Post by Ely Teehankee on Jul 9, 2013 9:42:54 GMT
Los Cusingos may be familiar and synonymous with Dr. Alexander Skutch of Costa Rica. But to many who are not familiar with the name Dr. Skutch he is the person who put Los Cusingos in the map of birders. Special thanks to Ariel Matias who convinced me to go to Costa Rica and made it the most memorable trip I ever had on bird photography. Here is what I learned about Dr. Skutch from his biography at Wikipedia.
Doctor Alexander Frank Skutch (May 20, 1904 – May 12, 2004) was a naturalist and writer. He published numerous scientific papers and books about birds and several books on philosophy. He is best remembered ornithologically for his pioneering work on helpers at the nest.
Alexander Skutch was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He received a Doctorate in Botany from Johns Hopkins University. He then found employment with United Fruit Company, which had a problem with banana diseases, for which it needed the expertise of a botanist. After an initial stay in Jamaica, Skutch traveled to Guatemala, Panama and Honduras. During this time he fell in love with the tropics and also acquired a deep interest in birds. He began studying their habits. Skutch collected plants for museums to make money, but observing birds remained his life’s main focus.
In 1941 Skutch purchased a farm in Costa Rica. There, as one of the writers of his obituary said:
"A lifelong vegetarian, Skutch grew corn, yucca and other crops, and, without running water until the 1990s, bathed and drank from the nearest stream. He believed in "treading lightly on the mother Earth". With his wife Pamela, daughter of the English naturalist, botanist, and orchidologist Charles H. Lankester, whom he married in 1950, and their adopted son Edwin, he stayed there for the rest of his life."
Skutch wrote over 40 books and over 200 papers on ornithology, preferring a descriptive style and eschewing statistics and even banding. He died eight days before his 100th birthday, in the same year that he received the Loye and Alden Miller Research Award. He is universally regarded as one of the world's greatest ornithologists.
I found out that Dr. Alexander Skutch bought 192 acres of land in 1941 located at Quizarra, Perez Zeledon intersected by the Peñas Blancas River. He called his farm “Los Cusingos” derived from the name of a common bird known as the Fiery-billed Aracari. In 1993 a non-profit organization CCT bought this site with the main objective of preserving this bird sanctuary.
Dr. Skutch wrote over 30 books and hundreds of articles on ornithology, botany and philosophy. His greatest contribution to Ornithology is the study of life habits of roughly 300 birds of the American tropics. His contributions to Botany were his studies & collections of plants to some museums & botanic gardens resulted in the discovery of the species of flora. As a recognition of his contributions to science, authors name “Skutchii” to several species of plants. There remains in Cusingos his works the paradigm of a pure naturalist, good & honest man, academic, and pacifist.
This is the office where you can see his typewriters, binoculars and books.
The bedroom of Dr. & Mrs. Skutch. I presume the bed with birds on the headboard belongs to Dr. Skutch.
The cooking range & oven using firewood which people say makes the food taste better.
On this trip, I used the following gear:
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 300mm
f/2.8L IS USM.
Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, M-3.6 Mongoose Gimbal Action Head. Manual exposure in available light.
Gray-headed Tanager (Eucometis penicillata) 7 inches (18 cm)
1/320 sec., f/8, ISO 800
1/800 sec., f/4, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
Tennessee Warbler (Vermivora peregrina)
1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
Spot-crowned Euphonia (Euphonia imitans) 4 inches (10 cm) Male
1/400 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
1/250 sec., f/4. ISO 1600
1/250 sec., f/4. ISO 1600
1/40 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
1/40 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
1/400 sec.,f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
Spot-crowned Euphonia Female
1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus) 4 inches (10 cm) in breeding plumage.
1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/2500 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) 5 inches (13 cm)
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
1/250 sec., f/5.6. ISO 1600
1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
1/1600 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
Speckled Tanager (Tangara guttata) 5 inches (13 cm)
1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
1/160 sec., f/4, ISO 1600
1/160 sec., f/4, ISO 1600
1/500 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
Slaty-tailed Trogon (Trogon massena) 12 inches (30 cm)
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/30 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 2X TC
Bay-headed Tanager (Tangara gyrola) 5 inches (13 cm)
1/50 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/250 sec., f/4.5, ISO 400
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
Shining Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes lucidus) 4 inches (10 cm) Male
1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400 Female
Golden-hooded Tanager (Tangara larvata) 5 inches (13 cm)
1/80 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
1/800 sec., f/7.1, ISO 800
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
Paltry Tyrannulet (Phyllomyias burmeisteri) 4 inches (10 cm) waiting to be fed by the mother.
1/200 sec., f/5, ISO 800
It was a good thing I was able to photograph the mother feeding the hatchling or it would have been difficult to identify this bird as a Paltry Tyrannulet.
1/200 sec., f/5, ISO 800
Turquoise Cotinga (Cotinga ridgwayi) 7 inches (18 cm) has a unique color combination. Unfortunately this was taken at 25.5 meters away.
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
Turquoise Cotinga taken at 17.8 meters. The color combination is really unique to see in a bird.
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
Roadside Hawk (Buteo magnirostris) 15 inches (38 cm)
1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
Cherries Tanager (Ramphocelus costaricensis) 6 inches (15 cm) Female
1/1000 sec., f/4, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
1/400 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 30 inches (76 cm)
1/800 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 2X TC
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica) Breeding male 5 inches (13 cm)
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
Buff-throated Saltator (Saltator maximus) 8 inches (20 cm)
1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
Blue-gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) 6 inches (15 cm)
1/1600 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
Doctor Alexander Frank Skutch (May 20, 1904 – May 12, 2004) was a naturalist and writer. He published numerous scientific papers and books about birds and several books on philosophy. He is best remembered ornithologically for his pioneering work on helpers at the nest.
Alexander Skutch was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He received a Doctorate in Botany from Johns Hopkins University. He then found employment with United Fruit Company, which had a problem with banana diseases, for which it needed the expertise of a botanist. After an initial stay in Jamaica, Skutch traveled to Guatemala, Panama and Honduras. During this time he fell in love with the tropics and also acquired a deep interest in birds. He began studying their habits. Skutch collected plants for museums to make money, but observing birds remained his life’s main focus.
In 1941 Skutch purchased a farm in Costa Rica. There, as one of the writers of his obituary said:
"A lifelong vegetarian, Skutch grew corn, yucca and other crops, and, without running water until the 1990s, bathed and drank from the nearest stream. He believed in "treading lightly on the mother Earth". With his wife Pamela, daughter of the English naturalist, botanist, and orchidologist Charles H. Lankester, whom he married in 1950, and their adopted son Edwin, he stayed there for the rest of his life."
Skutch wrote over 40 books and over 200 papers on ornithology, preferring a descriptive style and eschewing statistics and even banding. He died eight days before his 100th birthday, in the same year that he received the Loye and Alden Miller Research Award. He is universally regarded as one of the world's greatest ornithologists.
I found out that Dr. Alexander Skutch bought 192 acres of land in 1941 located at Quizarra, Perez Zeledon intersected by the Peñas Blancas River. He called his farm “Los Cusingos” derived from the name of a common bird known as the Fiery-billed Aracari. In 1993 a non-profit organization CCT bought this site with the main objective of preserving this bird sanctuary.
Dr. Skutch wrote over 30 books and hundreds of articles on ornithology, botany and philosophy. His greatest contribution to Ornithology is the study of life habits of roughly 300 birds of the American tropics. His contributions to Botany were his studies & collections of plants to some museums & botanic gardens resulted in the discovery of the species of flora. As a recognition of his contributions to science, authors name “Skutchii” to several species of plants. There remains in Cusingos his works the paradigm of a pure naturalist, good & honest man, academic, and pacifist.
This is the office where you can see his typewriters, binoculars and books.
The bedroom of Dr. & Mrs. Skutch. I presume the bed with birds on the headboard belongs to Dr. Skutch.
The cooking range & oven using firewood which people say makes the food taste better.
On this trip, I used the following gear:
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EF 300mm
f/2.8L IS USM.
Gitzo GT3530LS tripod, M-3.6 Mongoose Gimbal Action Head. Manual exposure in available light.
Gray-headed Tanager (Eucometis penicillata) 7 inches (18 cm)
1/320 sec., f/8, ISO 800
1/800 sec., f/4, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
Tennessee Warbler (Vermivora peregrina)
1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
Spot-crowned Euphonia (Euphonia imitans) 4 inches (10 cm) Male
1/400 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
1/250 sec., f/4. ISO 1600
1/250 sec., f/4. ISO 1600
1/40 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
1/40 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
1/400 sec.,f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
Spot-crowned Euphonia Female
1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
Red-legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus) 4 inches (10 cm) in breeding plumage.
1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/2500 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
Green Honeycreeper (Chlorophanes spiza) 5 inches (13 cm)
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
1/250 sec., f/5.6. ISO 1600
1/640 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
1/1600 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
Speckled Tanager (Tangara guttata) 5 inches (13 cm)
1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
1/160 sec., f/4, ISO 1600
1/160 sec., f/4, ISO 1600
1/500 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
Slaty-tailed Trogon (Trogon massena) 12 inches (30 cm)
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/30 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 2X TC
Bay-headed Tanager (Tangara gyrola) 5 inches (13 cm)
1/50 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
1/250 sec., f/4.5, ISO 400
1/320 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
Shining Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes lucidus) 4 inches (10 cm) Male
1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400
1/200 sec., f/5.6, ISO 400 Female
Golden-hooded Tanager (Tangara larvata) 5 inches (13 cm)
1/80 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600
1/800 sec., f/7.1, ISO 800
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
Paltry Tyrannulet (Phyllomyias burmeisteri) 4 inches (10 cm) waiting to be fed by the mother.
1/200 sec., f/5, ISO 800
It was a good thing I was able to photograph the mother feeding the hatchling or it would have been difficult to identify this bird as a Paltry Tyrannulet.
1/200 sec., f/5, ISO 800
Turquoise Cotinga (Cotinga ridgwayi) 7 inches (18 cm) has a unique color combination. Unfortunately this was taken at 25.5 meters away.
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
Turquoise Cotinga taken at 17.8 meters. The color combination is really unique to see in a bird.
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800
Roadside Hawk (Buteo magnirostris) 15 inches (38 cm)
1/125 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600
Cherries Tanager (Ramphocelus costaricensis) 6 inches (15 cm) Female
1/1000 sec., f/4, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
1/400 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 30 inches (76 cm)
1/800 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 2X TC
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica) Breeding male 5 inches (13 cm)
1/250 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
Buff-throated Saltator (Saltator maximus) 8 inches (20 cm)
1/100 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800 with 1.4X TC
Blue-gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) 6 inches (15 cm)
1/1600 sec., f/5.6, ISO 1600 with 1.4X TC
