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Joshua Bergmark

Josh lives in Australia with his partner Shahaf and daughter Aya. Working as a professional bird tour leader since he was 16 years old and travelling extensively throughout Australasia, Eurasia and Africa, his particular passion is for New Guinea and the Pacific, where he has guided extensively over the last decade and amassed an exceptional Australasian list!

While nothing can beat watching bird-of-paradise displays or hiking up into the hills of remote islands in search of poorly-known endemics, Josh is a particularly keen spotlighter and is always up for long nights in search of interesting mammals and reptiles. He is well-known for his never-give-up approach when tracking down target species, and thrives on making the logistics work in even the toughest situations!

Daniel López-Velasco

Dani is a life-long, highly enthusiastic and experienced birder who started birding at the early age of 5. He lives in Asturias, Northern Spain, and although a medical doctor by degree, Dani has worked as a professional bird tour leader for over 10 years. He has been a member of the Spanish rarities committee for more than 15 years, and has published dozens of papers on identification in many international magazines.

His travels have taken him to more than 80 countries all across the world, with his favourite places being New Guinea, the Neotropics, the oceans, and the polar regions. He is also a very keen wildlife photographer, and takes pride in his passionate never-give-up approach to every single day in the field!

Julien Mazenauer

Julien started birding when he was 10 and quickly expanded his passion all over the Western Palearctic and ultimately the whole world, where he has been leading tours on five continents for the past five years. When at home in western Switzerland, where he lives with his partner Hélène, he devotes much of his time to counting birds high up in the Alps or looking for vagrants, something he has been actively doing for the past 15 years.

With a thorough knowledge of African and Neotropical birds in particular, he has a particular interest in travelling to the world’s most remote places in search of seldom-recorded species, be it on the roof of New Guinea trekking after Snow Mountain Robins or deep in the Brazilian Amazon looking for Red-billed Ground Cuckoos!

Donna Belder

Donna is an ecologist and conservation biologist based in Australia. She truly discovered her passion for birding during university, leading her to undertake a PhD on woodland birds and become a fully-licenced ringer. She has a particularly large Australian list, having already reached 700 Australian birds by age 30 and becoming the youngest ever woman to do so! She is also enthusiastic about plants and other wildlife, always able to find something of interest whilst in the field.

First working as a bird guide across outback Australia, Donna has recently been travelling extensively abroad. Heading-up our new women’s division, she is the person to speak with if you’re interested in our women-only tours with the world’s best female local guides!

Joachim Bertrands

Joachim grew up in Belgium and has been birding since the age of 10. He currently lives with his partner Sonya in Victoria, British Columbia, where he enjoys the wilderness at his doorstep on a daily basis. After some extensive travel to remote areas of the Western Palearctic, his interest in the rest of the world started building before he started a career in tour leading. Having now led international tours for 10 years, Joachim is well-versed across several dozen countries from Colombia and Mexico to Ghana and Malaysia!

Some of Joachim’s favourite aspects of all things birding include nightbirding, remote endemics, and the endless search for a true rarity. He has a keen interest in migration, difficult identifications, and ecology.

Eduardo Patrial

Eduardo is a Brazilian hailing from the southern state of Paraná. Serving as an intern at the bird collection of Capão da Imbuia Museum in Curitiba during his biology degree, subsequent surveys throughout the country built a comprehensive base in Brazil’s avifauna. Working as a bird guide since 2006, he has now thoroughly covered all regions of this vast country, making him one of the few professionals able to deliver the absolute best birding experiences all across Brazil.

His humor and passion for birding guarantee great fun in the field, while his persistent searches for the rarest species are second to none! An avid sound recordist and now photographer, Eduardo also leads in adjacent countries like Venezuela and Argentina.

Chris Venetz

Chris grew up in Switzerland, taking several lengthy international birding trips during his early teenage days which evolved into a lifelong passion for the birds of the world. While his exploration of avian diversity has taken him to every continent, he has a particular interest in the Neotropics, Africa, Asia, and New Guinea, where he travelled and led tours most extensively.

Well-known as a keen and accomplished bird photographer, Chris’ resolve to document endemic specialties everywhere he goes has given him solid experience both in understanding birds' behaviours and how to track them down. Chris works part-time for Ornis.

Daniel Aldana Schumann

Daniel was born and raised in Guatemala City, but has since relocated to the beautiful and biodiverse slopes of Toliman Volcano, where he lives amongst many special endemic birds of the Guatemalan highlands! He has been birding ever since he can remember, strongly encouraged by his biologist father who helped instil a deep respect for nature and conservation.

Pursuing his dream of becoming a tour leader, Daniel started guiding professionally in Guatemala right out of high school, and soon expanded internationally. He has spent the past decade expanding his knowledge and exploring the Neotropics. Daniel works part-time for Ornis.

Diego Calderón-Franco

Diego is a biologist from the Universidad de Antioquía in Medellín and has been leading birding tours for over 20 years across Colombia. Along with discovering many new species for his home country while exploring remote areas from the Serranía de Pirre in the Darién to the Baudó Mountains in the Chocó, he has also been privileged to take part in the description of several Neotropical birds new to science!

Extensive travelling has taken Diego all across Latin America (including Venezuela), and more recently to parts of Africa and Eurasia. He also co-hosts The Birders Show on Youtube and gives talks across the world promoting birding and conservation. Diego works part-time for Ornis.

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