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Ethan Kistler

Ethan Kistler hails from Ohio and began birding at the age of 10 when he literally woke up one morning and decided that he wanted to become a birder. Since then he’s worked field jobs from Ohio to Alaska, traveled to over 50 countries, and led birding trips throughout North America, Europe, and Africa (where he lived for 7 years). When not leading tours, he’s chasing rarities, off on spontaneous birding jaunts, and reviewing data as one of eBird’s data reviewers for much of the African continent. He currently sits on the board as a director-at-large for the Ohio Ornithological Society. Ethan’s main focus now is guiding and filling in gaps between tours with ornithology-related field work. Ethan has recently written the ABA's Field Guide to Birds of Ohio, published in 2019.

Upcoming Tours with Ethan

Testimonials for Ethan

The tour covered a HUGE amount of ground and multiple habitats, as I had hoped and as advertised. There was extraordinary opportunity and effort made to see as many birds as possible. Ethan and Stephen were excellent spotters and careful about describing location and descriptions to find obscured birds. Ethan also went to a lot of effort to scout out lunch and dinner stops, making that aspect of the trip extremely enjoyable as well. Finally, I really appreciated the non-birding stops - waterfalls and whaling in particular - we had a chance to truly see a range of Icelandic landscape and geology, towns and countryside, and not just because of the ground covered while driving.

- Christina B. on Iceland

Ethan's "inside knowledge" of special out-of-the-way sites to see new species was particularly impressive. We could rely on both leaders for information on habitat, nesting, behavior and other detail, which very much enhanced the experience, rather than simply "getting out of the car to see the bird". I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to bird with such stellar leaders. Also, well aware of Ethan's organizational efforts going on constantly behind the scenes.

- Christina B. on Iceland

Ethan was simply superb and we cannot wait to book another tour with him. He has boundless energy, enthusiasm and is extremely attentive to the needs of all participants.

- JC B. on Morocco in Spring

Ethan worked around the clock to maximize our chances to see our many target birds. He is superb at quickly getting us on the birds. His knowledge of South African birds is nonparallel.

- Gina S. on South Africa: The East

Ethan went above and beyond to ensure we all had an enjoyable, insightful, and exciting trip. His extensive knowledge and passion were evident from day one. This was my first birding tour and it was enthralling. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

- Amanda T. on Northwest Ohio: Spring Migration