A set of small cameras with impressive zooms is on its way to Los Trogones bird club (see Marine Bioawareness & Photos of the Week). The cameras were funded by an initiative of Southern Wings initiative, a cabal of state nongame departmental managers who are determined to help migratory birds survive when overwintering in the tropics. Carrol Henderson of the Minnesota Nongame Department (and author, photographer, tour leader and longtime helper of the ACG) is the lead for this grant. He also recommended a new model of camera, Canon SX50, that is compact and lightweight for the clubmembers' hands and yet has a 50X zoom with optical stabilization.
Students in Deborah Steketee's class at Aquinas College, Michigan, have taken on the next step, transporting the cameras to Costa Rica and the ACG. And on 18 May all the students, and all the cameras, and Deborah herself, arrive at Santa Rosa.