Lance Tanino

Lance Tanino was born and raised in Hawaii (Oahu) and has been passionate about birds since the age of 10. He received his Zoology degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and his M.S. degree (Environmental Studies with Concentration in Conservation Biology) from Antioch University New England. Lance also experienced short-term college prep high school teaching as an Environmental Studies and Upper School Ecology teacher in Vermont and Pennsylvania. Lance spent over 20 years conducting fieldwork on birds, plants, and fishes for federal, state, and non-profit organizations in Hawaii, Midway Atoll, Northern Mariana Islands, Montana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Along the way, Lance’s passion for birding has taken him to Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Belize. In recent years, Lance gained valuable experience as a group leader and assistant leader for small and large groups visiting the Hawaiian Islands for bird watching. 

Lance is the owner of Hawaii Bird Guide LLC and as a naturalist, he provides natural history guiding services specializing in outings to Hakalau Forest NWR and pelagics off the Kona coast on Hawaii Island as well as the other islands. Lance got his initial informal training as a guide by serving as a volunteer field trips coordinator and leader for Hawaii Audubon Society in the early 1990s. Since then he’s also volunteered as a leader for Sierra Club-Maui Chapter and Monadnock Chapter of New Hampshire Audubon.

Lance serves as editor of the upcoming edition of Hawaii’s Birds by the Hawaii Audubon Society, Hawaiian Islands Region Editor for the North American Birds quarterly journal (ABA), Hawaiian Islands and U.S. Minor Outlying Islands Regional Reviewer for eBird (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), committee member for Western Field Ornithologists’ Hawaii Bird Records Committee, and steering committee member for the Hawaii Island Festival of Birds. He also uses social media to educate and bring awareness to the public. Check out his birding and conservation pages: Hawaii Birdwatching, Seawatching (land-based), and Hawaii Conservation.