Costa Rica Birdwatching

Dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alexander F. Skutch (1904 – 2004)

I first met Dr. Skutch when he was a youth of 84 summers. Arriving at his home with visiting natural history tourists was always a highlight of any tour. Graciously greeting us and welcoming us to his small private preserve, he would don his machete, binoculars, and light blue ‘Gilligan’s’ cap and lead us into the forest.

It was an incomparable experience to hear first-hand from him details of the lives of manakins, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, and essentially all of the inhabitants of that little patch of forest.

One obligatory stop on the trail was a portly Milk Tree (Brosimum utile). Dr. Skutch would tell of its many uses and how the milky white sap was edible and nutritive. It has always seemed to me an odd coincidence that just about the time that Dr. Skutch stopped accompanying us into the forest, due to a worsening condition of osteoporosis, that milk tree began decaying, and eventually collapsed.

Still, for a number of years, Dr. Skutch would sit on the bench of his wooden porch and gladly talk with visitors. Sadly, though, in the last couple of years, those conversations became awkward and difficult as a result of his loss of hearing. The situation was additionally frustrating because you could tell that Dr. Skutch’s mental capacities were quite wholly intact.

The last time I saw Dr. Skutch was on 18 April 2004, when I had the opportunity to participate in a bird count organized by the Tropical Science Center. The activity was one of the events designed around the celebration of his 100th birthday and the results of the census were to be presented to him on 20 May, during the festivity.

Five sites were censused in the area, spanning an altitude range of 700 to 1,400 meters above sea level. Together with my wife, Maricia, and three of my children, I was assigned to Los Cusingos. By the end of a very enjoyable day of birding we had seen 103 species and 471 individuals. The combined group effort resulted in a grand total of 224 species and 2723 individuals.

Late in the afternoon, we were invited in to the room where Dr. Skutch was sitting in his hospital bed. We told him of the birds we’d seen and how quite a number of migrants were passing through. In parting, I said I was looking forward to seeing him again in another month at his 100th birthday party.

When I returned to Costa Rica on 13 May, following a birding trip to the US, one of the first things Maricia told me was that Noel Ureña had called that morning to inform us that Dr. Skutch had died during the night. Given the timing of my return, I was unable to travel to San Isidro to attend the funeral services, but here is what Noel wrote about the occasion:

“Without a doubt I was taken by surprise when I heard the news: “Don Alexander passed away last night.” Even though we all know our lives on Earth must come to an end, a feeling of frustration was now in the air. Just a few days ago, on 18 April, a group of friends and I had done a bird count in the Los Cusingos Bird Sanctuary and surrounding areas to collect the results as a gift for Don Alexander in his 100th birthday, on 20 May.”

“Wágner López and I had compiled the results from the count and with a few more details the report would be ready to be printed for Dr. Skutch. So after the sad news, we got in contact and overnight we finished the work. We wanted to give him the results anyway, as he had alreay shown a lot of interest in seeing them and was very excited about his birthday. Every morning he would ask: “When is my birthday?”

“The night before the funeral, I went to the Calvario Chapel, where many friends of Don Alexander came to spend a few more moments with him. As I was coming in, I heard the scratchy voice of a Common Barn-Owl (Tyto alba), not a rare bird in this area, but definitely a new location for their night concert, as they used to be in the towers of the Cathedral in San Isidro for many years, and now they were in the towers of El Calvario. Their presence really made me think of something more spiritual than just a coincidence: a way for his closest friends, the birds, to say Good-bye!”

“Early in the morning, I was finalizing the report in my computer at home, and as I was doing so, I thought of how nice it would be to have many birds come and say farewell to Don Alexander during his funeral. Then my favorite bird came to mind: Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus). I knew this was not likely to happen because of the type of habitat in Los Cusingos, but at least I was hoping some birds would come to say adiós, just like the Common Barn-Owls the night before.”

“The time for the funeral came. I went along with my wife Silma and my mother, who had always appreciated Dr. Skutch very much. The funeral began and we all started driving towards Los Cusingos, where Don Alexander had asked to be buried. I was paying attention to the birds along the road. Flycatchers, seedeaters, and tanagers were not very active and just pretty much perched as if they were watching the funeral procession. Maybe I was just looking too much and feeling spiritual.

“After a little while on the road, we left the asphalt and turned onto the gravel country road to Quizarrá. We entered the first patch of isolated forest and just as we crossed the little stream named Quebrada Chanchos, my wife pointed out a bird perched in the woods approximately 18 feet above the ground. I looked and then immediately stopped my car…

My skin got goose bumps. We were seeing an Ornate Hawk-Eagle, and the magnificent bird was actually looking at the limousine with the coffin! I stepped out of the car, the bird turned around on its perch and flew off through the woods. Everyone behind in the line of cars must have been wondering what I was doing, but fortunately for me, my wife and my mother and other people in a little van saw the bird, too. Definitely a gift from God, a tribute to Dr. Skutch, and an amazing Good-bye!”

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This article reproduced here with the written permission of Richard Garrigues of ‘The Gone Birding Newsletter’

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.