For all the hard work at Las Brisas Nature Reserve, Erick Berlin received an individual Partners in Flight (PIF) Stewardship Award. Thank you Becky Keller for accepting the award on his behalf. Here is an excerpt of the news article by Carol Beidleman: >> ERICK BERLIN, Owner/Manager of the private Las Brisas Nature Reserve in Costa Rica, received an individual PIF Stewardship Award for his restoration of vital stopover habitat for two of PIF’s highest priority bird species, t

During our first ten days of bird banding at Las Brisas Nature Reserve as part of our bird monitoring program, we caught an impressive assortment of birds, 209 individuals of 53 different species. Part of our success has been due greatly to the use of canopy nets. Most bird monitoring programs run nets at ground level, but we have implemented nets which we raise well up in the air amidst the tres, allowing us to catch birds that do not come down to ground level, giving us a

It is late August and one of the most spectacular events is about to occurr at Las Brisas Nature Reserve: the yearly "en-masse" arrival of the Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea)! During the next three weeks this generally hard-to-see species will become one of the most common neotropical migrants at the reserve, where it is not uncommon to see over a dozen in a day. Bird watchers and nature lovers will also arrive en-masse to Las Brisas on August 31 to participate in the

Parrots and parakeets are well known for being extremely noisy and obvious when they are flying in large flocks. When these birds land in a tree though, it is a whole different story. While perched and feeding, parakeets go silent, and their green plumage blends right in with the background of green leaves. At Las Brisas, Olive-throated Parakeets (Aratinga nana) are common visitors during August and September when they move up hill from the lowlands to feed on fruiting tre

Este pasado Martes nuestro amigo y colaborador Ernesto M. Carman nos deleitó con su charla "Experiencias de un científico ciudadano" en el Museo Nacional. Evento organizado por la Asociación Ornitológica de Costa Rica. Aquí pueden mirar la presentacion: slideshare y aqui escuchar el audio de esta: SoundCloud. ¿Qué es un científico ciudadano? “Un científico ciudadano es una persona quien voluntariamente contribuye su tiempo, esfuerzo y recursos hacia la investigación científic

If you are in Costa Rica have a look at these three exciting events that you can participate in: Next week the Costa Rican Ornithology Congress begins! Check the full program for the next days here. Then in August there is an event taking place where you can learn more about rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing wildlife. Also in August, Ronald Vargas our friend and expert in the world of insects will be leading a workshop on the topic. Have fun! #event #conservation #inse

Although June can be a fairly quiet time as far as birds go - most species are nesting at this time and not singing or showing themselves much - it is precisely the nesting that makes it a very exciting time at Las Brisas Nature Reserve. One of the more interesting findings this year was a nesting Great Potoo (Nyctibius grandis). This species does not build a nest, rather it balances the single white egg on an indentation or the tip of a broken snag. We found a pair had de

What are some of the species that you can see on a typical morning at Las Brisas? To give you a better idea we want to share the list of species observed by Ernesto Carman and Jairo Jiménez on May 29th. The sightings took place in the main section of the reserve which has an elevation of 650-1030m.a.s.l. and in the lower elevation section at 250m.a.s.l. Click on the two links to see the bird list and more details in eBird: Lower elevation: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklis

This year was the 20th anniversary of the Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus) Program by the Centro Científico Tropical. The goal of this ongoing event is to have a better understanding of the current population of this species in the San Juan-La Selva Biological Corridor. Jairo Jiménez and Ernesto Carman collaborated with their observations at Las Brisas Reserve. They reported seeing two Great Green Macaws at 9:30 am and then ten at 3:30 pm. This at the lower elevation portion

On February 17, 2014, while we had the visit of the Songbird S.O.S. crew filming footage for a documentary on migratory songbirds, we spotted a young female Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata). That particular plumage made it tricky to identify at first, but looking closely at the photographs there was no doubt about it. This is the first record for Las Brisas Nature Reserve and it is considered an accidental migrant in Costa Rica, since we are well out of its migratory p