Southeast Arizona Birding Festival

Kim Aikins
Kim is a special education teacher of students with multiple disabilities, and loves being in nature. This combination developed into a passion for wanting to make nature as accessible as possible. As a result, she founded a local non-profit, Southern Arizona Accessible Wildlife Refuge (SAAWR), with a goal to open a fully accessible nature preserve in Southern Arizona. Currently, Kim partners with the Tucson Bird Alliance to lead monthly accessible outings.

Vernie Aikins
Vernie fell in love with birding in Southern Arizona in 2011 through his love of photography, starting out with just a camera and guide book. He started guiding in 2021 with his wife’s non-profit S.A.A.W.R. and the Tucson Bird Alliance leading bird outings for people with disabilities. Though Vernie is primarily the Office Administrator at Naturalist Journeys, he does get the chance to guide from time to time. His excitement in seeing a Turkey Vulture (his favorite bird) for the 50th time or a lifer is contagious, and he has a true passion for helping others find, identify, and enjoy birds.

John Amoroso
John owes it all to his mother, Joanne, who took him at age 8 to a beginner birdwatching class at a park in Longmont, Colorado. That sparked a life-long passion for birds. Over the next 17 years he participated in Winter and Spring Bird Counts with Foothills Audubon. During college, he surveyed Boreal Owl for Montana Natural Heritage Program, Wintering Raptors for USGS in Colorado, and co-led the first Breeding Bird Survey of Alaska’s Alagnak Wild River in Katmai National Park. John co-authored a comprehensive checklist for Eagle County, CO with life-long friend, Brad Benter, and discovered its first Curved-billed Thrasher at 8,832ft! He moved to Tucson with his family in 2015 and his knowledge of local birds and birding hotspots expanded rapidly. Since then, he has been an avid birder in both the US and internationally, and continues to volunteer on bird counts and other conservation efforts in Southern Arizona. He guides part time with Arizona Birding Guides.

Kathe Anderson
Kathe is an avid birder, leading bird walks, teaching classes, and counting birds for several bird surveys to help real scientists with data collection. For over 10 years, she’s led hundreds of walks for individuals, conservation organizations, private groups, and life-long learning programs, and taught dozens of hands-on birding-related classes for organizations such as the Verde Valley Nature and Birding Festival, Southwest Wings Nature Festival, Mesa Community College, ASU’s Osher Life-long Learning Program, Arizona State Parks, The Nature Conservancy, the Desert Botanical Garden and others. She loves sharing her passion with others. She’s an active member of the Phoenix area Audubon Societies. If it’s not fun, it’s not worth it.

Jeff Babson
Jeff Babson got his start in birding when his grandfather gave him a copy of The Golden Guide to the Birds of North America when he was 6. That was the beginning of a wonderful obsession, not only for birds, but the entire natural world.  Jeff currently works for the Pima County Department of Natural Resources, Parks, and Recreation, as the county’s Wildlife Viewing Program Specialist.  He also owns Sky Island Tours, an environmental education and eco-tour company, offering programs and tours for birds, butterflies, and dragonflies, among other things.

Rich Bailowitz
Just to keep all you natural history enthusiasts humble, it’s time you get re-acquainted with the notion that all gorgeous, glamorous, complexly-behaving animals that fly are not birds. I’d like to remind you about the world of insects. I’m an entomologist, specifically a lepidopterist, an odonatist, and a dipterist. Although born back east, I’ve lived, studied, and played in the splendors of Arizona for over 50 years and am more at home in the southeastern Arizona wild lands than anywhere else on the planet. Broaden your scopes a bit and join Alex and me for a few hours at Sweetwater Wetlands admiring the dragonflies!

Ethan Beasley
Originally from Michigan, Ethan Beasley first developed a love for birding in that state. Experiencing a warbler fallout in Southwestern Michigan in May and participating in a Spring Migration banding program along Lake Superior, near Whitefish Point, contributed to his passion for wild birds. He moved to Tucson 19 years ago to take advantage of the excellent birding in Southeastern Arizona, and he has avidly birded the area ever since. He has participated in numerous bird surveys in Arizona, and Sonora Mexico, and led Field Trips for Tucson Bird Alliance, and served as a private guide. Ethan loves introducing people to birding in the wild, scenic canyons of Southeastern Arizona.

Chris Benesh
Chris loves sharing his passion for the natural world with others and has spent the past 36 years as a bird guide with Field Guides, an Austin, Texas based professional bird tour company. Birding connects us with nature and we benefit from time spent out in it. Chris aims to be informative without losing sight of the joy and serious fun to be found exploring the world.

Ken Blankenship
Ken is the owner and lead guide of East West Birding Tours: a full-service company offering professional bird guiding and tour packages for individuals and small groups. After a rewarding career as a public educator, in 2016 Ken realized his dream of sharing his avian expertise with others in Southeast Arizona, the Rio Grande Valley & Coastal Texas, Minnesota wintering owls, and the Southeast US. And in recent years, EWBT is very excited to offer all-inclusive experiences to Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador — and more to come!

Jeff Bouton
Jeff Bouton literally stumbled into birding with a fortuitous view of a Snowy Owl through a spotting scope as he walked home from school. In the 40 years since, he’s worked as a seasonal field researcher, bird bander, and professional guide documenting rare birds with a disposable film camera behind the eyepiece of his spotting scope. The passion for the birding community and his appreciation for high performance optics eventually led him to his now 20-year career as liaison to the birding & nature markets for Kowa Sporting Optics! Digiscoping is a passion and he set a world record capturing images of over 1,000 bird species through the spotting scope in 2023!

Thomas Brown
Tom grew up in south-eastern Oregon, where his love of birds started early, and has continued thru his extensive photography. Starting out with a hand-me-down Leica camera at age 14, his photos can now be found in magazines, websites and calendars in several countries. At some point it became quite obvious that a deeper knowledge of all things bird was not only great fun, but helped with some much improved photos. This in turn has lead to many years of getting to know as much about the behavior of our avian friends as possible, and he is still learning to this day. Living in Baja Sur Mexico for nearly 8 years, Tom is the owner and operator of Focus On Feathers, Photography and Guided Bird Tours, based in La Paz, Mexico. He has presented bird seminars, photo exhibitions, as well as bird tours for groups and individuals for many years. For the last three years, Tom has written a weekly article for the bird website 10000Birds.com, and used that format to share his photos from around the world, visiting 10 different countries in 2018.

Hannah Buschert
Before Hannah found her way back to the Oregon Coast, she worked as a Park Ranger in Texas and Oregon and was briefly the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail Coordinator. Now, Hannah uses her passion for tourism to work with local industry leaders to promote responsible ecotourism and is a third generation, woman hotelier. She also loves to explore the world with her husband, Erik, and shares their birdy travels with the world on a podcast: Hannah and Erik Go Birding. Hannah also advocates for women in the birding community with her own podcast: Women Birders (Happy Hour).

Adam Cayton-Holland
Adam Cayton-Holland is a nationally touring comic who has appeared on Conan, Corden, Comedy Central, and a bunch of other great stuff that starts with the letter “C.” Along with his cohorts in comedy troupe, The Grawlix, he created, wrote, and starred on the TV show, Those Who Can’t, which aired for three seasons. The Grawlix also host a popular podcast called, “The Grawlix Saves the World.” Adam has six albums you can listen to wherever you do that sort of thing, as well as a special, “Wallpaper,” currently streaming on Hulu. His first book, Tragedy Plus Time, is available everywhere.

Laura Couchman
Laura Couchman has been birding since 2004, and moved to Tucson from Chicago in 2014. She and her husband Bill love to bird wherever they travel and have enjoyed birding overseas and at festivals all around the U.S. During the pandemic Laura taught herself Merlin and eBird, free smartphone tech tools for identifying birds and keeping track of what you see. She loves to help other birders learn and incorporate these into their birding practice. Laura also creates and teaches online courses about birds and birding at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Tucson. Laura loves birding in Arizona because: the varied habitats and elevations attract many species; if you go somewhere with water you’re guaranteed birds will be there; and because Arizona’s trees are short and have few leaves it’s easier to see the birds!

Marie Davis
Marie grew up with a love of birds, but didn’t realize that “birding” was a thing until her husband saw a banner downtown advertising the Tucson Bird Alliance festival! She started birding in 2015. As a former elementary teacher, she’s thrilled to work with kids again by leading family bird walks. She enjoys volunteering with in a variety of roles. She is also a former professional violinist, loves learning, spending time with her family and friends, and praising God for the beautiful world that He’s blessed us with. Her favorite bird is the American Robin – as a child, she enjoyed watching them run through the lush yards in northern Idaho and the Chicago suburbs. Her other birdy favorites are: birds she hasn’t yet seen, places she hasn’t yet birded, and of course, the amazing friends! To new adventures!

Ray Deeney
A Brooklyn native, Ray Deeney began birding seriously about 1990 in New Jersey where he spent most of his adult life prior to moving to Tucson in 2011. At that time he retired as an attorney specializing in law and mental disability issues. Previously he had been a special education teacher, a social worker and a teacher at Seton Hall Law School for twelve years. In New Jersey he was also very active with New Jersey Audubon including field trips, Christmas bird counts and various citizen science projects. Currently, Ray regularly leads bird walks at Tohono Chul Park and seasonally at Arthur Pack Park and the Mason Center. In these roles connecting with out of state visitors looking to understand and appreciate Southern Arizona birds are a special source of fun and satisfaction for Ray.

Henrey Deese
Henrey Deese was introduced to birding by a local forest preserve ranger in the Chicago area at a young age and has never looked back. He grew up birding with his mother and brother, roaming around the hotspots of the Chicago area and taking trips across the country in pursuit of new and exciting birds. This love of birds developed into a passion for science, as he earned a B.S. in Biology from Hillsdale College and a M.S. in Biology from Georgia Southern University. He is now a PhD student in the University of Arizona’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, where he studies the interactions between birds, ticks, and their environment, and how birds contribute to the spread of ticks and tick-borne diseases. Henrey has over 20 years of birding experience across North America and has been banding for the last 2 years as a part of his dissertation research. In addition to birding, he enjoys nature photography, music, and playing tabletop RPGs.

Louie Dombroski
Inspired by a Blue Jay at a bird feeder when he was five years old, Louie Dombroski has been watching and studying birds ever since. He fist ventured to Arizona from his native Michigan while in his twenties, and has birded the region extensively ever since, including years-long stints at the Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon and at the Tucson Bird Alliance’s Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia. Field work has taken him from Alaska to northern Mexico, but he keeps returning to southeast Arizona. Louie’s enthusiasm is evident whenever he runs into people trying to connect with birds. He finds that showing people birds that he’s seen many times over but are “life birds” for them is like reliving the experience of seeing them for the first time himself.

Judy Ellyson
Judy Ellyson has always enjoyed birds, but began her serious quest (obsession?) in 2004 with a local bird club in Iowa during the spring migration of ducks. While visiting Arizona in 2008 Judy was introduced to birding in the Tubac area. Judy and her husband Don moved full-time to Green Valley in 2015 and have birded all over Arizona. She has also traveled to several other countries fulfilling her passion for birds. Judy has used eBird since 2012 and is an avid “lister.” She has led bird walks for the Tubac Nature Center and has been a member of the Tucson Bird Alliance for several years. Judy has led teams for the Tubac Nature Center spring and winter bird counts and for the Tucson Bird Alliance annual Birdathons.

Marc & Peggy Faucher
Marc and Peggy Faucher have recently moved to Patagonia, Arizona from Vermont where they started serious birding in 2013. We have spent the last 40 years traveling extensively around the world and have birded on all 7 continents. Since retiring we enjoy volunteering on citizen science projects involving habitat restoration, wildlife monitoring, hummingbird banding and bird surveys. We enjoy leading bird walks on the Nature Conservancy’s Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve and Patagonia Lake State Park’s birding trail. Marc is an avid wildlife photographer and has documented over 2700 bird species worldwide. Our passion is exploring wild places and looking for wildlife.

Tony Figueroa
Tony is Tucson Bird Alliance’s Invasive Plant Manager, and a Tucson native, born and raised. He has lived on the east side of town for the majority of his life and fell in love with nature while adventuring through Mt. Lemmon and Redington on his days off. He was always fascinated by plants, animals and rocks, but didn’t realize that he could find a full time job working in nature until later in life. He and his wife traveled around the country on month-long summer road trips, and it was during these trips that he would keep on ending up in National Parks, monuments and forests, and had the realization that there are people working in these amazing places, so he said to himself “why don’t I figure out how to get a job that lets me work at these places?” Tony went back to school after being a pharmacy technician for 13 years, to get a degree in Natural Resources with an emphasis on Wildlife conservation and management. After graduating in May 2018, Tony  landed an internship at Saguaro National Park as a member of the invasive plant management crew. Starting this role in the middle of summer in Tucson was only further affirmation that he made the right decision, because even when it’s over 100 degrees out, you’re drenched in sweat and it’s not even noon, and he was having the time of his life and didn’t miss being under fluorescent light bulbs one second, even if it had air conditioning. After that Tony worked at the Grand Canyon as an invasive plant management bio-tech, during the 2019 summer season. Now he’s happy to be back in the place he loves, Tucson, working for a great organization. Not many things in life are easy, but chasing your dreams can pay off with hard work and dedication.  When you are working in places that are spectacular and overflowing with natural beauty, it makes you excited to go to work everyday.

Kristy Gallo
As a Michigan native, Kristy grew up in a family with a passion for nature and birds, spending countless hours camping, canoeing, hiking, and birding throughout the country. She is currently the co-caretaker of Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary where she helps to continue the legacy of Mary Jo Ballator and enjoys sharing it with visitors. She also runs her own guiding company, Redstart Birding Tours. She competed in powerlifting for over twenty years and broke the world record in the bench press.

Brian Gibbons
Brian Gibbons grew up in suburban Dallas where he began exploring the wild world in his local creeks and parks. Birds are now his primary interest, but all things wild continue to captivate him. For many years, Brian’s field research has involved banding. His most amazing recoveries were a female Wilson’s Warbler that had been banded in Alaska and was captured by Brian in Colorado, and a Sooty Tern that perished after a hurricane on the Texas coast; it had plied the Gulf of Mexico and the oceans of the world for 24 years. Brian’s recreational birdseeking has taken him to Machu Picchu in Peru, the Great Wall in China, and the Himalayas in Nepal. Brian leads tours for VENT in Mexico and the United States.

Sharon Goldwasser
Sharon became an avid birder and naturalist while she was a student at UC-Santa Cruz. She worked as a field biologist for several years, then moved to Tucson for graduate school in ecology where she studied song mimicry by Lesser Goldfinches. In 1987, she routed her career into education, bringing her love of science to thousands of middle school students. Since retiring from the classroom in 2020, she has renewed her birding passion and currently leads birding tours with Road Scholar in SE Arizona.

Genavieve Gray-Sandoval
As a third-year PhD student in Dr. David Enard’s population genetics lab at the University of Arizona, Genavieve delves into the intricate world of viral adaptation in Myotis bats. Combining her passion for genetics and wildlife, she explores how these fascinating furry creatures adapted to past ancient viral epidemics, shedding light on crucial evolutionary mechanisms. She looks forward to sharing her knowledge and passion with fellow community members.

Matt Griffiths
Starting at Tucson Bird Alliance in 2004 as a habitat restoration field tech, Matt is currently webmaster, editor of the Vermilion Flycatcher magazine, and social media manager. He also participates in many Arizona Important Bird Areas surveys all over southeastern Arizona, has two Tucson Bird Count routes, and tries out a new Christmas Bird Count every year. His interest in birds reached new levels during a season of surveying for Southwestern Willow Flycatchers in the Grand Canyon. Now he can imagine nothing better than listening to Whip-poor-will and Canyon Wren song in one of his favorite Sky Islands! He considers the Loggerhead Shrike to be the coolest local bird.

Homer Hansen
Homer is a native of Willcox, AZ and while growing up, had the pleasure of seeing and hearing the Sandhill Cranes in winter and the Cassin’s Sparrow in summer. Homer earned his B.S. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona and now works as an environmental scientist with Aplomado Environmental assessing contaminants in soil and groundwater. Homer has presented many workshops on sparrows, raptors, flycatchers, and bird ecology over the past 13 years and has led many birding tours in southeastern Arizona. He especially enjoys the challenges of complex identifications and loves to learn about the nature of birds.

Tim Helentjaris
As a Midwestern transplant to the West ~40 years ago for graduate study, I was stunned by the scenery out here, never having been west of Ohio before then.  Since that awakening, I have spent much of my free time out-of-doors intrigued by questions of natural history.  It also spurred my interest in birding, where I focus primarily on bird behavior and biology.  Now retired, I get my science kick by volunteering with the IBA program and by contributing to eBird as often as I am out in the field.  Having spent a career creating and contributing to databases, I get the purpose of these programs and enjoy being a part of them, thinking about questions as to bird distribution.  It’s been amazing to see the changes here in Arizona since the 80’s!  I also regularly volunteer in the shop, enjoying my interaction with visitors and helping them to find the birds here they came out to look for.  I try to lead a few field trips per year, usually to under-birded areas, as well as help with special projects, lately installing the streaming webcam at the Paton’s Center for Hummingbirds.

Jean and Mark Hengesbaugh
Jean and Mark live near Sabino Canyon and consider the creek their back yard. In addition to leading birding field trips in the recreation area for Tucson Bird Alliance, they also survey three Important Bird Areas along lower Sabino Creek. They are Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists for the U.S. Forest Service and volunteer at Saguaro National Park in the Weed Free Trails Program.

Mike Hillman
Based in Tucson just minutes from Saguaro National Park, Mike has been leading birding, photography, and wildlife watching tours since 2015. His guiding experience spans the globe, including Australia, Greenland, Canada, and over a dozen U.S. national parks. As the Photo Expeditions Director at Natural Habitat Adventures, Mike combines his passion for birding and photography with his expertise in wildlife education, bringing his enthusiasm for the natural world to every tour.

Gerry Hodge
A Western Washington native, Gerry has been a “rain-chicken” in Tucson for 10 years. He spent 20 years sailing, then 15 years sea-kayaking in Puget Sound and British Columbia where he led over 300 kayak trips. His close proximity to sea birds drew him to his current passion. Gerry and his wife Terry, have chased birds in 15 countries (Iceland is his favorite) and enjoy getting out in nature wherever they may be. He retired in 2003 after teaching math and science in grades 6-12 for 26 years in the State of Washington. When not birding, Gerry does astronomy outreach events for Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association. If we spot a Tufted Puffin, Cassiopeia, or Harlequin Duck, Gerry will be able to identify it immediately.

Wesley Homoya
Wes Homoya was born and raised in Indiana, and as such is a firm believer in practicing Hoosier hospitality- living graciously with each other on this planet we all call home. This ethic was instilled in him by his parents: Barb, a nature-loving nurse who taught him compassion for little things like salamanders, and Michael, a botanist and author who exemplified not only why it’s important to know the names of the flora and fauna around you, but why we must share this knowledge with others. Eventually this desire to learn led to studying ecology and ornithology at Purdue under Dr. Barny Dunning. Various employments since have allowed him to live, work, and bird in places as varied as Australia, Maui, Brazil, the Galapagos, Hungary, Hong Kong, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, and Ecuador. Currently, Wes resides in Indy and spends his days conducting avian surveys in Colorado, foraging wild ingredients for his brother’s libations at Ash & Elm Cider, and being an ambassador for birds and conservation in any way he can, whether via the Lights Out Indy project for the local Audubon chapter or getting folks pumped up about birds n booze at his popular event series Feathers & Fermentation.

Karen Howe
Karen spent the last 30 years living in Portland, OR with frequent visits to her parents in Tucson. She held program management and business operations roles for IT, energy efficiency and environmental organizations and spent the last few years on habitat protection and restoration. Now retired, Karen volunteers at Mt Rainier National Park, Tucson Bird Alliance, Tucson’s Mission Garden and Citizens’ Climate Lobby. She’s an obsessive gardener, intrepid hiker, enthusiastic bird watcher and budding writer.

Brian Jones
Despite always having had an affinity for nature, and even though Brian worked as a field tech on Cinnamon Teal, Northern Goshawk (before the name change) and Mexican Spotted Owl projects in college, it took his honeymoon in Costa Rica to turn him into a birder. Back then he marveled at people who could miraculously hear or barely glimpse a bird and know what it was. He is now one of those people with a growing number of birds, always trying to learn more. A rare Arizona Native, Brian loves birding everywhere he goes and most often visits El Rio Preserve, which is practically his backyard. He is looking forward to sharing his love of the place with others.

Keith Kamper
Keith got an early start as a birder when, in middle school, he had a section in science class focused on birding.  He discovered he could have birding adventures year round and was hooked. Keith grew up in Michigan and attended Grand Valley State University where he majored in Sociology and worked as a social worker.  He moved to Tucson in June of 2003 where he currently is a devoted caregiver, when he’s not birding. Keith is an expert birder, leading private tours and groups locally as well as in Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. He is also co-founder of the group, Arizona Field Ornithologists; served the group as vice president and has written articles for its publication, Arizona Birds.

Tiffany Kersten
Tiffany Kersten is a Wisconsin native who now resides in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Hooked on birds since age 12, she graduated from Northland College with a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology. She has spent fifteen years of working in conservation and environmental education with organizations including the US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Cape May Bird Observatory. After completing a Lower 48 States Big Year in 2021, she founded her own company, Nature Ninja Birding Tours.

Ethan Kistler
Ethan hails from Ohio and began birding at the age of 10 when he literally woke up one morning and decided that he wanted to become a birder. Since then he’s worked field jobs from Ohio to Alaska, traveled to over 40 countries, and led birding trips throughout North America, Europe and Africa (where he lived for 7 years). When not leading tours for WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, he’s chasing rarities, off on spontaneous birding jaunts, and reviewing data as one of eBird’s data reviewers for much of the African continent. Previously the Education and Outreach Specialist for Black Swamp Bird Observatory and currently a director-at-large for the Ohio Ornithological Society, Ethan’s main focus now is guiding and filling in gaps between tours with ornithology-related field work. Ethan has recently written the ABA’s Field Guide to Birds of Ohio, published in 2019.

Holly Kleindienst
Holly is retired from the US Forest Service where she had a fulfilling career as a wildland firefighter and fire manager. Coming from a family of birders and nature enthusiasts, she is a lifelong backyard birder, and outdoor recreationist. Upon inheriting her mother’s quality binoculars in 2012, Holly took up birding in earnest. Most every morning she is out walking and birding to increase her County Year and Life Lists, and her knowledge of local birds. She also birds wherever travels take her which is often to the Caribbean for scuba diving with her husband, George, where they “list” fish as well. Besides leading birding field trips for various organizations, she participates in IBA and other bird surveys including Audubon Christmas Bird Counts. Holly is a great fan of the eBird database, the eBird app, and other mobile birding applications. She is always willing to share how the use of these technologies has enhanced her birding experience.

Karen Krebbs
Karen worked at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum for more than 26 years and has extensive knowledge of birds and mammals.  Her passion for hummingbirds has resulted in a book, book chapters, scientific papers, and also a husbandry manual for captive hummingbirds for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.  Her research on hummingbirds includes migration, nesting biology, behavior, song development, and longevity.  Karen regularly advises zoological institutions and aviaries on the proper care and husbandry of captive hummingbirds.  She has conducted educational workshops and seminars on birds for various organizations, schools, yearly bird festivals, and local bird groups.  Karen has also studied bats for more than 30 years and carries out lectures and workshops for bats.  Her long-term monitoring and inventory research project for bats in the Chiricahua Mountains is in its 16th year.  She also trains government employees on the proper protocol and handling techniques for studying bats.  She has led and co-led natural history trips in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Mexico, Baja, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Galapagos, and Africa.  Karen has a B.Sc. in Wildlife & Fisheries Science from the University of Arizona.

Alex Lamoreaux
Alex has been an avid birder and naturalist his entire life. The ubiquitous Red-tailed Hawk was his spark bird and continues to be his favorite bird today! Alex has been a nomadic biologist, working in multiple countries and in dozens of US states for over 15 years before settling into full time bird-guiding as a senior leader and North America specialist for Wildside Nature Tours. Alex’s love for nature shines through in his ever-enthusiastic approach to guiding, and he strives to bring the birding community together to conserve and protect wildlife.

Addison Lander
Addison is a bat researcher who has been working with them in research and rehab capacities for a few years, though his fascination with these flying friends has been lifelong. Though a PhD student, he eventually plans to teach; come ready with any questions you might have about bats!

David Lindo
David Lindo aka The Urban Birder – broadcaster, writer, speaker, educator and bird tour leader. His mission is to engage city folk around the world with the environment through the medium of birds. He has written countless articles on urban birds, urban bird conservation and wildlife in general for many publications, magazines and websites and has also written the forewords to several books. He is a regular television and radio presenter being featured on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 in the UK as well as other TV and radio channels around the world including CBS in the United States. He was recently named as the 7th most influential person in wildlife by BBC Wildlife Magazine. David has been leading birding and wildlife tours all over the world for the past 15 years. His easy and
personable manner coupled with his immense knowledge of natural history makes him an instant hit with clients. Indeed, many rebook to travel with him to many locations around the world.

Bill Lisowsky
Birding has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. Even as a youngster, birding my local patch was my favorite hobby. I became a member of the fledgling American Birding Association as a teenager — back when the only way to get rare bird information was by calling a telephone “hotline” once a week and the ABA Birding magazine was actually an occasional hard copy newsletter from Jim Tucker that came in the mail. My interest in nature, the outdoors and natural resource conservation led to a 35-year career with the US Forest Service that took our family all over the United States, until my retirement in 2012. During this time, I served on bird record committees, compiled Christmas Bird Counts, conducted Breeding Bird Surveys, prepared Regional Summaries for various national birding publications and led field trips in many parts of the country. My wife Paula and I have four children and eight grandchildren, live in Tubac, Arizona and continue to actively bird wherever we are.

Jenn Lodi-Smith
Jenn Lodi-Smith, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at Canisius University and scholar-in-residence with the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. She is a personality developmental psychologist who uses mixed methods research to study identity development over time. She is the author or co-author of over forty academic publications as well as an edited book and multiple federal grants. She serves as secretary/treasurer for the Association for Research in Personality & associate editor of Journal of Personality, on the board of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology & Birds on the Niagara, as a member of the Council of Representatives for the American Psychological Association, a volunteer a netpicker and bander at multiple banding stations in the North East, and mentor for the Western New York Young Birders Club. Her spark birds are her kiddos who helped her notice birds and then fall in love with birding. Since then, she has had transformative moments with a fledgling Great Horned Owl, flocks of Atlantic Puffins, a friendly Black-throated Green Warbler, and a fishing Barred Owl!

Jennie MacFarland
Jennie has lived in Tucson for most of her life and loves SE Arizona and its birds! In 2010 she graduated from the University of Arizona with a BS in Wildlife Conservation and Management from the School of Natural Resources. That same month she was hired by Tucson Bird Alliance to work in the Arizona Important Bird Areas Program and has a fantastic time at work! When not watching birds, Jennie enjoys many other “geek chic” activities!

Patrick Maurice
Patrick Maurice was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia with a Wildlife Science degree in 2021. Patrick is a lifelong birder thanks to his mother and has birded extensively across the United States and around the world. Patrick currently works as a guide for Natural Habitat Adventures and regularly guides for other birding festivals such as the Biggest Week, Georgia Birdfest, and the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. When Patrick isn’t traveling or birding, you can find him back at his college hometown of Athens, Georgia, thinking about his next big trip, enjoying a good sour beer, or playing and watching a soccer game.

Julie Michael
Julie grew up on both coasts and has always been fascinated by the diversity of the natural world. As a Geography student at U of A, she interned at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum with their education department, learning ways to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for the environment with others. Since then, Julie has continued to explore nature through camping and hiking, discovering her love for birding in the process. Recently retired, Julie continues to be passionate about helping people make deeper connections with birds and nature. Whether guiding others or wandering alone, Julie looks at every birding outing as an adventure—a never-ending treasure hunt.

Jake Mohlmann
Raised in rural northeast Pennsylvania, Jake is a lifelong birdwatcher and conservationist. He has worked for New York City’s Museum of Natural History and for Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Science and made significant contributions to the field work for the most recent edition of the Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas. Since then he has worked on projects involving Burrowing Owls at the Salton Sea and counted secretive marsh birds in the lower Colorado River basin. He also spent a summer leading tours on St. Paul Island and has worked on the identification and monitoring of endangered species in South Texas and various areas in the Mojave Desert of southern California. It was on St. Paul that Jake lived a birder’s dream, with the first Western Hemisphere record of Brown Hawk Owl, subject of a subsequent cover photo and article in North American Birds in 2007. Jake is always excited to return to sunny southeastern Arizona to live and bird as a co-owner of The Adventure Birding Company. He is also an associate leader for WINGS bird tours leading trips to Utah, Arizona and Mexico.

Marcia OBara
Marcia has been a birder since 1984, when she identified a Red-eyed vireo that was singing from the top of a pine tree in Algonquin Provincial Park. She was born in Niagara Falls, NY, where she learned to bird with the Buffalo Audubon and Buffalo Ornithological Societies. Every New Year’s Day found her birding the length of the Niagara River, looking for gulls and winter water birds. After moving to AZ in 1997 she birded all around her adopted state, enjoying the amazing bird life. She recently retired after 48 years as an RN, and embarked on the adventure of a lifetime…a Big Year! 22,000 solo miles in an RV, visiting 25 states and having an amazing time! Marcia enjoys being outside and observing all sorts of wildlife, not just birds. Marcia recently completed the requirements for the Certified Access Birding Outing Leader Program.

Scott Olmstead
A high school Spanish teacher during most of the year and part-time birding tour leader with WINGS Birding Tours during the summer, Scott gets a real thrill out of sharing birding and nature experiences with others. In addition to leading field trips, he has volunteered with Tucson Bird Alliance on IBA surveys and the Tucson Bird Alliance Youth Birding Committee. Scott is completely obsessed with birding in Central and South America and he led the Tucson Bird Alliance birding tour to Ecuador in 2012. His bird-related pursuits include sound recording and photography.

Bob Orenstein
Bob relocated to Tucson in 2018 following a 27-year career as a patent attorney and engineer at the General Electric Company, having worked across a broad spectrum of projects related to clean and efficient electric power generation. Bob earned a Bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolution from Cornell University, has served as a director of and consultant to The Biodiversity
Group based in Tucson, and has been an avid amateur naturalist, birder and certified SCUBA diver since childhood.

Erik Ostrander
Erik Ostrander started birding in the Pacific Northwest, where he and his wife, Hannah, spent weekends exploring the national wildlife refuges, state parks, and ocean shores. He followed Hannah’s career from Texas to Florida and back to Cannon Beach, OR, where they spend their time looking for puffins, guillemots, and more while hosting their podcast: Hannah and Erik Go Birding. Through their podcast, they share their birding adventures and work to expand birding and wildlife viewing around the world. They travel as much as possible and Erik obsessively eBirds along the way. Erik is passionate about inspiring new birders.

Jeff Parker
Jeff leads photo tours throughout North and South America. He especially loves sharing the wildlife of Patagonia, the Brazilian Pantanal, and the American West. The cover story for the April 2018 Outdoor Photographer magazine showcases some of his puma shots in Patagonia. In 2016, he and his wife, nature writer Mary O. Parker, released their book, Explore Texas: A Nature Travel Guide. Their book received an “Excellence in Craft” award from the Texas Outdoor Writers’ Association. See more of his work at
exploreinfocus.com.

Susan Preston
Susan J. Preston is a lifelong photographer, professional designer, and certified mindfulness guide with a deep love for the birds and enchanting desert landscapes of central and northern New Mexico.  She is the author and designer of the exquisite photographic art piece BOSQUE, Winter Wings – a love letter to the winter migratory birds–especially the sandhill cranes–of Bosque del Apache NWR. The fine art edition has been recognized with 6 international awards, including a Gold Tokyo Foto Award, Silver Nautilus Book Award, and the Award of Excellence from Communication Arts Magazine.

Drawing upon many years of meditation practices and contemplative traditions, she brings fresh perspectives to the art of wildlife photography, weaving reverence in relationship, mindful compassion, and wonder into her talks and photography workshops. Her art is deeply attuned to the heartaches and unexpected joys in the midst polycrisis with a focus on co-creation and reciprocity with the living earth. You can find Susan and her in one of the booths during the festival. Come by to just strike up a conversation. Community is everything. BosqueWinterWings.com, @susanprestonstudio

Rob Ripma
Rob is a lifelong Indiana resident and co-owner of Sabrewing Nature Tours. He has traveled and birded extensively throughout the Americas and taken pelagic trips into the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Rob is currently the President of the Board of the Amos Butler Audubon Society (ABAS) in Indianapolis and is also on the board of directors for Ohio’s Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO). He also serves as the Field Trip Coordinator for the largest birding festival in the United States, BSBO’s Biggest Week in American Birding. Prior to joining the ABAS and BSBO boards, he served on the executive board of the Indiana Audubon Society for three years as Treasurer and Vice President. Rob is co-founder of the Indiana Young Birders Club and speaks at a variety of organizations and schools about birds and birding to share his knowledge and experiences in the field. He served as the primary bird blogger for Birds & Bloom’s Magazine from 2013-2017. And prior to establishing Sabrewing Nature Tours, Rob worked at Wild Birds Unlimited for seven years.

Rob loves working with new and experienced birders of all ages and believes that teaching people about birds will not only increase interest in birding but also help them better understand why we must work to protect birds and their habitats. A graduate from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in 2008 with a degree in Marketing, Rob lives with his wife Stephanie in Carmel, Indiana.

Chris Rohrer
Greetings! And thank you for joining Tucson Bird Alliance’s Southeast Arizona Birding Festival! My name is Chris Rohrer and I’ve loved birds since I’ve been a kid but didn’t turn into a birder until 2011. Now I am addicted to all things avian. I am a teacher by day and birder anytime I’m not working. In the birding world, I collect a lot of bird data and do quite a bit of study in Mexico and Guatemala. I’ve done extensive travel around the world, write for my blog Las Aventuras. I have also sold my photography and have contributed quite a bit of my work to various research papers. Some of my photography is also used in our bird ID guides/books both locally and nationally. I occasionally guide around Southern Arizona when I get the chance away from work. And finally, I’ve also published articles for various bird magazines around the country. In short, I love birds. I will do my best to help all of you learn about our amazing wildlife here in Southern Arizona. This will be my 3rd year guiding for the festival and I can’t wait to show you some of my favorite birding hotspots. See you soon or as we say in Spanish, hasta pronto! And welcome to the amazing birding world of Southern Arizona!

Jim Rorabaugh
Jim earned BS and MS degrees in Zoology and Animal Ecology, respectively, from U.C. Davis and then went on to a 30-year career as a wildlife biologist for various federal agencies, mostly in Arizona and California. He spent his last 20 years working on threatened and endangered species in southern Arizona while employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Phoenix and Tucson. Mostly known for his work in herpetology, Jim is the senior author of A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Sonora, Mexico, as well as many other published works in herpetology. He has worked extensively in Sonora as well as southern Arizona. Jim began birding in Arizona in 1979 and enjoys sharing with others what he has learned over the years about birds, other animals, and plants. Now retired, he lives off-the-grid in a remote area of Cochise County where the lizards are strong, all the snakes are good looking, and all the birds are way above average.

Michael Sadat
Michael Sadat is a lifelong Tucsonan with nearly thirty years of birding experience in southern Arizona. He began identifying backyard birds with his grandpa at age ten & quickly became obsessed. Birding was also a gateway to Michael’s fascination with Sonoran plant life and its intricate relationship with native birds. Photography & field recording has further enhanced his birding experiences & ability to share his observations with friends & family. Michael is happiest wherever birds are thriving, from remote borderland habitat to urban backyard feeders.

Krisztina Scheeff
Based in San Diego, CA, Krisztina Scheeff is an award-winning and professional nature photographer. Recognized for her photographic work in National Audubon Society as well as a finalist in the prestigious Bird Photographer of the Year competition, Krisztina’s photos have been published in magazines and articles around the world, including National Geographic, Wild Planet Photo Magazine, California 101, San Diego Audubon Society, American Wild Magazine, Birders Digest, Marine Conservation Magazine – UK, North American Nature Photography Association, and more. They have also been featured in Art Shows and Galleries around the country. Krisztina operates a successful business leading Photography Workshops and Tours to Scotland (Puffins), Ireland, Galápagos Islands, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Hungary, and Bosque del Apache, NM. She also leads workshops for bird festivals around the country and presents at various events.

Krisztina spent years studying and photographing the Rushing Grebes and guides her clients at Lake Hodges in San Diego to experience this amazing behavior and capture their own photos.

In 2023 she was the Field Assistant and Grebe Expert filming the Courtship of Grebes with the BBC Natural History Unit. The show titled “The Secret Lives of Animals” episode #8 features her and her work, streaming on Apple TV.

To see more photos, check out KS Nature Photography at www.KSNaturePhotography.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KSNaturePhotography or on Instagram @KSNaturePhotography.

Jeffry Scott
Tucson-based Jeffry Scott is an award winning photojournalist who spent 25 years working at various newspapers and publications documenting the struggles and joys that come with everyday life. Since leaving the world of journalism, he has concentrated on photographing birds, and other forms of nature – a passion from his early years of college where he started studying wildlife biology before shifting to journalism to pursue his photography passion. That passion drives his craft – he approaches wildlife photography much like he did for publication: telling stories, capturing action and interaction of every day life.

David Simpson
David Simpson has been a birder and naturalist for the last 40 years and is a life-long resident of central Florida. He worked as a Park Service Specialist at St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park for 12 years and has held several other similar jobs. He started leading tours almost 30 years ago and has his own company, Birding with David Simpson, which provides custom guided tours of Florida and educational classes. He has led tours at many festivals in Florida including the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, Birds of a Feather Festival, Everglades Birding Festival, and many others. You can find out more and read about his adventures at www.BirdingwithDavidSimpson.com

Janine Spencer-Glasson
Janine is a retired wildlife biologist. As Environmental Project Manager for the Town of Marana, Janine led the establishment of El Rio Preserve. She’s Co-Chair of the Friends of El Rio Preserve, whose mission is: “To work with partners to protect and enhance habitat at the Preserve, promote compatible recreational activities, and educate about the Preserve’s unique natural resources.” A life-long birder, Janine has a BS from Oregon State University and and Master’s from Prescott College.

Cedar Stanistreet
Cedar discovered birding as a kid growing up in the Adirondack mountains of New York State, surrounded by fields and forests and a wealth of breeding birds. Being homeschooled allowed him to spend much of the spring and summer outdoors, learning the birds and nature. In high school he did extensive volunteer field work for the second Breeding Bird Atlas, from 2000-2004. After taking a break from serious birding for a number of years to pursue his other major passion, music, Cedar rediscovered the joy of birding and became a serious lister in 2012. For the last decade he’s been birding all over North America and beyond, leading field trips at bird festivals and for the local Audubon group where he lives in southern Vermont.

Peggy Steffens
Peggy is a certified Chopra Center Meditation instructor, award-winning artist, and has taught photography classes at Tohono Chul and Tucson Botanical Gardens. She is a contributing member of Tucson Bird Alliance participating in Birdathon, Christmas Bird Counts, bird surveys, volunteering, and leading field trips. Peggy became an avid birder after retirement from her thirty-year career in education at Amphitheater School District. Her love of learning, teaching, and sharing never left her and she completely immersed herself in the world of ornithology. Capturing the beauty of nature in photography brings great joy to Peggy and birding has motivated her to capture and share the essence of birds with her photos. The thing she loves best about birding is being in nature; she brings mindfulness to her birding experience by being totally present when she is out in the field watching the antics and behaviors of birds.

Holly Thomas
Holly loves exploring and sharing two of her greatest passions — birding and mindfulness practices. Holly leads birding outings for local Audubon groups, has developed and led a series of mindfulness, yoga and birding workshops and leads mindful birding hikes for the Sierra Club. Holly is actively engaged with the Mindful Birding Network and is a co-host of The Mindful Birding Podcast.

Janice Travis
Janice began her passion for nature at a young age with curious exploration of her Michigan backyard and nearby woodland. She always had a variety of field guides to study wildflowers, birds, reptiles, rocks and insects. Janice discovered her true passion for birding in an undergrad ornithology class at Eastern University in Pennsylvania; she went on to complete her master’s degree in Biology with concentration in ecology at University of North Florida. She married a United States Marine, which gave her the opportunity to live and bird across the United States. She has also taken advantage of every travel opportunity to bird new places like Japan and Belize. Janice is currently a bird and nature tour guide at King Ranch in Kingsville, TX.

Stephen Vaughan
Stephen Vaughan is a professional photographer and ornithologist. He has been photographing and studying natural history for more than 40 years. His photographs have been published in numerous books, magazines and calendars from publications including National Geographic, Audubon, and Arizona Highways.

Jennifer Leigh Warner
Jennifer Leigh Warner is a fine art conservation wildlife photographer, writer, public speaker and workshop leader for Wildside Nature Tours, living in Central Texas and specializes in creating meaningful images that conveys a message of hope for the natural world. Jennifer feels strongly that by sharing these images of beautiful animals in their natural environment, she can inspire those around her to preserve the world that we share with all living creatures. Jennifer is a Certified Texas Master Naturalist, an Ambassador for Nature First, serves on the Board of Directors for the North American Nature Photography Association and has been serving as the Chair of the Ethics Committee since 2018. Jennifer works closely with conservation organizations to help support their missions to protect wildlife and the world around us. She believes that photography is a powerful tool to share these stores, educate photo viewers on important topics and inspire change. Jennifer’s work has been published in the Journal of Wildlife Photography Magazine, Outdoor California, Gizmodo, the NANPA Expressions Magazine, Outdoor Photographer Magazine, WIRED, The New Yorker, National Geographic Online and Wild Planet Photo Magazine among others. You can learn more about Jennifer and the conservation work that she does by visiting her website at www.experiencewildlife.com or on social media at www.instagram.com/experiencewildlife or www.facebook.com/ExpWildlife

Olya Weekley
Olya was born and raised in Ukraine where her geologist grandmother inspired her great interest in nature. Olya moved to Arizona at the age of 13, excited to eventually get an education in conservation. At University of Arizona she was one of the leading officers in the Fish and Wildlife Society Student Chapter strongly involved in student engagement in current conservation issues. In 2016 she received her Bachelor’s of Science in Natural Resource Management with emphasis on Wildlife Conservation and Management with Summa Cum Laude and an Outstanding Senior Award. Starting as an intern at Tucson Bird Alliance in 2015, Olya is now Tucson Bird Alliance’s Applied Conservation Project Manager and is eager to continue her journey here.

Dan Weisz
Dan is a native Tucsonan whose career was in public education and his last school served the children of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Dan picked up photography when he retired 8 years ago and became more involved in birding at the same time. Dan has been a presenter for the Raptor Free Flight program at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum for the past 7 years. 

Rick Wright
Rick Wright is a widely published author and sought-after lecturer and field trip leader. A native of southeast Nebraska, Rick studied French, German, Philosophy, and Life Sciences at the University of Nebraska before making a detour to Harvard Law School. He took the Ph.D. in German Languages and Literatures at Princeton University in 1990, then spent a dozen years as an academic, holding successive appointments as Assistant Professor of German at the University of Illinois, Reader in Art and Archaeology at Princeton University, and Associate Professor of Medieval Studies at Fordham University.

His numerous scholarly publications include two books on the Latin animal literature of the later Middle Ages. Among Rick’s recent books are the ABA Field Guide to Birds of New Jersey, the ABA Field Guide to Birds of Arizona, and the Peterson Reference Guide to American Sparrows. He is also the co-author with Sanford Sorkin of Watching Birds in Montclair and Watching Birds in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Rick lives with his wife, Alison Beringer, their little girl, Avril, and their jet-black lab, Quetzal, in northern New Jersey.

John Yerger
John Yerger has been birding for nearly three decades. His interest in birds developed into more of an obsession by high school, and led him to pursue a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science at Penn State University. Along the way he participated in many research projects, on topics ranging from Painted Redstart foraging ecology in the Chiricahua Mountains to Tree Swallow behavior at Cornell University. While John enjoys every bird from the drabbest common sparrow to the brightest rare warbler, he is equally engaged by many other aspects of natural history. John has led trips from the boreal to the neotropics, but primarily enjoys living and birding in southeastern Arizona. 

John leads tours for the Adventure Birding Company based from his home in Portal, AZ. In between seasons, he serves as a wildland firefighter and EMT. He has also served as a Board Member for the Arizona Field Ornithologists and the Friends of Cave Creek Canyon, as a member of the Arizona Bird Committee, and volunteers with the Tucson Bird Alliance.