The guides are the soul of any birding tour company, as they give their own personal imprint to the quality of the tours, marking the pace, sharing their knowledge and taking good care of every situation. Having that in mind, our company makes the difference by having a staff of trained guides who behave professionally and with leadership, speak fluent English, have social skills and are passionated about birding, sharing their vast knowledge and field experience on each trip. They all use quality spotting scopes when guiding, in order to take the most of every observation.
Apart from our full-time guides and tour leaders, we work together with local experts who perform with us as guides or drivers in most destinations. This increases the quality and accumulated knowledge of the guiding team, and contributes more to the local economies.
Marcelo Gavensky (36)
Director - Local Guide in Argentina - Tour Leader to all destinationsMarcelo started birding at the age of 10, when he got his first binoculars and field guide, and hasn't stopped ever since. Growing up in a small town of Buenos Aires province's Pampas helped him develop his birding skills, and later on he gained field work experience in many biological research projects, (especially in northern Patagonia, where he lived several years) and as a guide at the Argentine Museum of Natural History. In 2010, he decided to combine his skills and entrepreneurial spirit and started his first birding tour brand (Birding Buenos Aires), which successfully grew and gave birth to Birds Argentina and Natural Birding. Over the years he guided birdwatchers from all over the world, including top birding personalities such as Noah Strycker during his Worldwide Big Year in 2015 (when they got the top mark of new target birds for the whole year) and David Sibley, author of the best selling field guide "Birds of North America". Marcelo has extensive birding experience in all of Argentina's ecoregions and most South American countries, plus parts of Africa and the Middle East. A birding tourism consultant, he has trained and given courses for birding guides from many different countries and is a founding member of the "Argentine Birding Guides Association" (AGOA). Marcelo is especially skilled with bird calls and songs, and is a great companion for any birder or nature lover coming to southern South America.
Laura Dodyk (31)
Local Guide in Argentina - Tour Leader to all destinationsLaura was born in Buenos Aires city. She was interested in nature since her childhood and was able to visit most of Argentina's national parks at a very young age. When she was 9 years old, during a trip to Iguazu National Park she discovered she was going to be strongly linked to birds for the rest of her life. Apart from her guiding activity, she currently works at the local partner of Birdlife International, where she leads the Migratory Bird Program and participates in other conservation projects such as the Atlantic Forest Project, Grassland Alliance, Yellow Cardinal program and others. She is also a reviewer for eBird Argentina and constantly participates in bird surveys in different regions of the country. Sharing her enjoyment of birds is her passion.
Andrés de Miguel (30)
Local Guide in Argentina - Tour Leader to all destinationsAndrés was born and raised in a small town in the edge of the great urban area of Buenos Aires and the countryside in the Argentine Pampas. Since childhood, he developed a strong interest in nature, especially for birds, which he admired and observed carefully. He is a biologist from the University of Buenos Aires, specialized in ornithology, his degree's final work being carried out studying the very rare Austral Rail (Rallus antarcticus). He has worked in several conservation projects in many regions of Argentina, highlighting the Hooded Grebe program in Patagonia, and the Saffron-cowled Blackbird program in north-east Argentina, both of them carried out by the local partner of Birdlife International. He also made the bird checklist of Costanera Norte reserve (in Buenos Aires city) and is currently a reviewer for eBird Argentina. He likes to share his passion and experience, and is a pleasant company in the field.
Steve Sánchez Calle (40)
Local Guide in Peru - Professional Photographic Guide and Tour Leader to all destinationsSteve was born in Peru and spent his childhood in the Andes and the rainforest of Cusco. After completing his studies to become an Official Tourist Guide he started his work as a birding guide in countries like Peru, Colombia and Bolivia, where he has been leading birding trips for over 13 years now. His photography work has been featured in well known national and international publications, media and books. Steve gives talks on birding and wildlife tourism, participates in conferences and teaches wildlife photography and birding through workshops and courses, contributing to some wildlife projects as a birding tourism consultant. He is also a great company in the field and one of the best (and very few) real nature photography guides in South America.
Paulina Feyling (43)
Office AssistantPaulina is a professional in tourism with more than 15 years of experience, including a rich guiding and teaching (at the University of Avellaneda) background. She loves Buenos Aires (where she is from and lives) and nature. She is always enthusiastic when it comes to promoting the beautiful Argentine & southern South America's landscapes and natural areas. Paulina will be happy to help you, kindly answering all your questions and finding the best travel options for you.