About US
Professional Birding Guides
Our guides are among the top birders in Arizona and beyond. We have team members based across the state including Patagonia, Tucson, Phoenix, Prescott, and Flagstaff. You’re in the best possible hands with Arizona Birding Tours.
Felipe Guerrero
Owner & Guide
graduate school, non-profit adventures, and what has been a particularly wonderful 6 years of poking around the most remote and under-birded corners of the state, Arizona Birding Tours was born in 2018. Felipe love birds and loves sharing the excitement and good times of birding with his clients. Birding with Felipe isn’t just about seeking Arizona’s specialty birds, it’s about celebrating the astonishingly diverse biological treasure that is Arizona.
Felipe is currently a member of the Arizona Bird Committee, and an eBird reviewer for Yavapai, Navajo, and Apache Counties. In the past he served as Field Expeditions Chair and board member for Arizona Field Ornithologists, as well as board member for Prescott Audubon Society.
Jake Thompson
Guide & Administrator
A habitat of special interest to Jake is Arizona’s high elevation mixed conifer forests. Jake is passionate about wildlife conservation and outreach, always looking to bring that appreciation to others through birding. Through leading family bird walks for both local and regional Audubon societies he has grown his admiration for even the most common species and appreciates getting a chance to turn novice naturalists into full blown birders
Jake has participated in AZGFD survey point counts as well as contributed to AZ’s Breeding Bird Surveys. Jake is also a board member for Desert Rivers Audubon Society.
Nolan Walker
Guide
Nolan particularly enjoys any type of migration, especially morning flight, sea-watching, hawk-watching, and listening for nocturnal flight calls. Additionally, he finds nothing more exciting than exploring an under-birded region to find unexpected species or rarities. Nolan loves sharing amazing experiences with clients and seeing the joy on their faces when they see new birds!
Nolan has the pleasure of helping compile the North American Birds seasonal reports for Arizona. In Tennessee, he helped compile data for various CBCs, fall counts, and spring counts. Additionally, he has spent time hawkwatching in Cape May Point State Park.
Kadynn Hatfield
Guide
In his endeavors to see birds on their breeding territories, in migration, and on their wintering grounds, Kadynn has pursued them across the U.S. and Belize. He now calls Arizona home and relishes the diverse birdlife it offers, courtesy of the state’s ranging elevations and climates which allows for many habitats to visit and rarities to list. He loves to help others reach their birding goals and share their appreciation of the avian world.
Kadynn is an eBird state reviewer for Iowa, has worked 7 years with waterfowl and game birds in captivity and has helped as a volunteer hawkwatcher. He’s enjoyed several CBC’s and a season of guiding for Sandhill Cranes on the Platte River.
Eric Hough
Guide
to exploring seldom-visited areas. He is particularly interested in the distribution of vegetation and associated ecosystems.
His undergraduate and graduate degrees at Northern Arizona University, and several years of field work as a biologist, further honed his interests and expertise in the natural world to include plants, reptiles and amphibians, dragonflies, and more recently, butterflies. Eric has traveled through much of the U.S. and since 2013, has made several trips deep into Sonora, Mexico. He loves teaching others about nature as much as he enjoys learning about it, and currently works as an interpretive ranger with Maricopa County Parks in the Phoenix area, where he gets to connect others with the natural world.
Eric has served on the Arizona Bird Committee, as Field Expeditions Chair and a board member for Arizona Field Ornithologists, is an eBird reviewer for Navajo and Apache Counties in Arizona, and has coordinated and helped with multiple Christmas Bird Counts and other volunteer bird survey efforts.
Louie Dombroski
Guide
and Arizona. Louie spent years guiding visiting birders in Madera Canyon, and now resides for most of the year in the bird-rich town of Patagonia, Arizona. Louie has been part of ornithological research projects in Alaska, Colorado, and northern Mexico. In addition to his extensive birding experience in southeast Arizona and the Great Lakes region, the pursuit of birds has also taken him to many corners of North America as well as to Costa Rica and Colombia. Louie’s enthusiasm is evident whenever he runs into people trying to connect with birds. He finds that showing people life birds that he’s seen many times over is like reliving the experience of seeing them for the first time himself.
Louie contributed to the Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas and was employed to work on the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas (both versions I and II). Louie was long involved in a successful effort to bring Whitefish Point, site of Michigan Audubon Society’s renowned Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, under the protection of the National Wildlife Refuge system. He has authored many seasonal bird survey reports for Michigan Audubon Society’s natural history journal, and presently serves (and has served as chair in the past) on the Michigan Bird Records Committee.
Caleb Strand
Guide
In addition to his love of exploration, Caleb enjoys watching the look of amazement on the faces of his clients as they observe the beauty of the diverse wildlife and landscapes of Arizona and the Southwest. From watching California Condors soaring over the cliffs of the Grand Canyon to observing a pair of Elegant Trogons visiting their nesting cavity in a sycamore in the sky Islands of southeast Arizona, Caleb truly loves his home state of Arizona!
Caleb is an eBird Regional Reviewer for Maricopa, Yavapai, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Navajo, and Apache Counties in Arizona, a current member of the Arizona Bird Committee, and has also served on the Arizona Field Ornithologists Expeditions committee, leading trips into under-birded areas across the state
David Griffin
Guide
raptors, and Sky Island specialties, and also has in-depth knowledge of reptiles, amphibians, mammals and plants.
He has studied the ecology of Yellow-eyed juncos and Aplomado falcons, and for his graduate work wrote a Conservation History of the Peregrine Falcon in New Mexico. David was a field team member on the Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas and he’s traveled and studied the birdlife of Arizona ever since. Dave’s an adventurer and loves to explore new and overlooked areas for birds and wildlife. He loves to learn from others, and to share, educate and expose people to the wonders of the natural world.
David served as President for the Mesilla Valley Audubon Society, was an advisor for New Mexico Game and Fish’s Gray Vireo Recovery Plan, an invited Instructor for the Doña Ana County Master Naturalist program: Avian Ecology & Birds of the Chihuahuan Desert, a Field Trip Leader for Tucson Audubon Society, Buenos Aires NWR, and Port Louisa NWR, and coordinated several Christmas Bird Counts and volunteer bird surveys. Dave has also volunteered his time as a Bicycle Mechanic for a Children’s Holiday Bike Program and as a Children’s Bike Safety Course Instructor and Criterium Race Marshall.
Gary Rosenberg
Guide
went to Arizona State University where he studied Biology, and then went to Louisiana State University for a Master’s degree studying Ornithology where he studied Neotropical birds in Peru, and has been involved in the discovery and description of three new birds to science. He has published several papers and articles on birds, including a few on new North American records from Gambell, Alaska.
Gary spent 24 years leading tours for WINGS, and then started his own small birdwatching tour company, Avian Journeys, specializing on Arizona, where he has led more than 75 tours, as well as other areas in the United States, particularly Alaska, and the Neotropics in countries such as Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Peru. In 1987, Gary moved back to Arizona, and has been heavily involved in the Arizona birding community since. He was the Arizona regional editor for North American Birds for 30 years, and has been on the Arizona Bird Committee, and currently serves as its secretary.
Levi Plummer
Guide & Social Media
and obtaining quality documentation of rare bird species. He has won multiple awards for his work. In addition to bird photography, he is also fascinated by the distribution of species in mountainous regions, and late-arrival breeders. Levi relishes the opportunity to share the incredible avian diversity Arizona has to offer with others and loves working with people and helping create the best birding experiences possible!
Levi is an eBird regional reviewer for Maricopa County, and has participated in many Christmas Bird Counts and bird surveys, and helped run photography workshops.
John Wilson
Guide
At the age of 15, John was introduced to birding and has since spent his time traveling across Arizona adding to his ever growing life list. For him, birding is a treasure hunt and a great excuse to enjoy all that nature has to offer.
John has found a particular fascination with migration and vagrant traps. Something about finding a species in a totally new area just holds an added fascination to the already interesting life each bird lives. Past birding, John has become a Naturalist with a particular interest in Herps and Insects, but anything living and of even minimal interest is absolutely captivating to him.
John has been an AZGFD Bald Eagle nest watcher for the past six years, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo surveyor for two years, an independent contractor for Burrowing Owl and Kit Fox surveys for one year, and has been heavily involved in his local Audubon societies, guiding for both Northern Arizona Audubon while he attends classes at Northern Arizona University and White Mountain Audubon in his hometown of Taylor, AZ. He has also been a part of the Arizona Field Ornithologists field expedition committee and most recently has become a regional eBird Reviewer for Navajo and Apache counties.
Alex Patia
Guide
with others is what prompted him to get a Masters in Environmental Education in 2013. He has since worked in seven states including leading puffin cruises in Maine, as a naturalist in all three of Washington’s national parks, on whale watching trips in the Puget Sound, leading overnight trips
to Santa Cruz Island, handling raptors for education programs at the New Mexico Wildlife Center, and as a wildlife guide in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Alex has birded in
all 50 U.S. states but Arizona has been his favorite state to bird in almost every year since first visiting in 2011. Alex is excited to now call Arizona home and share the
amazing diversity of its wildlife and stunning landscapes with visitors!
Alex also shares his passion for birds as the Sweetwater Wetlands Coordinator for Tucson Audubon. He has participated in multiple Christmas Bird Counts, bird surveys, banding stations, and was formerly the eBird Regional Reviewer for Teton and Park counties Wyoming.
ARIZONA BIRDING TOURS HOLDS A SPECIAL USE PERMIT with the U.s. Forest Service and is Authorized FOR OUTFITTING AND GUIDING ON CORONADO NATIONAL FOREST.
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
