Quepolandia

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

Chestnut Mandibled Toucan

By Jack Ewing

Be Careful Bird Watching is Addictive

Do you think birds are boring, and don’t see why anyone would want to watch them? Don’t put this article down yet. Let me share with you one interesting tidbit of information about birds, and see if you still think they are boring.

Many member of the cuckoo family are freeloaders. Ornithologists call them brood parasites. They lay their eggs in other birds nests, dumping their responsibility as parents in other birds laps, while saving themselves the time and energy of incubating eggs and feeding chicks. The various bird species that end up as unsuspecting foster parents have devised certain tricks with which they try to outsmart their unwelcome boarders. A truly fascinating method came to light recently in Australia where researchers were studying the behavior of the superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus). Mother wrens sing to their eggs, and, in so doing, teach their embryonic offspring a password, even before they hatch. After hatching, the chicks don’t get fed unless they include the password in their begging call. The cuckoo chicks that hatch in the same nest don’t know the password, don’t get fed, and end up starving to death. The female wrens conserve their own energy and devote it to raising their own young. Every mother wren uses a different password, presumably to prevent the cuckoo chicks as a species from learning how to get fed. You can read the entire article at: http://www.nature.com/news/wrens-teach-their-eggs-to-sing-1.11779#b2.

Filed under: Jack Ewing, Nature and Local History Stories on December 30th, 2012
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Use Los Adjetivos Posesivos

Corrija las siguientes oraciones usando el adjetivo posesivo correcto.

Luisa tiene un salón muy grande. Su salón es grande.

Esta es la casa suyas.
Aquel es nuestro hija.
Vamos a nuestra casa (de nosotros).
Lo voy a ver en el televisor mío (de mí).
Aquel es tus pájaro.
Van a leer sus libros (de él).
La foto es mía (de él).
La niña tiene una bicicleta nueva.
Yo tengo un apartamento muy pequeño.
Los López tienen un perro enorme.
Tú tienes libros interesantes.
Usted tiene un coche descapotable.
Ella tiene unos padres muy simpáticos.
Vosotros tenéis unos hijos muy majos.
Nosotras tenemos unas habitaciones muy soleadas.
Ustedes tienen una casa preciosa.
Tú tienes vestidos elegantes.

Filed under: Academia D'Amore, Tico Talk on December 30th, 2012
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New Eyes

By Todd Pequeen

Anticipation is the drug of a traveler. I have always noticed my spirits are uplifted after booking a flight; after all, I am setting a date for what’s to come. Packing provides a special high in itself, go with more or go with less…that is the question. In this day and age the internet tries to mimic or replicate the experiences you will have once arriving. However, until smell, touch, and taster-netting are invented nothing will be able to replicate actually stepping off that plane in an unknown place. I have a very hard time understanding why so many Americans have never set foot on foreign soil, or for that matter have never seen the awesome cities both on the Pacific coast, or my favorite, the history laden Atlantic coast. Scared of flying? Get over it or use a car, bus, or train. Believe me, just GO!

Filed under: Health is Wealth, Todd Pequeen on December 27th, 2012
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Memories

By Nancy Buchan

Music has been described as the ‘soundtrack of our lives’, and for most of us living today, that’s pretty accurate. We’ve always had access to music –not just music being performed live, but music re-produced through vinyl recordings or cassette tapes or 8-tracks or iPods or computers or even player-pianos. My generation leaned heavily on radio stations to presumably play the coolest new thing or to introduce us to new musicians. Sometimes they were brave and experimental and sometimes they played only crap provided and pushed by the studios. TV shows allowed us to hear everything from symphony orchestras to the then revolutionary Rolling Stones. Then that medium morphed into MTV, which sent it a bit sideways with its preoccupation with visual looks and style. There’s less control of what is out there now – the all-powerful record companies and distributors have been knocked on their butt by the internet – but there is still plenty of music being played and preserved somehow all over the planet. Every generation seems to have their ‘own’ songs, and those songs can bring forth a memory of a time or place that is crystal clear.

Filed under: Fiddlin' Around, Nancy Buchan on December 27th, 2012
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Rum Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Pineapple Relish

INGREDIENTS

Grilled Pineapple Relish

1 small pineapple, peeled, cored & sliced into ½ inch rounds
Vegetable oil
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 serrano chile, finely diced
3 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs freshly chopped culantro
1Tbs honey

Read More…

Filed under: Cooking Corner on December 24th, 2012
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Feliz Navidad = Merry Christmas

By Os

¡Feliz Navidad amig@s! Let me show you some vocabulario for these dates:

Regalo = gift. Presente = present.

Árbol de navidad = X-mas tree. Portal = Nativity.

Noche Buena = X-mas Eve.

Papá Noel = Santa Claus.

Aguinaldo = An extra payment that employees get in diciembre.

Tamal = Tamale. A kind of small dumpling, stuffed with meat and other eatables, and wrapped in banana leaves.

Rompope = Eggnog. Ponche de huevo. Huevos, leche, vainilla y ron… I’m getting drunk… ¡Salud!

Just for this month (because it is Navidad) I am gonna show you AGAIN something sweet about Spanish: The pronunciation of the stuff.

Filed under: Os, Spanish Sucks on December 24th, 2012
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Happy Holidays to you all from Kids Saving the Rainforest!

By Jennifer Rice

If you are looking for a great holiday gift, we have the solution! Shop in the KSTR Store located adjacent to the Hotel Mono Azul Rainforest Restaurant in Manuel Antonio. You will get great value, (the prices are the best), and you will be saving the rainforest at the same time! (100% of the proceeds go to save the rainforest!)

As we look at the end of every year Kids Saving The Rainforest (KSTR) reflects on all of the gifts and support we have received through the year. We are so grateful to be able to help the world in fighting the battle of Climate Change and we are definitely making a difference, one tree, one animal, at a time. We continue to grow year after year in part by receiving support for our programs from you. We thank you all for helping to make this possible and wish you the best in 2013!