The little things in life

David: Sometimes getting the little things done in life brings a great feeling of acomplishment, like cleaning and organizing your desk or getting all the bills paid. You know, the fun things. Around QERC this is definitely true for us because little projects take even longer, and this is not soley due to the fact that I seem to find pleasure in starting many projects and drawing them out as long as possible. Our projects seem to take longer because if we need a certain size screw it might be two weeks before we get to the hardware store and then finding what you need in San Jose isn't as easy as just going to the Home Depot. On top of all this, and I say this with endearment, things just take longer in Latin America and Costa Rica is no exception. If someone tells you they will have something completed for you next week there is a good chance it won't get done for three. That's just the way things are. Anyway, I say all this to tell that you that we are excited about this new "welcome area" we have created on the front of the building. You can see in the picture that we have an information board and some beautiful and welcoming signs. The big empty spot to the right of the information board is where a really nice and big trail map will someday go. The idea is that when guests arrive or random people are coming by to check QERC out they will be drawn to this and can go look at the information board to see what student group or researcher is at QERC and what are they working on. We also will have information about the interactive educational experiences that guests and tourists can explore like our native plant demonstration and natural history musuem. And then, hopefully, a nice trail map can better encourage the adventurous to get out there onto the trails and really see the beauty of the cloud forest. So, although it is a small accomplishment, we are excited about getting this up, finally.

And, you may notice that our information board currently says, "Bienvenidos Union de Ornitologos." This past weekend we welcomed the Costa Rica Union of Ornithology to QERC. It is an exciting relationship for us. They are currently planning a bird identification and natural history course for the youth of our region. We will host the course in January. We'll report more on that when it comes around. In honor of the Ornithology Union here is a picture of a Yellowish Flycatcher. Sometimes bird names are a lot simpler than you would think.