An ONshore Birding Update

It has been a long time since I have posted on this blog! Life has been busy over the last few years in the time since I started ONshore Birding. I just wanted to provide a brief summary of the history of Onshore Birding, what I have been up to, and what plans I have in store. 

Selfie at Salinas, Ecuador

Back in the summer of 2019, I was working as an ecologist for an engineering company while my wife, Laura, was employed as a veterinarian. We were living in Niagara Falls at the time and planning a big life change. That summer, we quit our jobs to travel, mainly in Latin America, for around two years. We both have a love for international travel (and international birding) and this would be a great opportunity to spend a lot of time in some really amazing places.

Six months in, things had been going very well. We had undertaken private Spanish lessons in Ecuador and then traveled throughout Ecuador and Colombia. Our trip to Costa Rica had just begun when the pandemic hit and we were forced to retreat back to Canada. ​

Empress Brilliant - Mindo, Ecuador

Once it appeared that COVID-19 would not be going away quickly, our international travels were put firmly on hold and I settled back into the Ontario birding and nature scene. I decided to start ONshore Birding that autumn. Guiding had been a passion of mine for years and I had led some tours locally in Ontario. Since 2015, I had also been working part time as a tour leader for Quest Nature Tours, having led birding and nature tours to far-flung destinations such as Galápagos, Colombia, Spain and Cuba. 

I saw a need for guided nature tours here in Ontario, and since I had the time, I created the company, set up the website, and led a number of tours throughout the remainder of 2020 and into 2021. But by the summer of 2021, Laura and I had the opportunity to continue our travels in Latin America; to finish what we had started. Therefore, ONshore Birding went on hiatus. Laura and I have been fortunate to travel without incident in the time since, and we have explored Panama, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand since. 

Currently, we are in Argentina as we push through the final leg of our adventure. Our plan is to return home by the end of April. I am excited to focus much of my time to ONshore Birding during the upcoming years!  ​

Selfie at Parque Nacional Huascarán, Peru

This spring, I will be leading a number of small group trips to several birding hot spots on the north shore of Lake Erie including Long Point, Rondeau, and Pelee Island. Unfortunately, leading these tours at Point Pelee is not in the cards this year but I hope to include Point Pelee starting in the spring of 2024. Details about the spring tours can be found here. I will have some availability for private tours as well; available dates are shown in the link, above.

Blackburnian Warbler

I also have details about two June tours to Carden Alvar on the website. I will be adding  additional dates to other locations for the summer and autumn of 2023. 
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Thank you to everyone who has joined me on a previous tour, as well as to those who have helped to spread the word about ONshore Birding. Hope to see you in the field!