|
Leader
|
 Although Adam Riley grew up on a farm in the Pietermaritzburg area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, he has since birded extensively in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australasia, the Americas, and Antarctica, and led numerous trips to these areas. One of Africa's most experienced birders, Adam has seen well over 1800 species on the continent, and over 2000 species in the region encompassing Africa and Madagascar. Recently he put this experience to work in helping create the bird locality guides for Robert's Birds on CD-ROM. He is also currently in the process of preparing a guide to birding in Madagascar. Show tours with Adam.
|
|
Leader
|
 Biologist Carlos Gómez Nieto, just "Charlie" to his friends,
is one of Costa Rica’s all-time best birdwatchers with over 800 species
of that country’s avifauna to his credit, including several first
records. As a professional guide since 1985, Carlos has worked closely
with many birding and natural history tour groups, and has earned a
reputation as Costa Rica’s single most popular bird leader. He is an
expert in tropical ecology, and has traveled widely in the United
States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. In 1991 Carlos and
Rick Taylor set a Costa Rican “Big Day” record of 225 species. Show tours with Carlos.
|
|
Leader
|
 A British birder residing in Caracas since 1990, Chris Sharpe is
widely acknowledged as an expert on the birds of Venezuela. Chris began
guiding in 1983, and he has led groups in Africa as well as in South
America. Cambridge educated, Chris has published numerous papers,
checklists, and book chapters relating to the ecology and conservation
of tropical birds. Above all, Chris is known for his droll sense of
humor! Show tours with Chris.
|
|
Leader
|
 World birder Clive Green now lists well over 5,000 species,
including all but three of the world's bird families. Clive has made a number of trips to Ecuador and, in 1996, organized
his notes—updated in 2002—into a concisely written book
on finding the birds of Ecuador, which is available from many bird book
stores and catalogs. Raised in Kenya, Clive has also authored a
bird-finding guide for South Africa and Namibia. Clive, with Kenn
Kaufman and Rick Taylor, set the Mexican “Big Day” record of
201 species in 2001. Show tours with Clive.
|
|
Leader
|
 A former San Francisco bike tour company manager, David MacKay moved
his family to Sonora, Mexico in 1993. Situated in a birdwatchers’
paradise in the town of Alamos, it was not long before David was
leading tours throughout the region, and soon throughout Mexico. Dave
was a contributing recordist on the Cornell bird sound guide to Arizona
and Sonora published in 2001, and he is also the compiler for the
annual Alamos Christmas Bird Count. Show tours with David.
|
|
Leader
|
 David Salas has been providing archaelological expertise for Borderland Tours groups to Chiapas and the Yucatán Peninsula since the year 2000. A licensed guide, David not only interprets the pre-Columbian sites and the history and ecology of the peoples who inhabited them, he also explains contemporary Mexican cultural features and customs. Patience and a remarkable good nature are his trademark personality traits. He also loves to bird, camp, and kayak. David and his wife Yolanda live in Mérida, the capital of the Yucatán. Show tours with David.
|
|
Leader
|
 Avid naturalist David Shackelford grew up in Texas, but until 2008 had spent the previous 3 years living in South Africa and the 2 years prior to that in South America. Job title was and is professional bird tour guide. Recently married, David now calls Texas home again, but his romance with international travel continues, and David leads tours to Africa and Asia, as well as many locations in the Americas. Given his business degree in International Management, logistics always seem to flow perfectly on David's tours, and his love of what he does is simply contagious. Show tours with David.
|
|
Leader
|
 Moez Ali grew up in Nairobi, exploring Kenya's national parks with his naturalist dad. He moved to the U.S. in 1999 after he was recruited to play college tennis, and matriculated with a degree in biology. The great birding opportunities in Southeastern Arizona drew Moez to Tucson in 2003, and he now birds the area nonstop while doing breeding bird research for the University of Arizona and for the National Park Service, as well as volunteering for Tucson Audubon Society. Aside from his obvious talents as a birder, you'll find Moez is an all-around terrific guy. Show tours with Moez.
|
|
Leader
|
 Although he grew up in Leicester, England, guide Richard Fray is based in Patagonia, Arizona. Richard describes his family as a "wildlife-mad household," and he has been birding since he was big enough to hold binoculars. Older brother Rob became a respected British ornithologist, but Richard was drawn to the avifaunas of the Western Hemisphere, where he has traveled widely in North, South, and Middle America. The conservation gene is strong in Richard, and these days he divides his time as board member of Tucson Audubon and as the president of Patons' Hummingbird Haven, a non-profit organization formed to preserve the birding future of the famous Paton Home in Patagonia. Richard is a self-described "keen amateur photographer," whose works have appeared in both U.S. and British birding journals.
Show tours with Richard.
|
|
Leader
|
 Richard Cachor Taylor, founder and Director of Borderland Tours, is the author of location checklists for the birds of both the Chiricahua Mountains--revised in 2010--and the Huachuca Mountains of Arizona, as well as Trogons of the Arizona Borderlands. In 1995 his A Birder’s Guide to Southeastern Arizona
was published by the American Birding Association, and he has since
revised it for a second edition published in 2005. Rick's most recent project, Birds of Southeastern Arizona, a photo field guide targeted specifically to this unique corner of the U.S., was published by the R. W. Morse Company in August 2010. Rick set a “Big Year” record for the most
birds seen in Mexico in 1988 with 717 species. Show tours with Rick.
|
|
Leader
|
|
 Originally from England where he received a Ph.D. in avian ecology, Rob Williams has conducted research in Spain and throughout South America. He has written four books, including "A Guide to Bird-watching in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands" and "The Forgotten Forests," as well as numerous scientific papers. He and his wife Anahi reside in Cuzco, Peru with their two young sons, Alec and Oliver. Show tours with Rob.
|
|
Staff
|
 Many of you know Barbara Bickel as the friendly—and knowledgeable—voice on the telephone when requesting information. But many others of you know Barbara from our tours. Since joining Borderland Tours in 1993, Barbara has worked in practically every capacity within our organization. Originally hired for her computer skills, Barbara has traveled with Borderland to most of our destinations, and has recently co-led our Arizona and Texas tours. Barbara has also been a docent at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum since 1981, where she has posted over 10,000 hours of volunteer time.
|
|
Staff
|
 In 1990 Lynne Taylor left her position as manager of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum gift shop to become the office manager of Borderland Tours. Lynne is in charge of reservations for lodging, transportation, and meals—ensuring that everything will go smoothly in the field for our tour leaders and our participants. Lynne has traveled from Alaska to Australia and from India to Kenya, so she has the first-hand experience to answer your questions. And when you get to meet her in person, you’ll enjoy Lynne’s warmth and unaffected sense of humor.
|
|
Borderland Tours
Tour Leaders