Tag Archives: Yeimiri Badilla

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

Zooming With Owls — Part 2

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Mottled Owl, photo by Pepe Castiblanco

Everybody loves owls, no? Yes! They are particularly endearing and, with their round heads, round bodies and big eyes, they almost look like Bobblehead Toys. The problem is we need to go out at night to see them or have a spectacular bit of luck on a daytime bird walk.

Mottled Owls are the most commonly heard of them all in San Vito. You can often hear them start to call at dusk or later into the night and they sound a little bit like dogs in the distance until you accustom yourself to their voice. They start breeding in February and, when two of them get each other wound up — calling back and forth — it makes a big, kind-of-scary, duetting racket!

Apparently there is a question on the correct scientific name of this owl. According to the Taxonomy Seer of the SVBC Jo Davidson, in Costa Rica we use Ciccaba virgata. You will see it referred to as Strix virgata in the links below. In either case, or both, Mottled Owls are found from Mexico to Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina.

Black-and-white Owl, photo by Yeimiri Badilla

The larger Black-and-white Owl is far less common but has been reliably seen and heard near the forested area around the Las Cruces Biological Station. It takes bigger prey than its cousin, feeding on small rodents and bats in addition to large insects favored by both.

You won’t be surprised to learn these owls are in the same genus with their similarly rounded shape, no ear tufts and prominent, fancy eyebrows. Ciccaba nigrolineata is the Black-and-white found from Mexico to Venezuela and Peru.

Let’s see what they have to say for themselves when asked about swiveling their heads around to nearly 180 degrees: is it fun? It looks like a conjuring trick! Click the link here and press play to hear the Mottled Owl’s reply. It sounds like it is saying, “Wow, wow, wow!” And the Black-and-white had this to say: click and press play. This sounds like “Just who are YOU?” to us.

And finally here are both of them arguing over the answer; see if you can tell who is calling by clicking here!

Just one more view of the Mottled Owl from Pepe Castiblanco’s collection.