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Rich Hoyer

Rich Hoyer began keying out wildflowers, raising butterflies and moths in his bedroom, netting tadpoles and dragonfly larvae, and catching snakes, lizards, moles, and voles with his younger brother and father before he finally discovered birding at the age of 14. After graduating with bachelors degrees in Zoology and German he began his dream guiding career in 1996 as a local guide on Saint Paul Island in Alaska’s Pribilofs. He has been a full-time leader for WINGS since September 1997.

His musical ear is always tuned into bird voices, and he has nearly instant recall of thousands of bird songs and call notes in his head, but his interests in other areas of natural history have only grown, and he continues to enjoy learning about various forms wildlife such as damselflies, keying out composites, and photographing beeflies, among many others. His other passions and hobbies include playing piano, singing, learning languages, cooking, baking bread, gardening, and knitting. He currently lives in his homestate of Oregon.

The diversity of Rich’s natural history interests is well represented in his blog, Birdernaturalist.

Upcoming Tours with Rich

Testimonials for Rich

Great tour. Rich Hoyer is a savant with birds (and other wildlife) and is worth the money just to watch.

- William H. on Costa Rica in Spring

Rich is an excellent leader. His ability to call birds in, vary his "owl" dialects, and get participants seeing the birds is stellar. He has attention to detail for every aspect of the tour start to finish!

- Kathy C. on Mexico: Oaxaca at Christmastime

Rich Hoyer is an excellent tour guide. I have participated in many tours and he is one of the favorite guides I have traveled with. He is extremely patient in pointing out birds to all participants. He will really try to get everyone on the birds. He is knowledgeable about all things plants, animals, and butterflies. Rich shares life experiences about other tours and music as well. I enjoyed these conversations.

- Jane S. on Brazil: The Northeast - Bahia the Beautiful

Rich and Jairo did an excellent job leading the trip. Their knowledge of the birds and other wildlife was top-notch. They both did a good job communicating plans to the group on a regular basis. Once we got the hang of how it all worked, it was pretty smooth to figure out what we had to do each day. I like the presentations at night and the level of detail shared. That reduced some anxiety and made the trip less stressful.

- Andy F. on The Galápagos Islands

Rich was extremely knowledgeable about the birds and their calls. He had an uncanny ability to bring birds in when we stopped for whatever reason. I appreciated his knowledge and willingness to spend time with flowers, insects, and other wildlife that appeared. His language facility and ability to engage in interesting conversations with all of the participants made the trip pleasurable. 

- Dana L. on Brazil: Minas Gerais
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