Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) are North American breeders that migrate to the Neotropics. Until 2011 scientists thought the Costa Rican population overwintered on the Pacific Coast, but internationally renowned educator-naturalist Bill Hilton Jr. and his tico colleague Ernesto Carman Jr. discovered a new concentration at Ujarrás on the Caribbean Slope, where these tiny birds apparently pollinate commercial plantings of Chayote squash. They also found 21 other hummingbird species, making Ujarrás the place to see lots of hummers in Costa Rica. As a citizen scientist on this nine day expedition you’ll help capture, band, and observe hummers as part of Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project.

About Your Leaders
Bill Hilton Jr. defines himself as an “educator-naturalist,” encompassing his many years dedicated to teaching the world about the wonders and beauty of nature. Hilton has a BA in Philosophy from Newberry College, MA in Teaching in Biology from Winthrop University, and a MS in Ecology and Behavioral Biology from the University of Minnesota. The nature enthusiast is based in South Carolina at Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History, a non-profit research, education, and conservation organization he founded in 1982. Hilton’s passion for educating is seen through his work as an esteemed teacher of science. Not only is he an educator, but also a celebrated writer, having been published numerous times in major newspapers and periodicals. His on-going series of photo essays about nature phenomena entitled ‘This Week at Hilton Pond’ has a large international following.

Bill is assisted by Ernesto Carman Jr., one of the most competent and accomplished young naturalists and bird guides in Central America. Ernesto is bilingual and has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Costa Rica; he lives on and helps operate an organic shade-grown coffee farm (Finca Cristina) at Paraiso, east of Cartago.