|
|
|||
|
(Back to Preceding Week; on to Next Week) |
Blue-throated
|
A few spaces are still available for our 2010 midwinter HUMMINGBIRD |
Canivet's
|
|
WEDDING BELL(BIRDS) IN COSTA RICA:
As we taxied to our gate on 13 December 2009, the PA system on Continental's Flight 1528 began playing "Walking In a Winter Wonderland"--more than a little incongruous because we had just landed on the airport tarmac in San Jose, Costa Rica, and could see nothing out the window except lush greenery and palm trees. (We doubt San Jose has EVER had snow for Christmas.) Usually our trips to Costa Rica involve travel in January and February as we lead groups of citizen scientists into Guanacaste Province; there we're conducting the only long-term research on Ruby-throated Hummingbirds on their Neotropical wintering grounds.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center (Click on the map above to open a larger version in a new browser window) Ernesto and Ela live near Paraíso (see map above) on Finca Cristina, established more than two decades ago by his parents as the first fully organic shade-gown coffee farm in Costa Rica. Based there, Ela--a pretty good naturalist herself--has just completed her rigorous on-line high school exams; Ernesto roams the countryside much of the year, leading tours for nature lovers from Europe and North America. After they met us at the airport, Ela and 'Nesto took us to our room at nearby Orosi, where we had a full week of comfortable housing and world-class food at Hotel Tapanti Media Lodge.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center The first few days of the week we joined Ernesto as he drove all over San Jose, Cartago, and Paraíso, picking up items for the wedding ceremony and reception--everything from freshly cut locally grown roses and the bride's bouquet to Japanese lanterns and flower pots. (Along the way we stopped to save a rather aggressive five-foot Boa Constrictor, above, moving it from the road into the woods at Finca Cristina.) Wednesday afternoon was the outdoor wedding at a restaurant on the shores of Lago de Cachi and then on Thursday--in an appropriate gesture from a professional tour guide--Ernesto skipped his honeymoon, rented a bus, and took us, his bride, and his extended family from the U.S. on an all-day field trip to Veragua Rainforest near Limon on the Caribbean coast. Friday was un-decorate day at the restaurant, and on Saturday the newlyweds took the Hiltons off to view the hummingbird extravaganza at Rancho Naturalista.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Very early on the morning of 20 December Ernesto bid Ela adios and departed to lead a five-day tour while the Hiltons drove through Cartago into San Jose to began their flight northward to Charlotte via Houston. To document the wedding and some of flora and fauna we saw on our just-completed mid-December excursion to Costa Rica, we offer the following portfolio of annotated photos as our season's greetings from Hilton Pond Center to you. All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center PORTFOLIO: Technical Note: We elected not to bring our big camera set-up on this international trip, so still photos (and video) were taken handheld with a Canon S10, some using Canon's 200x teleconverter. (We admit we missed our 100-400mm zoom telephoto lens, especially when trying to photograph hummingbirds, but there's something to be said for the pocket portability of the S10.)
Although it seemed to have too many nouns in its name, the 11-room Hotel Tapanti Media Lodge (with Bar) at Orosi was a comfortable place to stay. Meals were excellent and fairly priced, service personnel were friendly and attentive, and the lodge was convenient to Finca Cristina and the restaurant where the wedding of Ernesto and Ela was held.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center A Terrible Trio of Tapirs (above)--handcarved from local volcanic rock--stood guard at the entrance to our hotel, assuring no mischief would befall us during our stay.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center The small but meticulously maintained gardens at Hotel Tapanti Media Lodge (above) were home to native and exotic plants and several species of birds.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center The Carman Boys, together again: Kid brother Dave (professional climbing guide, Jackson Hole WY); eldest Ted (developer & planner, Boston); Ernie Sr. (former fighter pilot, current organic shade-grown coffee farmer in Paraíso CR, father of the groom); and Peter (robotics designer, Jackson Hole).
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Costa Rica hosts almost too many species of ferns to count. This unidentified but fecund specimen (above)--growing in the garden at the hotel--had hundreds of spore-bearing sori on the undersides of its leaflets.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Turrialba Volcano (above) was visible from our hotel on only two of the seven mornings we were in Costa Rica. Typically, heavy clouds obscured the summit. Turrialba's last major eruption was in 1856, but since 2001 the volcano has been active with at least one fumarole producing steam and gas on a regular basis.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center The steep slope behind the hotel at Orosi was blanketed with head-high Coffee trees. This particular farm was making an effort at growing its crop in the shade but for some reason severely pruned whatever shade-producing trees grew among the coffee. Compare this practice with what happens at Finca Cristina (below), where Coralbean trees cast shade on the coffee and serve as hosts for many epiphytic ferns, orchids, and bromeliads.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Finca Cristina is home to several Scintillant Hummingbirds, a species about two-thirds the size of the familiar Ruby-throated Hummingbird that breeds in eastern North America. The red-gorgetted adult male Scintillant above was photographed feeding on Blue Porterweed by Ernesto's new bride, Ela.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center As in North America, members of the Aster Family (Compositae) are common in the New World tropics. The four-inch-diameter dark pink or white flowers of Guatemalan Dahlia (above)--with its easy-to-remember scientific name of Dahlia guatemalensis--are found on roadsides across Costa Rica and neighboring countries.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center The aptly named Daisy Tree, Montanoa guatemalensis (above), is another composite shrub or small tree widespread in Central America. This specimen with one-inch blossoms was in the understory outside the main farmhouse at Finca Cristina.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center This highly aggressive Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, Amazilia tzacatl, staked out the gardens at Hotel Tapanti Media Lodge, where he chased off any other bird that dared enter his territory. Females are similar in appearance, but usually somewhat paler.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center This flower--undoubtedly a relative of Rose-of-Sharon in the Malvaceae--was growing along the roadside halfway up Irazu Volcano. It's probably some European variety of Common Mallow, Malva sylvestris, planted as an ornamental in Costa Rica. We're not sure if it has sufficient nectar to attract hummingbirds, as does Rose-of-Sharon. (If you recognize this plant, please let us know at INFO.)
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Ernesto and Ela selected an upscale restaurant (La Casona del Cafetal) on the shores of Lago de Cachi for their wedding. With shafts of afternoon sunlight shining through the clouds (above), the outdoor ceremony was completed just as light mist began to fall.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Guests began arriving for the 4 p.m. wedding about 15 minutes ahead of time; floral decorations were still being completed at 4:15 p.m. (above). (Ernesto--ever in control--said "no worries" because everything was unfolding as planned "on Costa Rica time.")
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Via horseless carriage (above), a perfectly coiffed, beautifully dressed, and somewhat nervous Ela arrived at about 4:25 p.m., more than ready to get the ceremony underway.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center The Ela-Ernesto wedding was riot of color, mostly provided by extremely fresh flowers cut just a day or two before at commercial gardens on the slopes of nearby volcanoes. Nearly all Costa Rica's rose production is exported to North America--especially for Valentines Day.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Ernesto's mother joked the wedding was actually a biological conference in disguise. On the guest list were such Neotropical notables as Eric Berlin (left, conservationist and naturalist), Brian Kubicki (center, author of Glass Frogs of Costa Rica and operator of the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center), and Julio Sánchez (dean of Costa Rican ornithology and recently retired curator of birds at the National Museum of Costa Rica). Along with Bill Hilton Jr., Julio and Herman Venegas (one of 'Nesto's guide buddies) served as legal witnesses for the Ela-Ernesto wedding.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center The wedding reception featured two unique favors for each attendee. From the Carman family, it was a bag of Cafe Cristina coffee (above left)--grown and roasted on the family finca and labeled with orchids and a Black-crested Coquette (one of 'Nesto's favorite hummingbirds). Ela's family offered a chocolate-filled three-inch tall basket hand-woven by her mother in traditional indigenous style.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Against the late afternoon scenic backdrop of mist-shrouded Lago de Cachi, a Cartago lawyer (above) joined Ela and Ernesto in a civil ceremony.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Informal portait of the bride (in her gorgeous long white dress) and groom (in what is for him exceedingly unusual attire). We present the new couple, Elaida Villanueva Mayorga & Ernesto Michael Carman Jr. In lieu of a honeymoon, the day after his wedding Ernesto chartered a bus and took his extended family and the Hiltons on a guided field trip to Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure Park on the northern edge of Chirripó National Park, just west of the port of Limon (see map below).
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center (Click on the map above to open a larger version in a new browser window) From Veragua's Web site: "Veragua Rainforest started in 2004 through the initiative of a group of young Costa Rican entrepreneurs who believed in conservation and decided to create an experience packed with nature content, with a very low environmental impact, and characterized by world-class service. In a visionary fashion, they bet on the development of Limon, with the goal of promoting tourism in the province and transforming it into a leading destination in the Caribbean."
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center We were immediately impressed by the thoughtful and inspiring appearance of the Veragua Rainforest facilities (entryway, above and boardwalk, below). Construction and design were top-notch and equal or superior to many nature centers we've visited in the U.S.--not bad for a nonprofit group funded initially by Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy and maintained in part by admission fees and small grants.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center After our group assembled at Veragua's main entrance, we were warmly greeted in good English by Andy (above), one of the facility's expert guides. After orienting us to our surroundings, Andy gently picked up a leaf-cutter ant between thumb and forefinger of his left hand and offered it a much-larger leaf with his right. The ant--a member of the soldier caste--had jaws so strong it was able to clamp down on the leaf petiole and hold on for several seconds. This was an amazing feat for an insect a mere quarter-inch long.
Our guide took us through several exhibits: 1) A series of attractive glass-fronted cages holding native snakes and lizards; 2) A building housing native frogs and toads--including a large darkened chamber in which Andy's flashlight pointed out various nocturnal amphibians; and, 3) a room filled with mounted butterflies and moths. Then we entered a large walk-in butterfly house (above) filled with nectar and host plants and many species of free-flying lepidopterans.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center In the butterfly enclosure Susan Hilton (above left) got to release a Blue Morpho butterfly (above right) that had been reared from an egg by Veragua's on-site entomologists. Also feeding and flitting in the enclosure was a Heartspotted Heleconia (below).
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center The aerial tram at Veragua was one of the nicest--and most quiet!--we've ever ridden. Twin cars descend down a very steep slope into a ravine where trails lead in several directions. One trail goes to a small waterfall, another extends along a boardwalk to a viewing platform from which we saw but weren't able to photograph bright red poison frogs.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center From the tram at Veragua we were almost eye-to-eye with several treetop Brown-throated Sloths, Bradypus variegatus, such as the one above photographed by Ernesto in a Cecropia. Sloths--including this three-toed variety--are indeed slow-moving, hypometabolic vegetarians that come down from their aerial perches only once a week . . . to defecate.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Along the trail at Veragua we found the brightly colored and oddly shaped Wild Starfruit, Carpotroche platyptera. These fruits aren't produced by the green vine in the photo above but spring directly from the dark-barked tree to which they are attached with a short stem.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center After the all-day trip Thursday to Veragua most of the Carmans' North American visitors spent Friday at Finca Cristina, but on Saturday Ernesto and Ela were kind enough to take the Hiltons to Rancho Naturalista--a lodge about an hour away where 'Nesto had been a guide. Rancho's main claim to fame is its hummingbird observation areas, which we wanted wife Susan to experience first-hand after hearing us talk about them since our last visit several years ago. At Rancho Naturalista's main lodge, well-tended balcony feeders bring in several fast-flapping resident hummingbird species such as the male White-necked Jacobin (above). Visitors also get occasional views of hummers like the very dark male Violet-crowned Woodnymph, shown below resting in heavy shade.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center After watching hummingbirds from the balcony at Rancho Naturalista we ventured out on a trail that goes upslope from the lodge and found several items of interest. One was an epiphytic white orchid (above) growing on a palm trunk. Orchids are common in established Costa Rican forests, so you might think there's nothing unusual about the ones in the photo--until we point out each blossom is less than a half-inch across. These tiny flowers--much enlarged above--are one of the Epidendron species, we're not sure which.
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Further down the trail at Rancho Naturalista we encountered a cluster of quarter-inch brilliant blue berries we were unable to identify. We surmised they might be in the same family as Coffee (Rubiaceae, the Madder Family) and later learned from Dr. Andrew Geller via Uldis Roze that the fruit was indeed a madder: Psychotria pilosa (common name not known).
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center Turning over a trailside leaf we found a sextet of brightly colored chrysalises from the Mexican Cycadian, Eumaeus toxea. Caterpillars of this tropical butterfly specialize on eating the leaves of cycads, an ancient group of evergreen plants that superficially resemble ferns or palms. Note one dried, shriveled exoskeleton (upper left) cast off by a caterpillar before it entered its pupal stage.
Despite all these interesting objects along the trail at Rancho Naturalista, our fascination with hummingbirds drove us back to the balcony at the main lodge for one more look at some tropical trochilids. It was nearly impossible to capture still images of these little dynamos with our pocket digital camera, so we turned a knob and tried the video mode instead. To see the results--a 22-second clip of a hungry male White-necked Jacobin--click on the feeder photo above. (A new browser window will open.) All text, maps, video & photos © Hilton Pond Center So that's the story of our mid-December non-research excursion to Costa Rica. Perhaps you're wondering why this particular photo essay is entitled All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center
All text, maps & photos © Hilton Pond Center
Comments or questions about this week's installment?
Thanks to the following fine folks for recent gifts in support of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History and/or Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project. Your tax-deductible contributions allow us to continue writing, photographing, and sharing "This Week at Hilton Pond." (Please see Support if you'd like to make a gift of your own. You can also contribute by ordering an Operation RubyThroat T-shirt.)
"This Week at Hilton Pond" is written & photographed You may wish to consult our Index of all nature topics covered since February 2000. You can also use our on-line Hilton Pond Search Engine at the bottom of this page. For a free, non-fattening, on-line subscription to |
This year, however, we departed Hilton Pond Center in mid-December at the behest of Ernesto Carman Jr. (right) whom we met back in 2004 when he joined our first hummingbird expedition as expert in-country guide and interpreter. In the years since Ernesto has become almost like a son and brother and certainly a great friend and collaborator, so we could hardly refuse when he asked the Hiltons (Bill Jr. and wife Susan) to fly down for his 16 December wedding to Elaida Villanueva Mayorga (above)--a beautiful, intelligent, and talented Costa Rican Indian woman who had also participated in our first Operation RubyThroat trip six years ago. We were delighted to be included in the couple's wedding plans, especially when Ernesto mentioned he needed a best man/legal witness for the civil ceremony. We considered this a significant honor and privilege and were most happy to have Ernesto and Ela meet us after we cleared customs at the airport immigration center.
(See rainbow over Cartago's Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles, above, home of La Negrita--the eight-inch-tall Black Madonna with Child, right.) After facing a variety of delays caused by a major snowstorm that struck the Northeast, the Hiltons finally got into Charlotte in the wee hours on Monday. Having heard the strains of "Winter Wonderland" upon landing in tropical Costa Rica on the southbound flight, we found it more than a little ironic the first song we heard on the Charlotte airport's public address system was "Feliz Navidad!"
. 
. 
"Wedding Bell(birds) in Costa Rica." Well, it's a little corny, but there ARE birds in that country called Three-wattled Bellbirds (big-mouthed male at right); we're certain all those Costa Rican bellbirds are shaking their wattles in celebration of the recent wedding of naturalists Ernesto Carman Jr. and Elaida Villanueva Mayorga. Happy Holidays and Feliz Navidad to all, and best wishes to Ela and 'Nesto--our favorite tica and tico--for a long, loving marriage filled with everyday joy!
Be sure to scroll down for an account of all
|
Make direct donations on-line via
Network for Good: |
 |
|
Use your PayPal account
to make direct donations: |
|
 If you like to shop on-line, you please become a member of iGive, through which more than 750 on-line stores from Barnes & Noble to Lands' End will donate a percentage of your purchase price in support of Hilton Pond Center and Operation RubyThroat. For every new member who signs up and makes an on-line purchase iGive will donate an ADDITIONAL $5 to the Center. Please sign up by going to the iGive Web site; more than 200 members have signed up to help. It's a painless, important way for YOU to support our on-going work in conservation, education, and research. |
|
|
SPECIES BANDED THIS WEEK: * = New species for 2009 WEEKLY BANDING TOTAL 2 species 4 individuals 2009 BANDING TOTAL 62 species (28-year avg. = 68.9) 1,721 individuals (avg. = 1,914.4) 28-YEAR BANDING GRAND TOTAL (since 28 June 1982, during which time 170 species have been observed on or over the property) 124 species 53,603 individuals NOTABLE RECAPTURES THIS WEEK (with original banding date, sex, and current age) NONE THIS WEEK This Week at Hilton Pond All text & photos © Hilton Pond Center
|
OTHER NATURE NOTES OF INTEREST --With only one day at Hilton Pond Center (12 Dec) before our departure for Costa Rica, banding totals for the week (left) are almost as low as they can get. --For information about the importance of organic shade-grown coffee, see our on-line write-up about Finca Cristina. To learn more about Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure Park, see their Web site. All text & photos © Hilton Pond Center
NOW is the time to report your RTHU fall departure dates from the U.S. & Canada, and fall arrival dates for Mexico & Central America. Please participate.
|
Oct 15 to Mar 15:|
(Back to Preceding Week; on to Next Week) Up to Top of Page Back to This Week at Hilton Pond Center Current Weather Conditions at Hilton Pond Center |
 You can also post questions for The Piedmont Naturalist |
Join the |
Search Engine for |
|
|
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History is a non-profit research & education organization in York, South Carolina USA; phone (803) 684-5852. Directed by Vitamin E Benefits