Operation RubyThroat's
2012 Tropical Hummingbird Expeditions to Central America

(Updated 10 Nov 2011)

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All text & photos © Hilton Pond Center

Each winter since 2004-05, Bill Hilton Jr.--executive director of Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History--has offered excursions for teachers, citizen scientists, and other nature enthusiasts to Central America to observe and band Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (RTHU) on their wintering grounds. An internationally recognized hummingbird expert and educator-naturalist, Hilton is the only scientist conducting long-term systematic studies of RTHU in the tropics, with nearly 800 banded in Costa Rica, 60-plus in both Guatemala and Belize, and two in El Salvador. All trips are under the auspices of Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project and logistics are handled by Holbrook Travel. No field experience is necessary--just a willingness to help discover new information about ruby-throats on the OTHER end of their migratory route.

NOTE: Alumni of any Holbrook Professional Development Expedition--including past Operation RubyThroat trips--are eligible for a $100 discount on each of two or more Operation RubyThroat excursions in a calendar year.

JOIN OPERATION RUBYTHROAT FOR 2011-2012
HUMMINGBIRD EXPEDITIONS TO THE NEOTROPICS

"Weeks" are actually nine days long,
including a travel day on either end.
Click on the links below for details & costs for each trip.

2012 EXPEDITIONS

COSTA RICA (west) (2-10 Feb 2012; Guanacaste)
BELIZE Week 1 (3-11 Mar 2012; Crooked Tree)
BELIZE Week 2 (11-19 Mar 2012; Crooked Tree)
COSTA RICA (east) (10-18 Nov 2012, Ujarrás)

Multi-trip discounts are available as we move northward in
Central America, following Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
as they head out on spring migration in 2012.

For complete reports on all of Operation RubyThroat's successful Neotropical Hummingbird Banding Expeditions, please visit
"This Week at Hilton Pond" at the following links:

PLUS

See a write-up about the 2006 trip in the
May/June 2006 Costa Rica Outdoors magazine

All text & photos © Hilton Pond Center

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Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History is a non-profit research & education organization in York, South Carolina USA; phone (803) 684-5852. Directed by Bill Hilton Jr., aka The Piedmont Naturalist, it is the parent organization for Operation RubyThroat. Contents of this Web site--including articles and photos--may NOT be duplicated, modified, or used in any way except with the express written permission of Hilton Pond Center. All rights reserved worldwide. To obtain permission for use or for further assistance on accessing this Web site, contact the Webmaster.

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