photo by Charlie Gomez

This Sunday (January 26), we will have another Bird Walk at the Wilson Botanical Garden/OTS Las Cruces Biological Research Station, at 7:00 am. As usual, we’ll meet at the Reception building and have binoculars to lend. Who knows what wonder awaits — this is why we go!

Dinner to Support the Arts

From natural beauty and art to created beauty and art, please make a reservation for a fundraising dinner at Cascata del Bosco on Saturday, January 25 to support the forthcoming Arts Fest Coto Brus 2025. Go to the website: http://www.artsfestcotobrus.com or use WhatsApp +1 (970) 759-9262 to reserve your dinner choice. In addition, music to dine by will be provided by Roger Madison — a wonderful evening is in store

And here is the White-winger Tanager again, from a different angle (because we just can’t get enough of this bird…..):

Another photo from Charlie Gomez

A Post to Welcome 2025

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We look forward to a New Year with its accompanying opportunities, challenges, frights and gifts.

Thank you for your interest in the San Vito Bird Club and your support over the years. Our new motto is: Let’s Survive 2025!

Yesterday, we had a wonderful Bird Walk at the Las Cruces Biological Research Station’s Wilson Botanical Garden. Highlights included two Swallow-tailed Kites, South American migrants who return each year to nest; a brilliant Baltimore Oriole; a young, male Summer Tanager in transition plumage — from yellow to orange to red — and a Wedge-tailed Woodcreeper! (Considering we started in a damp, thick fog, things went our way in the end.)

Additionally, two outstanding members — Anna Bilberry and Terry Farling — brought baked goods to share at the Coffee Hour. Yum yum and thank you!

Please join us whenever and however you can.

P.S. We’ll update you shortly on our efforts to support travel for María Sandi and Alisson Vargas to Bird Banding Training in the Dominican Republic — life-changing for them and uplifting for us. We proudly work on this project with the Finca Cántaros Environmental Association.

Bird Walk on Sunday, November 17

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Take Two: we will try again this Sunday for a Bird Walk — wish us luck!

Our last attempt was two weeks ago and we were chased away by rain (continuing to fall as I write . . .).

In between drops, however, birds and butterflies are still about so please meet us at the Las Cruces Reception Building at 7:00 am.

We’ll be there for the usual free, open-to-the-public Bird/Nature Walk — your friends and family are invited.

We will have binoulars to lend and, as always, beautiful sights to see.

Crimson-fronted Parakeet, a Wilson Botanical Garden/Las Cruces regular.

Let’s Walk and Look for Birds on Sunday!

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Please join us this Sunday, November 3 at 7 am in the Wilson Botanical Garden at the Tropical Studies Las Cruces Biological Station.

We meet at the Reception Building and have binoculars to share.

On our last Bird Walk, we saw two of these beautiful birds and one of them was carrying nesting material. Let’s go look for a glimpse of one, sitting on the nest!

After walking for about an hour, we will have coffee and social time in the dining room. These Nature Walks are free and open to the public. Please bring your friends, neighbors and families.

Hope to see you there.

Crested Caracaras. Photo by Helen LeVasseur

Bird Walk Sunday, October 20!

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Please join us for Bird and Nature Walk at the Wilson Botanical Garden this Sunday, October 20.

We will meet at the Reception Building at 7:00 am.

Binoculars will be available, as always. These Walks are free and open to the public so please invite your friends and families.

After the Walk, we will repair to the dining room for coffee and chatting. And maybe we will spot these beauties along the way!

Bird Walk Tomorrow: Sunday, June 16

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Just a reminder, as promised, to join us tomorrow, Sunday, June 16 at 7:00 am at the Reception Building at OTS/Las Cruces/Wilson Botanical Garden.

If it is raining, we will wait a bit and if it looks promising, we’ll venture out. Birds pop out too, after the rain, to look for food — enhancing our chances of seeing them.

All San Vito Bird Club Bird Walks are free and open to the public. As usual, we will have binoculars to lend. The Walk is followed by a coffee social hour in the dining room.

Hope to see you there!

Bakers Take a Bow!

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At the Annual Dia de Las Puertas Abiertas last Sunday at OTS Las Cruces, the SVBC Bake Sale was a grand success — we surpassed last year’s revenue by 25% thanks to the efforts of these industrious and generous people:

Tina Esquer Christopher

Caroljo Papac

Roni Chernin

Molly Rae

Joe Ippolito

Peter Wendell

Alison Olivieri

If we didn’t run bi-monthly Bird Walks at Las Cruces and occasional forays to local ‘birdy’ spots, we might be tempted to rename the group “San Vito Bakers’ Club”. But we will stick with our walks for now and are happy to welcome any newcomers with binoculars and bonhomie.

Speaking of which, the next walk will be Sunday, June 16. Please join us at 7:00 am at the Las Cruces Reception Building. We will walk through the Wilson Botanic Garden looking for birds and will happily help you find them. The walks are always free and open to the public. One of the guides, Peter Wendell, is fluent in Spanish so if that concerns you don’t give it another thought!

It’s a lttle early to tout the Sunday Walk so we will post a brief remnder later this week. We just couldn’t wait to thank our bakers for the cakes, cookies and breads.

Annual Meeting 2024 = One Huge ‘Thank You’!

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Coming Home — written by Lydia Vogt

Over the years the San Vito Bird Club has held its Annual Meeting in several different locations, including the beautiful Las Cruces Research Station.

Chef Jairo Alemán and family were thrilled to have us return for our 20th anniversary to his restaurant at Cascata del Bosco.

Cascata has hosted many SVBC meetings over the past 20 years — and they really excelled this year. Jairo and Ligia made delicious Huevos Rancheros, while the whole family prepared accompaniments.

Many thanks to all of them!

Annual Meeting 2024 Report — for Far-Flung Members and Supporters

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We had a great time Sunday, February 25 at Cascata Del Bosco and wish you could have been there. This year we had two themes: Celebrating 20 Years of Birding in San Vito and the incomparable Resplendent Quetzal.

Our three main speakers — Dr. Lilly Briggs, Alan Poole and Henry Barrantes — were excellent. So that you don’t miss a thing, their talks will be summarized in forthcoming posts.

For now, we begin with a short history outlining our three major achievements. (Eventually, we will add a ‘page’ to this website citing the Club’s accomplishments, small and large.)

In 2004, we began a 10-year Avian Monitoring Study with Principal Investigator Dr. Steve Latta of the National Aviary and Judy Richardson, Master Bander from the Connecticut Audubon Society. The core group included Julie Girard Woolley, Cecilia Sansonetti, Lydia Vogt, Kate Allen Desvenain, Daniel Martinez, Juan Pablo ‘Chespi’ Elizondo and many other local and international volunteers. It was a lot of work and resulted in a published paper and an article in the bulletin of the Asociación Ornitológica de Costa Rica.

In 2011, we cut the ribbon on a Canopy Tower that had taken three years of fundraising to complete. We’re happy to report it is still standing — at the Organization for Tropical Studies Las Cruces Biological Research Station — and attracting visitors from all over the world.

Finally, in 2012-13, we began presenting an environmental education program from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, ‘Detectives de Aves’ (in English: BirdSleuth International), in local elementary schools. This program continues to this day and much more about that will be forthcoming in another post.

From left to right, 20 years ago, Alison Olivieri, Terrie Moss (formerly of Linda Vista, now of St. Louis, MO), Daniel Martinez (former Biologist at Las Cruces, now of the Ornithological Council of Costa Rica) and Julie Girard Woolley (who needs no introduction).

Bird Walk Sunday, February 18

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Please join us on Sunday, February 18 at the OTS Las Cruces reception building at 7 am for a Bird Walk lasting about an hour. We will have binoculars to share and guides to help with bird IDs. After the walk, we’ll have a social coffee in the Las Cruces dining room.

Reminder: to qualify for the Bird List Competition at our forthcoming Annual Meeting (on Sunday, February 25 at Cascatas del Bosco, starting at 8:00 am), you must send your list of all birds seen or heard from Feb. 14-16 to Julie Girard Woolley @ julgirar@gmail.com. Hopefully tonight, you will hear an owl or a potoo!

See you Sunday! Please bring friends and family; the Walk is free and open to the public.

Fiery-billed Aracari: we will see one or hear one (with any luck at all).