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 Audubon Society 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 Audubon 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.

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.

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 Audubon, and served as a private guide. Ethan loves introducing people to birding in the wild, scenic canyons of Southeastern Arizona.

Alyce Bender
Alyce (pronounced A-lease) Bender, is an outgoing, outdoorsy adventuress who specializes in solo explorations much of the time. A U.S. Air Force veteran, she fell in love with travel while in the service and has not stopped traveling since. Her love of photography goes back even further, back to her childhood where she used the camera to explore the natural world around her. Alyce is a Tamron Ambassador and Wildside Nature Tours Photography Leader. You can check out her work here at A Bender Photography LLC.

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.

Troy Corman
Always outdoors and exploring the natural world from an early age, Troy has been an avid birder since high school. Raised in rural south-central Pennsylvania, he moved to Arizona in 1980 to pursue higher education and new adventures. For several years, he conducted bird, reptile and amphibian inventories on the upper San Pedro River for the Bureau of Land Management. He has worked for the Arizona Game and Fish Department since 1990. As the Department’s Avian Monitoring Coordinator, he conducts surveys, assists with annual survey training for T&E species, and coordinates statewide bird projects. Troy was the coordinator of the Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas Project (1993-2000) and was the co-author of the Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas (2005). He also co-authored the recently published 3rd edition of Birds of Phoenix and Maricopa County. Established in 2005, he was one of the original founders of Arizona Field Ornithologists and served as its first president until 2013. Troy enjoys traveling and sharing his knowledge and passion for birds and other creatures. He also loves exploring new and seldom visited areas, and observing and documenting the changing seasonal status and distribution of birds.

Cameron Cox
Cameron is the owner and operator of Avocet Birding Courses (www.birdingABC.com), a company that offers workshops and tours that reexamine the standard narrative of how birders identify birds and offers an alternative approach. This approach aims to make learning birds faster and more fun, reducing frustration in the bargain. Cameron is the coauthor of The Peterson Reference Guide to Seawatching and an upcoming guide to the Terns of North America, as well as articles on shorebird and waterfowl identification. He lives with his wife and small herd of dogs and cats in coastal Maine.

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 Audubon 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.

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 Audubon for several years. Judy has led teams for the Tubac Nature Center spring and winter bird counts and for the Tucson Audubon annual Birdathons.

Tyler Ficker
Tyler found his passion for birding when his 4th grade teacher incorporated bird identification into the science curriculum. Tyler completed his undergraduate degree in the School of Environmental and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University. He as president of The Ornithology Club at Ohio State for two years. Tyler is a founding member of Lights Out Buckeyes—part of Ohio Lights Out, a network of programs aimed at making urban landscapes (in this case, the Ohio State campus) safer for migratory birds. He is an award-winning presenter at environmental, wildlife, and birding conferences. He also worked as a field technician for the Ohio Division of Wildlife surveying grassland species.

Tony Figueroa
Tony is Tucson Audubon’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.

Matt Griffiths
Starting at Tucson Audubon 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.

Catherine Hamilton
Catherine Hamilton began birding at an early age with her father, developing a keen interest in natural history and art. She loves sharing her passion for both with artists of all levels, and believes that anyone can gain insight and greater understanding of the world around them through field sketching and observation. A professional fine artist for over 30 years, she also has illustrated and written articles for books and publications including The Warbler Guide, the journal Nature, Bird Watcher’s Digest, the ABA Blog, and Good Birders Still Don’t Wear White. She taught painting and drawing at the Rhode Island School of Design from 1997-2003, and is a frequent leader of birding tours. She is currently the U.S. Ambassador of Birding for ZEISS Sports Optics.

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 Audubon, 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.

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 Audubon, Tucson’s Mission Garden and Citizens’ Climate Lobby. She’s an obsessive gardener, intrepid hiker, enthusiastic bird watcher and budding writer.

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.

Gordon Karre
Gordon Karre is an avid birder from Mesa, AZ, and is very familiar with the many specialty birds to be found in and around the Phoenix area and Maricopa County. Growing up in rural southwestern Nebraska, he has always had a keen interest in our fine avian friends. This area of Nebraska is a key cross-over where many species cohabitate. Since relocating to Arizona 12 years ago the birding interest has grown. He has led field trips for Maricopa Audubon and Tucson Audubon and has participated in many Christmas Bird Counts, Global Big Days, the annual Greater Phoenix Waterbird Count, and also assisted with the latest Rosy-faced Lovebird Census in the Phoenix metro area. Several trips to Sonora, Mexico, has enhanced his knowledge of many of the Mexican species that frequently appear in Arizona. He is now retired and still enjoying the birds and thoroughly enjoys sharing his knowledge of the many species that can be found in Maricopa County and the Phoenix area and beyond.

Kenn Kaufman
Kenn Kaufman burst onto the North American birding scene as a teenager in the 1970s, hitch-hiking all over the continent in pursuit of birds, an adventure later chronicled in his cult-classic book Kingbird Highway. After several years as a professional bird tour leader, taking groups to all seven continents, he transitioned to a career as a writer, editor and illustrator. Most of his energy currently goes into book projects and painting bird portraits. His 13 books include seven titles in his own series, Kaufman Field Guides. His newest book, The Birds That Audubon Missed, is scheduled for publication in May 2024. Kenn is a field editor for the National Audubon Society, a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society, and the only person to have received the American Birding Association’s lifetime achievement award twice. Currently he lives in Ohio but he was a Tucson resident for years, and loves to come back for visits—especially in August, the best birding month.

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!

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.

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 Audubon Society 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!

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 birds every day and is currently attempting to bird and submit an eBird checklist every day for all of 2021.

Scott Olmstead
A high school Spanish teacher during most of the year and part-time birding tour leader 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 Audubon on IBA surveys and the Tucson Audubon Youth Birding Committee. Scott is completely obsessed with birding in Central and South America and he led the Tucson Audubon 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.

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 Audubon’s Southeastern 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 Wildlife Photograph 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. To see more photos, check out KS Nature Photography at www.KSNaturePhotography.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KSNaturePhotography or on Instagram @KSNaturePhotography.

Stephen Shunk
Stephen Shunk wears several hats in his life as a compulsive traveler and general nature nut, including author, public speaker, photographer, field biologist, and birding guide. He has fed leeches (his own blood) in Malaysian Borneo, and he has watched Spotless Starlings swarming around the Greek ruins of Sicily. He visited Okinawa to see the world’s most endangered woodpecker, and his North American excursions have taken him from the Bering Sea to Newfoundland. One of his favorite destinations sends him to see ‘eastern’ warblers breeding across Alberta’s boreal forest, but recent adventures have led him to favor the cushion plants and condors of the Peruvian high Andes. After more than 25 years anchored in central Oregon’s ‘Woodpecker Wonderland’, Steve is now based in western Mexico’s Cabo Corrientes region.

Steve started birding in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989, and by 1997 he had founded his own tour company, Paradise Birding. He has served on numerous non-profit boards, including his co-founding of the East Cascades Bird Conservancy in 1999 and serving as its first president. Steve was also co-founder of the Oregon Birding Trails program, and he coordinated its flagship project, the Oregon Cascades Birding Trail. He has led numerous citizen science projects, including 15 years as a Christmas Bird Count compiler. Steve’s field biology has taken him from Oregon’s coast range to the Sierra Nevada, most recently studying cavity nesters on the eastern slope of the Oregon Cascades. His 25-year fascination with woodpeckers culminated in the publication of his Peterson Reference Guide to Woodpeckers of North America. Today, Steve lives with Happy Wrens and Squirrel Cuckoos while he continues to lead domestic and international nature tours through Arizona-based Naturalist Journeys.

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

Christopher Smith
I am a 17-year-old wildlife photographer based in Fresno, California. I have been photographing wildlife for 4 years, and over that time I’ve gained many skills in bird identification and taking creative bird images. I have provided multiple online presentations to camera clubs throughout the country, and led workshops in La Jolla Cove, San Diego, Bosque Del Apache NWR, and Magee Marsh at the Biggest Week.

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 Audubon 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.

Matt and Karen Vandzura
Karen and Matt retired to Tucson in mid 2021 to enjoy the birds and birding hotspots of Southeast Arizona. Recent graduates of the Tucson Audubon field trip leader academy, they are excited to share their new “backyard” with other birders. While they don’t think of themselves as expert bird guides, they have been birding since 1992 when a friend gifted them their first field guide. After retiring from the National Park Service and the medical field, they are exploring birding locally and internationally.

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.

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 Audubon Society in 2015, Olya is now Tucson Audubon’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. 

Kashmir Wolf
Kashmir Wolf, currently works at Pronatura Veracruz in Mexico where he is the coordinator of the Veracruz River of Raptors, Mr. Wolf has been involved in this long term program since 2008. Also he runs and guides the Pronatura’s birding-trips for the River of Raptors budget. Outside the migration season he collaborates on the bird surveys on the restoration projects held in Veracruz.
Outside Mexico he has participated on conservation programs and birded in the United States, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica. Recently has been a promoter of birdwatching on communal lands to support habitat conservation and spread awareness on the communities.

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 Audubon Society.