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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 is an outstanding leader. Starting at the orientation meeting he clearly explained what was expected of us with respect to behavior on the trails, in the van, and he set up a WhatsApp group to facilitate communication with the group. He is extremely knowledgeable about the birds and their respective songs and calls. He is personable, outgoing, enthusiastic and patient. He works hard to ensure that everyone would see the birds that were being spotted. Our picnics, breakfasts and lunches both, were outstanding. Rich went out of his way to make them so. It is amply clear that he loves what he does. 

- Marisa W. on Oregon in Late Summer

Rich Hoyer is a joy to tour with. He not only knows the birds extremely well, but is well organized, good at communicating logistics, and patient with my repeated questions. His knowledge of birds, both visual and audio ID, are excellent, as is his ability to teach us about them. His knowledge and ability to communicate a wide variety of natural history makes for a very interesting (if sometimes overwhelming) tour. Lastly, his enthusiasm is contagious, especially for all the other things around us beyond the birds. 

- Paul K. on Mexico: Oaxaca at Christmastime

Rich likes to share his wealth of information, not only about birds, but on botany and all aspects of nature. I really appreciate it, and he does it judiciously and skillfully such that no one ever misses a single bird. Therefore, an en-Riched experience.

- Gil W. on Brazil: Marvelous Mato Grosso

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

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