Jake Mohlmann holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Parks and Recreation Management from The Pennsylvania State University, where he was instrumental in forming the university’s first official Student Bird Club.
Raised in rural northeast Pennsylvania, Jake is a lifelong birdwatcher and conservationist. He has worked for New York City’s Museum of Natural History and for Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Science, and made significant contributions to the field work for the most recent edition of the Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas. But a summer in Portal, Arizona, convinced Jake that the Southwest was where he needed to be.
After graduating in 2005, Jake, assured of an hourly job with the University of Arizona, packed up his car and hit the road for Tucson. Since then he has worked on projects involving Burrowing Owls at the Salton Sea and counted secretive marsh birds in the lower Colorado River basin. He also spent a summer leading tours on St. Paul Island, isolated in the middle of the Bering Sea, and has worked on the identification and monitoring of endangered species in South Texas. He has recently spent much time in the Mojave Desert working with the highly endangered Mojave Desert Tortoise and Golden Eagle.
It was on St. Paul that Jake lived a birder’s dream, with the first Western Hemisphere record of Northern Boobook—subject of a subsequent cover photo and article in North American Birds in 2007.
Jake and his college friend John Yerger are the founders of Adventure Birding, for which Jake led tours to destinations from Alaska to southern Mexico while specializing in southeastern Arizona. His voluminous knowledge of ornithology and natural history is enhanced by attention to detail and meticulous planning, along with a genuine gift for sharing and interpreting observations afield.
Still taken with the American Southwest, Jake also enjoys traveling in, and leading tours around, South America.
I have been on numerous group tours both with WINGS and others. This tour with Jake ranks very near if not AT THE TOP. Jake is a perfect guide, knowledgeable about birds and related topics. He is patient making sure that the birders have good looks etc. He is also a good and careful driver . The seven participants meshed well and the accommodations and meals excellent. I loved that most lunches were picnics.
- Claude B. on Arizona: A Winter Week in the Southeast
This is not only the best tour but our best vacation taken. Jake was an outstanding all-purpose guide. The trip offered off-the-beaten path places to bird plus several scenic scenic national parks and national forests in AZ and UT. Even non-birders would enjoy this trip and if you were not a good birder, Jake would “put you on the bird”. He has a keen ear for bird calls and is an awesome interpreter for the geology and natural history the area has to offer. Jake, well done! We can’t wait to bird/sightsee with you again.
- Jean A. on Arizona and Utah
Everything was perfect. Jake is a superb leader with tremendous birding skills as well as great people skills. The B&B was comfortable and charming, and the food ws fantastic. Even the birds put on a show, and Jake had us in a perfect place to watch.
- MaryAnn T. on Arizona: A Winter Week in the Southeast
This was an excellent tour, the perfect mix of sightseeing and bird watching. It was the fastest 12 days I’ve ever spent. It was as well my third tour with Jake and he was, as always,sensitive to everyone’s abilities, capabilities and desires.
- Kristi S. on Arizona and Utah
Jake is simply the best guide you could have. His love of birds is obvious and his knowledge of SE Arizona is so impressive. The other birders were so supportive and helpful. It was my first birding vacation and it couldn't have been more perfect. I wish I could go on each and every one of the Wings tours.
- Jen K. on Arizona: A Winter Week in the Southeast