Luke Seitz
After short-lived obsessions with dinosaurs, snakes, and whales, Luke Seitz’s birding career took off when a brilliant male Scarlet Tanager graced his Connecticut yard when he was only six years old. Birds then became his new focus and he hasn’t looked back since. Trips to Arizona and Colorado during middle school provided more fuel for the fire, and a week-long stint in northwest Ecuador at age 14 opened Luke’s eyes to the avian diversity that South America has to offer.
Luke was the youngest in his high school class, so after graduating in 2010, he opted to take some time off and explore a bit. Over the past two years, he has spent about a quarter of his time in South America, with a heavy focus on Ecuador but also making quick jaunts to central Peru, southern Chile, and Argentina. He is very familiar with the birdlife of northwest Ecuador, and has a keen interest in bird vocalizations. Of course, it’s hard to top the brilliant hummingbirds and tanagers, but Luke also finds a certain satisfaction in piecing together the identification of difficult tyrannulets and Furnariids.
Luke also has a keen interest in art, and has had his work published in several national publications. He may or may not be working on plates for a yet-to-be-announced field guide to a certain tropical country, but we’ll hope that rumor solidifies soon! Aside from birds, Luke plays a bit of guitar and piano, and is almost done with the college application process (finally!). He hopes to go back to school in the fall of 2012 to diversify his education experience, while still traveling and learning about the birdlife and culture of the rest of the world.