<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=us-ascii"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Our hummingbird expeditions through Operation RubyThroat last only nine days in the Neotropics, but it seems like it takes forever to process all our photos of flora and fauna, write the text, and compile the data for our requisite on-line report. It's a labor of love, however, and provides a full account for the public and the 12 citizen scientists who made our most recent trip possible. Our Neotropical work is important as we try to determine the role of hummingbirds as pollinators.<br><br>"This Week at Hilton Pond" we're finally done with our illustrated summary for Costa Rica East, where we again banded Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at a Chayote plantation on the Caribbean Slope--a place the species "isn't supposed to be." Our photo essay for 1-30 Nov 2012 includes lots of new scientific info about ruby-throats on their southerly wintering grounds. You can view it on your computer but it's also optimized for iPad, so curl up with your tablet like a good book, enjoy, and pass it on!<br><br>Because we WERE at Hilton Pond for a few days during the period you can also scroll down for a list of birds banded and recaptured there--plus some miscellaneous notes. We include a grateful acknowledgement of recent supporters for our education, research, and conservation initiatives.<br><br>NOTE: A few spots are still available for our February expedition to Costa Rica and one to Belize in March, but deadlines loom. (Nicaragua in February is full.) Sign up today and be a part of an exciting trip to study hummingbirds in the warm, sunny Neotropics. <br><br>To read all about our latest Costa Rica trip please visit <a href="http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek121101.html">http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek121101.html</a><br><br>Happy (Neotropical) Nature Watching!<br><br>BILL<br><br><div apple-content-edited="true">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Geneva; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Geneva; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Geneva; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">P.S. Please "Like" our new Facebook page at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/HiltonPond">http://www.facebook.com/HiltonPond</a> for timely updates on nature topics.</div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><br></div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">=========<br><br>RESEARCH PROGRAM<br>c/o BILL HILTON JR. Executive Director<br>Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History<br>1432 DeVinney Road, York, South Carolina 29745 USA<br>office & cell (803) 684-5852<br>fax (803) 684-0255<br><br>Please visit our web sites (courtesy of <a href="http://Comporium.net">Comporium.net</a>):<br>Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History at <a href="http://www.hiltonpond.org">http://www.hiltonpond.org</a> <br>"Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project" at <a href="http://www.rubythroat.org">http://www.rubythroat.org</a><br><br>==================</div></span></div></span></span>
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