Meet Your Tropical Birding Guides & Staff

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Nick Athanas

Nick’s obsession with bird sounds is legendary. In fact, it is rumored he can live off the songs of antbirds without any other sustenance. Nick gave up a lucrative career in geophysics to go watch birds in South America a decade ago and has never looked back. He is one of the founders of Tropical Birding, and when not leading tours, can often be found in odd corners of the world adding to his collection of photos and sound recordings. His blog and almost all of his photos can be found on his personal website, antpitta.com. Nick guides in the Neotropics and occasionally in Asia. He is using a Swarovski scope and Leica binoculars.

Keith Barnes

Keith realized that he was no longer a scientist when a significant difference in the tail lengths of larks didn’t make a significant difference in his life! Turning his back on the Ivory Towers, he helped found TB and now heads the Africa and Asia operations. He guides extensively on both continents. Before Keith was able to actually see the birds he wanted to, he sat in an office and wrote about them in various books for BirdLife International. He has recently published Birding Ethiopia with Ken and Christian. Keith is using Leica binoculars and a Swarovski scope, and guides tours just about everywhere. Click here for Keith’s facebook profile.

Ken Behrens

As a boy, Ken discovered Flickers in the woods, and has been chasing birds ever since. He has progressed from US road trips to adventurous hikes through the Ecuadorian Andes and the Bolivian Amazon. Ken spent two years counting birds in Cape May. There he developed a particular interest in seawatching, and he is now writing a book on advanced seawatching. Based in Madagascar, he recently authored a book called Birding Ethiopia, and his nickname in the Africa office is “guru”. Ken guides in Africa and Asia.

Christian Boix

Christian followed the swallows, and headed south from Spain in 1990 after developing a lust for African ornithology. He has an unhealthy interest in the reproductive biology of birds, especially those with bizarre mating and breeding systems, such as birds-of-paradise and hornbills. A partner of Tropical Birding, Christian leads tours in Africa and Asia, where his infectious enthusiasm has ensured a faithful following. He has recently completed a birding site guide to Ethiopia, and is currently working on another birding guide in Africa. Christian uses Leica binoculars and a Leica scope. Click here for Christian’s facebook profile.

Gabriel Bucheli

Gabriel was born in Quito but comes from the ckeithentral sierra of Ecuador, where most of his huge family still lives. He got hooked on wildlife on some fishing trips in the Cotopaxi area when only a kid. After studying ecology and tourism at UCE (Catholic University of Ecuador), he started guiding in the Tandayapa area, and soon realized birds were his passion. Since then, he’s been taking people all over Ecuador, and he gets a kick out of finding secretive birds in the dense understory. He still lives in Quito where he helps his wife run a stationary store, and likes to spend time looking for fresh places to go birding. Gabriel is also an active member of Aves and Conservación, the Birdlife affiliate in Ecuador.

Iain Campbell

Iain ended his career as a geochemist in West Africa when it dawned on him that his life list was more valuable than gold. He packed up his G-pick, said goodbye to fufu, and headed to South America, which better suits his style. He is very involved in bird conservation, having created Tandayapa Bird Lodge and Mindo Cloudforest Foundation. Besides being one of the founders of Tropical Birding, Iain is near fanatical about getting more people into birding, and works with many organizations trying to achieve this main goal. He used to be a fanatical lister, but now much prefers to target the world’s specialties, and is very into bird photography. Iain uses both Leica and Swarovski binoculars and a Kowa scope. Click here for Iain’s facebook profile.

Bradley Davis

Brad grew up chasing vagrants in southern Ontario, where a lost Variegated Flycatcher in Toronto in 1993 piqued his interest in tropical birds. When no more appeared on the shores of Lake Ontario over the next few years, he decided he would have to go to them instead. After a number of birding trips and field work throughout the Americas, Brad has now settled in southern Brazil – a perfect base for chasing after the piculets, antbirds and spinetails over which he obsesses. When not guiding, he keeps busy recording bird songs, devouring old and new ornithological literature, and exploring new areas of the country – particularly the vast Amazon basin where his interests in distribution and vocalizations are equally indulged. Brad guides for TB in Brazil and Ecuador.

Josh Engel

Josh grew up near Chicago, where he soon learned the joys of birding along the Lake Michigan shoreline. He was soon crisscrossing the US with other young birders before getting hooked on the Neotropics. Josh has been spending a lot of time in Africa lately, fueling a fast-growing obsession with Madagascar’s ground-rollers and asities, the red dunes of Namibia, and the many endemics of South Africa, where he now lives. Past trips to Indochina have left him longing to return to southeast Asia as well. Josh uses Swarovski binoculars and a Swarovski scope. Click here for Josh’s facebook profile

Charley Hesse

Charley’s devotion to birds began when he could first lift binoculars to his face. Before graduation at university he eloped with his life list to India and Mexico. He studied mixed flocks in Cameroon and compiled inventories of rainforest birds in Malaysia before heading to Japan for work in international public relations. Today, Charley works as a bird guide in four continents, having birded much of South America and over 50 countries worldwide. British by birth he is now also fluent in Spanish and Japanese. Charley uses Zeiss binoculars and a Swarovski scope.

José Illánes

Originally from the Amazonian village of Sani Isla, José is rapidly getting hooked on world birding. After tallying over 2,000 birds in 2005, José has not looked back; now guiding for us in Venezuela, Peru, and his home Ecuador (in between trips to southeast Asia, Africa and Europe). His first visit to the US came in 2006 when he brought the house down with his speech on Ecuadorian birding at the ABA convention in Maine. When not guiding, he can often be found poring over foreign bird books. He recently became a father for the first time. Jose uses Swarovski binoculars and a Swarovski scope.

Nick Leseberg

After ten years in the Australian air force, Nick decided he wanted to bird for a living instead of just on his holidays and weekends. He spent nearly three years living in the U.S and birding throughout the Americas which included a two month stint at Tandayapa trying to figure out tyrannulets. He has now returned to the land of parrots and is based in Brisbane, Australia. Nick guides for Tropical Birding throughout the Australasian region. Nick uses Leica binoculars and a Kowa scope. Click here for Nick’s facebook profile.

Scott Olmstead

Less than a month after finishing college with a degree in Latin American Studies, Scott headed straight for Costa Rica, where he began learning the birds of Central America. When his money ran out, he returned home for a few seasons of fieldwork across the US, banding songbirds, counting migrating raptors, and studying eagle nests. In 2006, when he could stay away no longer, Scott came back to the Neotropics as a tour leader. He guides TB trips in Brazil and Ecuador, where he enjoys chasing elusive antpittas through the thick understory. Originally from Connecticut, Scott is now based in Arizona. Scott uses Leica binoculars and a Swarovski scope. Click here for Scott’s facebook profile

Michael Retter

Michael spent all of his college vacations birding in Mexico and became so hooked that all he could think about was quesadillas and leading bird tours after he graduated. He can be found guiding anywhere from Canada down to Ecuador, but a recent trip to Micronesia whetted his appetite for birding beyond the Americas. When at home in the Midwest, Michael puts his intense interests in taxonomy and distribution to use both as “Sightings” Department Editor and Technical Reviewer for ABA’s Birding magazine. Michael uses Nikon binoculars and a Nikon scope. Click here for Michael’s facebook profile

Andrew Spencer

Andrew began his birding career in the eastern US at the age of five when his grandmother showed him a male Wood Duck on the pond by his house. After crisscrossing North America for a number of years, Andrew made his first trip to the tropics and instantly fell in love. Since then his travels have take him throughout the neotropics and to New Guinea. More recently he has developed what some might call an unhealthy obsession for all things related to bird sounds. Andrew guides in the neotropical region. Andrew uses Leica binoculars and a Swarovski scope. Click here for Andrew’s facebook profile.

Andrés Vásquez

Since graduating in Ecology in 2003, Andrés has hardly had time to get back to his native Quito as he has been chasing new birds in every corner of megadiverse Ecuador. He spent a year among colorful tanagers and quetzals of the Chocó cloud forest before heading to the steaming Amazon in search of eagles and antbirds. When not in the field, he can be found at his computer working on book publishing; he has already released several wildlife guidebooks for Ecuador, including a fieldguide to the birds of Northwest Ecuador. Andres uses Leica binoculars and a Swarovski scope.

Scott Watson

Growing up chasing birds on his bicycle and reading TB trip reports, Scott’s eyes quickly focused on the world of birding. Studying environmental biology in university increased his knowledge of the natural world, but the semesters abroad in China, New Zealand, and Arizona simply increased his life list. After graduation, the call of the Neotropics was just too much. A two month volunteering stint at Tandayapa Bird Lodge followed by a three month placement at Guapi Assu in Brazil honed his guiding skills. Originally from Barrie in southern Ontario, Capetown South Africa is now Scott’s home. Scott will be guiding many African destinations, including Madagascar, South Africa, and Ethiopia, and also knows the continent of Australia well too. Scott uses Swarovski binoculars and a Swarovski scope. Click here for Scott’s facebook profile

Sam Woods

Sam obsession for birds began with a pair of tits in the Royal London park at age 11. Working for TB fits in perfectly with his plan of building up a massive world list, and now he guides on five continents. Now well known around the world for his affable English gentlemanly demeanor and his skilled guiding, his prodigious output of trip reports has almost surpassed those qualities. Sam supposedly resides in Ecuador, but his schedule hardly allows any time there. Sam uses both Leica and Swarovski binoculars and a Kowa scope. You can read Sam’s blog and see a lot of his photos at Lost in Birding.

OFFICE STAFF

Cristina Campbell

Cristina is TB’s General Manager. It is through her good work that our tours run so smoothly. An Ecuadorian, she has a thorough understanding of business in South America and is in constant contact with most operators. If there is something to be arranged, whether it’s an intense birding trip in the Amazon or an independent trip to the Galapagos, she is the one to contact. She is an occasional birder too, but prefers colorful toucans to skulking tapaculos. Cristina uses Leica binoculars.

Pablo Cervantes

Pablo is one of the newer additions to Tropical Birding. It came by accident, when this die hard city loving engineer had to go and help out in Tandayapa for a week, and realized there was far more to life to just parties, bars and women. Now he spends about half his time in the office, handling your enquiries and the other half in the cloudforest of North West Ecuador looking after Tandayapa Bird Lodge. His birding is progressing slowly, with him being able to sort through most of the hummingbirds, toucans, barbets and tanagers of the region, though we do not expect him to go chasing flycatchers any time soon. When he does go birding, he uses Eagle optics rangers.

Desirée D’Sylva

Desirée was raised in Quito, but her life has taken her on many exciting adventures to the most beautiful places in the world. She lived on merchant ships during her teens, and saw spectacular scenery and culture throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia, and is the only person in TB to have sailed through the Suez and Panama canals. After finishing a degree in history, she developed a farm in NW Ecuador to produce ecofriendly palm oil. Desirée manages our Africa and Asia logistics.

Maria Estela Corral

Maria Estela is a native of Quito, Ecuador and the newest member of the Tropical Birding logistics team. In her free time she enjoys reading, fine cuisine, and Latin parties. Notice how birding isn’t on that list yet? We’re working hard to change that. Maria Estela is in charge of logistics for most tours in the Americas and Australia.