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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

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

This is, by far, one of the best birding tours EVER for me. The location with its birding opportunities, the time of year (Christmas getaway!) and the general pace of the tour were great. Of course, all of this was made possible by Rich Hoyer who was a fantastic guide, sharing his love for this region of Mexico and his endless enthusiasm for the natural world.

- Alane G. on Mexico: Oaxaca at Christmastime

Rich has such a deep knowledge of general natural history, not just birds, and a sense of delight in everything we saw. In addition, he is just an all-around nice, helpful person, which made it a really special experience to be able to travel around with him. Plus he can change a flat tire like a boss and was completely calm and in control during what could have been a rather frightening and unpleasant experience. And he drove all the way back to Cabo to pick up a new vehicle for us in the middle of the night when the rental company failed to show up with a new vehicle. There's no way to avoid things like that, and the sign of a really top-notch guide is the ability to deal with unforeseen circumstances with competence and grace, which Rich exceeded.

- Lisa S. on Mexico: Baja California's Cape Region

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 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