GUIDES
(alphabetical by last name)

Seth Benz has served as Assistant to the Curator at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, director of Hog Island Audubon Camp, and is now the Senior Bird Engagement Specialist at Schoodic Institute in Acadia National Park. He coordinates bird migration monitoring projects, leads birding tours, and facilitates field ornithology experiences. Seth is currently on the board of Frontiers in Ornithology: https://frontiersinornithology.com.

Sherry Billings is an avid birder whose love of birds began in childhood and has grown into a lifelong pursuit of learning, observation, and conservation. She is especially drawn to the rich coastal and forest habitats of Maine, where seasonal migrations and diverse ecosystems offer endless opportunities for discovery. Acadia National Park holds a special place in her birding journey, from scanning rocky shorelines for seabirds to listening for warblers during spring migration. Sherry enjoys sharing the joy of birding with others, whether helping newcomers learn field marks and bird song, participating in citizen science efforts, or contributing to local conservation initiatives. She believes birding deepens our connection to place and strengthens our commitment to protecting the landscapes birds depend on. When she's not in the field with binoculars in hand, Sherry can often be found on MDI in her role as Executive Director at Island Housing Trust.


Chris Brown has been an active birder from a very young age; he maintains that among his earliest memories is the first bird he identified without use of a field guide: a Brown-headed Cowbird in his suburban New Jersey backyard, around the age of 5. After beginning his college career at the University of Montana, Chris took several years to gain experience through biological field work. This chapter of his life led him through jobs in 10 states and with multiple bird observatories, including breeding bird surveys in Montana, bird and habitat surveys in several other Rocky Mountain States, breeding bird atlas work in Ohio and counting migrating hawks and seabirds in Cape May and Sandy Hook, New Jersey.  He is now a professional guide with Wildside Nature Tours.

Anne Dalton was born and raised in Portland Maine and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Animal Science. She has spent most of her working years raising boys with her husband Greg on Mount Desert Island since 1991. Soon after moving, she discovered she had a family history on the island dating back to some of the original settlers. Anne has been an avid birder since 1987 when her brother arrived from Utah with a new obsession to share. Anne is a retired school counselor at Tremont Consolidated School where she started a birding club for kids and tries to promote the benefits of finding joy in the outdoors. Other interests include, golf, boating, biking, hiking- anything that takes her outside where the birds are!


Dotty Holcomb Doherty is a writer and wildlife photographer who has made birding a way of life since taking an ornithology class at Earlham College. A retired high school biology and environmental science teacher, she enjoys eco-traveling around the world, and since 2014, has shared her wildlife photos in a daily email blog to hundreds of subscribers. After 22 years in Annapolis, Maryland, Dotty and her husband Jonathan moved to New Hampshire in 2021, renewing their loves of hiking and snowshoeing in the mountains, and of Nordic skating on frozen lakes and rivers.




Jonathan Doherty is one of many whose interest in birds started with an ornithology course at Earlham College. He has been birding ever since, still traveling with other Earlhamites to explore the world of birds. Jonathan is retired from a long career leading landscape scale conservation in the six-state Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Columbia River Gorge, and at a number of national parks. He also has a business making fine chocolates!



Toni Evans divides her time between Brookeville, Maryland and Goose Cove, Maine. She is happiest out of doors and loves every aspect of the natural world. She got hooked on birding at Earlham college where she graduated with a BA in Biology. As a teacher she helped lead student trips to the Peruvian Amazon multiple times. She has traveled throughout the US, Galapagos, Kenya, South Africa, Europe, Panama, and Ireland, bins at the ready. She likes to say that birding is like Christmas morning, there's a gift waiting every time you go out.



Matthew Gilbert is a birder and Mainer currently studying Ecology and Data Science at Cornell University (Class of '26). He's worked on a variety of research projects at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, including Merlin Sound ID and eBird Status and Trends. His work focuses on applying machine learning models to analyze citizen science datasets, an interest which he will continue to pursue this fall through a PhD in quantitative ecology. Matthew loves warblers, black spruce bogs, cool maps, ragtime piano, and birding-by-habitat in remote areas.



Michael J. Good, MS. Biologist/naturalist, President of Down East Nature Tours in Bar Harbor, Maine and Founder of Warblers and Wildflowers Festival (1998-2007), Acadia Birding Festival (2008-present) and the Penobscot Watershed Eco Center, Bar Harbor. He has over 30 years experience studying the birds of North America and brings a wealth of knowledge about Neotropical migrants and the avifauna of the Eastern United States. Michael has traveled extensively in the US, Alaska, Europe, Australia, South America and Cuba. He is a regional business leader promoting sound ecologically practices in business, government and land development. A Registered Maine Guide, Michael has been guiding professionally for many years through his company Down East Nature Tours focusing on avian ecology in the Gulf of Maine. In his spare time he maintains Three Pines Bird Sanctuary in Town Hill, Maine, studying micro-habitat of Neotropical migratory birds on Mount Desert Island, Maine and winter ecology in various Neotropical countries when given the opportunity.

Billy Helprin is the Director of the Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary (in Somesville). Before working for the Sanctuary, Billy was the Mt. Desert Island Steward for Maine Coast Heritage Trust, managing Preserve properties and monitoring many conservation easements. He has a Master of Science degree from Utah State University and a Master of Arts in Teaching. Billy has enjoyed leading wildlife explorations and studies in the Rocky Mountain region for Great Plains Wildlife Institute, the Teton Science School, and Abercrombie and Kent; and in Kenya for the School for Field Studies. He has been involved with avian research and inventory projects in Ohio, Maine, Wyoming and Guatemala. Whenever possible, Billy enjoys getting out with friends or on his own to see and hear which bird species are nearby and what they are up to.

Doug Hitchcox, a Maine native, grew up in Hollis and graduated from the University of Maine in 2011. The year he graduated, he travelled to every corner of the state trying to observe as many species as possible in what is known as a ‘Big Year.’ He ended the year having seen 314 species in the state, a new record for Maine. Throughout college Doug worked at the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center running their store and leading walks and tours. Doug was hired as Maine Audubon’s Staff Naturalist in the summer of 2013, a long time “dream job” for him. In his free time, Doug is one of Maine’s eBird reviewers, owner and moderator of the ‘Maine-birds’ listserv, York County Audubon board member, and a member of the Maine Bird Records Committee.


Glenn Hodgkins has spent a lifetime observing the natural world in Maine. It wasn't until his daughter started identifying birds as a toddler, however, that he dove into birding. Twenty-four years later, he and his daughter remain passionate about birds and birding. Whenever possible outside of his day job as a research hydrologist, he's out birding locally and regionally in Maine. Glenn volunteered extensively over the last 5 years for the Maine Bird Atlas, in both the breeding and winter parts of the atlas. He also leads local and regional birding tours, mostly for the Augusta Birding Club, and enjoys seeing people get excited about birds. Glenn has also volunteered in recent years for the Finch Research Network, working on recording calls of the different Red Crossbill types.


Zachary Holderby is originally from Washington state. He has a BS in Wildlife Ecology from WSU and an MS in Wildlife Ecology from Texas State University. His masters research involved studying the ecological and reproductive differences between polymorphic Reddish Egrets in coastal Texas. He has done bird survey work in Colorado and SE Arizona, as well as conservation projects involving Sage Grouse in Nevada/Oregon, Blue-Fronted Amazons in Argentina, Blue-Throated Macaws in Bolivia, and Red Squirrels in the Yukon. He was a biologist for NPS in Channel Islands National Park in 2018 doing fox tracking, bird surveys, mouse grids and herp surveys. The last three summers he spent employed as a Maine Bird Atlas and Breeding Bird Survey Technician. Zach is a Maine Registered Guide doing kayak trips out of Stonington Paddle in Stonington, Maine. He loves hiking, photographt, backpacking and getting out and seeing new bird species and learning their different behaviors.

An Anhinga sparked Adam Kent's passion for birds when he was a child. Since then, his enthusiasm for the natural world has led to a variety of fun jobs and volunteer positions including working as a naturalist guide in Alaska, doing bird surveys across the US and Canada, writing the Peninsular Florida Bird Conservation Region (BCR 31) Plan, and serving as President of the Florida Ornithological Society. When not leading tours, Adam works as a biological consultant and presents various types of educational programs about birds. One of Adam's birding highlights was making recordings that led to the description of a new species of bird in Mexico, the Nava's Wren. Adam and his wife Gina live in Gainesville, Florida.


GIna Kent is a Senior Conservation Scientist for the non-profit Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI) based in Gainesville, Florida. WWW.ARCINST.ORG For her M.S in biology at Georgia Southern University, she used telemetry to study stopover ecology of migrating Swallow-tailed Kites in Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula. In the process of tagging more than 1,000 individual birds of 25 species, ARCI has developed novel ways to safely trap and attach transmitters to birds for conservation studies. Since 2000, Gina has used tracking technologies to study survival, breeding and movement ecology, and habitat use of raptors, magnificent frigate birds, wading birds, white-crowned pigeons, and mangrove cuckoos. Gina watches birds every day for work and for fun and enjoys co-lead field outings and birding trips with her husband Adam.



Craig Kesselheim is a retired educator and long-time resident of Southwest Harbor. He has birded for 50+ years, launched by a college ornithology course and charismatic teacher. Craig gets around to other hot spots in North America whenever possible, but has been Maine-based for over 30 years.






David Lamon is the Manager of the Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden, Maine. His background is a mix of environmental conservation, restoration, and education. David has worked as a National Park Service Ranger, teacher, and non-profit conservation professional conducting environmental research and restoration projects with common loons and sea-run fish.






Alex Lamoreaux has been an avid birder and naturalist his entire life. The ubiquitous Red-tailed Hawk was his spark bird and continues to be his favorite bird today! Alex has been a nomadic biologist, working in multiple countries and in dozens of US states for over 15 years before settling into full time bird-guiding as a senior leader and North America specialist for Wildside Nature Tours. Alex's love for nature shines through in his ever-enthusiastic approach to guiding, and he strives to bring the birding community together to conserve and protect wildlife.


Don Lima has been as avid birder ever since his grandfather first gave him a pair of binoculars at age 8. He pursued his passion for wildlife and the outdoors, attending the University of Maine, Orono, receiving a B.S. in Wildlife Management. Soon after he began working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and retired after 33 years of service. His greatest passion is continuing to share his love of birds, wildlife and being outdoors.





Kyle Lima works with Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park to study how organisms and natural systems are impacted by rapid environmental change. His first exposure to birding in 2012 sparked his love for birds and ended up defining his future career. He obtained a degree in wildlife ecology from the University of Maine in 2019 and has worked on projects related to bird ecology, forestry, phenology, ecosystem services, and climate and land-use change. These experiences made it clear to Kyle how important it is to inform conservation actions and connect people with nature. Kyle is also a hobbyist artist, photographer, adventurer, and woodworker.




Kristen Lindquist is, among other things, a writer and naturalist living in Camden and on Monhegan Island. Her spark bird was a Cedar Waxwing seen on her grandparents' farm when she was a kid. She regularly leads bird walks for various nonprofit organizations around the state. She has served as a member of the Maine Bird Records Committee and on the board of Friends of Maine Seabird Islands, and is currently a trustee of the Monhegan Associates, the island land trust. She was a contributing writer for the recent book "Birdwatching in Maine: A Site Guide."


James Longo is an ornithologist and birder. Since a young age he has felt at home in the forest and got hooked on birding when he heard his spark bird, a Red-eyed Vireo, singing during a birding field trip. He has been enthusiastically birding by ear ever since. He spent years working on various projects as a field biologist, including studying Black-capped Chickadees, Common Loons, and Florida Scrub-jays. After moving to Maine, he worked as a Breeding Bird Atlas technician for the project's final year. He has a B.S. in Wildlife Science from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and is currently a Master's student at the University of Maine studying Bicknell's Thrush breeding habitat.


Rebekah Lowell is an award-winning Maine artist, author/illustrator, naturalist, and educator. A survivor of domestic abuse, she's found comfort and healing in nature and shares this through her work which has been featured on the Maine Duck Stamp, the Common Ground Fair poster, quilting fabrics, her own products, and more. Her books,THE ROAD TO AFTER and CATCHING FLIGHT, are published with Penguin/Random House. Rebekah is an Adjunct Professor of Art, teaching nature journaling and graphic design at the University of New England. She earned her BFA from The Rhode Island School of Design, and MFA from Hollins University. She is earning her Nature Journal Educator certificate through the Wild Wonder Foundation, and Natural Science Illustration Certificate through RISD's Continuing Education program. She is a 2025 Maine Master Naturalist student and serves on the Board of Directors for York County Audubon.

Becky Marvil lives with her family in Yarmouth, Maine. She has a background in Biology (Earlham College) and in Ornithology and Computer Science (University of Colorado), and runs her own computer programming/webpage design business. She is pleased to be the Executive Director of the Acadia Birding Festival, combining her knowledge of webpage design, organizational skills, and love of birding. She is also the Secretary for the Maine Bird Records Committee, eBird Hotspot monitor for Maine, and on the Board of Maine Audubon. During her free time, she helps with local bird surveys, chases after rarities, and she loves to travel and enjoy birds in new locations.




Daniel McDermott is a former park ranger at Acadia National Park and is completing his PhD in environmental history at the University of Rochester. He discovered his love of birds while working on Mount Desert Island during the summer of 2017 and has been an avid birder ever since. Now based in Rochester, Daniel shares his enthusiasm for birding by leading local bird walks and coordinating volunteer efforts for Smash the Crash, an interdisciplinary research and advocacy initiative focused on bird-window collisions. His connection to downeast Maine remains strong, and he's happiest on the water-whether paddling his kayak or heading out on a whale-watching boat.


Brendan McKay gained an early love for birds from his grandmother whose house he visited on Great Diamond Island during his childhood. He studied Marine Biology at the University of Maine in Orono and worked for the Maine Coast Heritage Trust as part of their summer trail crew for three seasons. While working for the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, he gained a further appreciation for birds from the knowledgeable stewards who all shared a passion for the natural world. He discovered eBird in 2014 and has been thrown deeper down the rabbit hole ever since. He currently lives in Portland, ME where he enjoys birding local hotspots and takes pleasure in finding rare birds in unexpected places.


Greg Miller has been birding for over 50 years.... really before he can even remember. It was his father who got him into birding at an early age and he has birded in all 50 states and much of Canada, always smitten by the birding bug. Every trip out is an adventure! In 1998 Greg zigzagged across the continent–traveling 130,000 miles while trying to hold down a full time job at a nuclear power plant–to try to see as many species of birds in one calendar year as possible. It was an incredible experience passing the 700-species mark—an achievement many birders aspire to in a lifetime. But there was competition. Two other birders, Sandy Komito and Al Levantin also did Big Years the same year and also broke the 700-mark. These three competitive quests are documented in the 2004 non-fiction book, The Big Year, by Mark Obmascik, and later in 2011 made into a movie. Greg had the fortunate opportunity to be the Bird Consultant for the movie. Greg now guides for Wildside Nature Tours.


Kimberlie Moutoux is a lifelong nature explorer who hails from Pacifica, California. Her early years were influenced by a father who had a passion for bird study and led bird and nature walks for local K-12 students. He also served for 10 years on GGRO Hawk Watch. Kimberlie followed in his footsteps, learning about the birds of the SF Bay. She has been a member of the Alcatraz Waterbird Docent Program with the National Parks for the last 8 years and a member of GGRO Hawk watch since 2022. Kimberlie leads twice monthly walks for San Mateo County Bird Alliance and teaches Birding Your Patch for Golden Gate Bird Alliance. She also just completed her 5th year researching the birds of the Oak Woodlands on a 650 acre preserve in Woodside California. When not in the field, Kimberlie is a studio artist, working in fiber arts and watercolor. She has an MFA from the California College of the Arts. Kimberlie has attended Hog Island Audubon for the last 5 years and volunteered as a FOHI for the last 3. She spends summers in Maine where she has studied the local birds of New England.


Jan Pierson is one of the founders of the birding tour company Field Guides and a veteran of nearly 50 years of international birding and guiding. He has traveled far and wide to all continents, yet some of his favorite birding experiences remain simple ones: spring warbler migration, savoring good, long looks at birds, be they rare or common, tropical or temperate, and watching other birders thrill at their first-time discoveries. He has been on the microphone for dozens of pelagic trips off the Maine coast, and they are among his favorite outings...there's almost always something unexpected out there amongst the marine life!



Catherine Rees has worked as an ecological consultant in Maine since 2000 inventorying and assessing land use conditions, and providing management recommendations. She has also worked as a gardener and landscaper during this time designing, installing and maintaining plantings. The need to educate others about their native flora, its beauty, mystery and benefit to the ecosystem led her to cofound Native Gardens of Blue Hill.





Donna Reis, a lifelong bird enthusiast, based on Mount Desert Island, with a deep appreciation for the region's rich birdlife and habitats, enjoys helping others discover the joy of birding! Donna keeps the Acadia Birding Festival Facebook site active with posts, and she also serves as an editor for MDIBirds.com and is a moderator, bird advocate, and educator for the Facebook Group "MAINE Birds" where she helps foster a welcoming space for birders of all experience levels to learn, share sightings, and deepen their understanding of birds and birding ethics. As a guide, Donna brings a patient, enthusiastic approach to the field, combining local knowledge with a love of helping participants sharpen their observation skills, learn bird behavior, and connect more deeply with the natural world.


Jeff Romano Jeff Romano directs public policy at Maine Coast Heritage Trust, where he works with a broad coalition of organizations to promote and support land conservation activities throughout the state. An avid hiker and birdwatcher, Jeff is also an outdoor writer who has authored four guides with Mountaineers Books, including: 100 Classic Hikes of New England (2010), Day Hiking New England (2015), and Hike the Parks Acadia (2021).




Sue Shaw- Originally from the mid-west, Sue and her husband Harold have lived in Penobscot, Maine for 43 years. Sue retired from a 37-year teaching career in 2002, and in May, 2008 took her first Audubon bird walk. "It wasn't a 'spark bird'. It was a meteor flash", Sue says. Since that morning she has embraced birding with both arms, attending festivals ("what wonderful opportunities for learning-all of that expertise in such a concentrated area!"), taking classes and learning from CDs and videos. She always has her binoculars, whether biking, kayaking, or just out and about, "because you never know what will show up!" Sue is both Secretary and Field Trip and Program Chair for the local Downeast Audubon chapter, and celebrates her love of birding through both her poetry and her art.


Nathaniel Sharp encountered his spark bird, a Great Blue Heron, on the Delaware Bayshore at 11 years old and has been hooked on birding ever since. Growing up and getting his birding start in the Philadelphia area, he then attended the University of Vermont, where he received a BA in Wildlife Biology and began work as a point count technician for the Maine Bird Atlas shortly after graduating. With the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, he has assisted long term monitoring and banding of Bicknell's Thrush, Blackpoll Warbler, and other montane species, conducted statewide monitoring of native bees and butterflies, and led birding walks, naturalist outings, and workshops on eBird, iNaturalist, and community science. Nathaniel has enjoyed working as an instructor at Hog Island Audubon Family Camp the past few summers, and is especially passionate about welcoming and mentoring the next generation of birders and ecologists.

Bill Sheehan lives and birds in northern Maine, where he grew up. He is a registered Maine Guide and has been leading trips and guiding birders in the woods and wetlands of Maine for over 35 years. Bill was the president of the Aroostook Birders birding club and has been involved with the Maine Bird Records Committee since its inception. A reviewer for Maine eBird, Bill has a deep interest in the distribution and status of birds in Maine and co-author of Vickery's Birds of Maine. An avid duck-a-phile, Bill loves most scanning his favorite local patches for rare waterfowl and waders. Last spring he found Aroostook county's first Franklin's Gull while pumping gas (https://ebird.org/checklist/S240314959).


Tim Skillin, a birder for almost 30 years, settled in Brooklin, Maine in 2018 with his partner and fellow guide Molly to run an organic fruit orchard. When not tending to the orchard, Tim has enjoyed getting to know the flora and fauna of the Blue Hill peninsula, where he leads walks for Downeast Audubon and also serves on their board.






As an Environmental geologist, Ann Thayer chose a career that allowed her to spend her work-life outdoors where she could observe the natural world around her. Backyard birding and long time association with Audubon fed her curiosity about birds and led to more varied birding in Maine and Florida. More recently, she's honed her birding skills in the varied terrain of Maine, and during expeditions to the American Southwest, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Ann contributes to the birding and geology units of the Maine Master Naturalist program, and thanks to mentors along the way, she now leads birdwalks in Maine and Florida, where she's just as likely to point out an interesting rock or favorite tree species-though she's happiest when she learns something new along the way.

Val Watson has been a generalist nature nerd for as long as she's been able to go outside, first in Massachusetts and later in Maine. Val earned a bachelors and masters degree in ecology and environmental science at the University of Maine, where she did her best to focus on every natural history topic all at once. She has spent time living and working around the country, but Maine will always be home. In her current work, Val leads birding and other naturalist walks in central Maine and spends the rest of her time naturalisting without an audience.



Magill Weber has been birding since she was a little kid. After college, Magill worked as a bird bum on field projects around the country, wrote a MS thesis on the spring stopover ecology of Blackpoll Warblers, and was project director for The Nature Conservancy's California migratory birds program. Despite a hectic job as an in-house general counsel for a tech company, she birds the Maine coast pretty much every day. She is a past member of the Arizona Bird Records Committee and Maine Bird Records Committee and spent almost a decade on the board of the American Birding Association. She has had a number of articles and photos published in national birding publications and field guides and has birded on six continents and in every US state and Canadian province. The Maine coast is, hands down, her favorite place to bird.


Chuck Whitney is a local educator, who has lived in Hancock County since 1978. When not birding he can be found making Uilleann bagpipes and playing them in Irish music sessions.







Fred Yost started watching birds and enjoying nature as a child while tagging along with his parents, grandparents and the birding clubs they participated in. His interest in birding became more serious during his undergraduate studies at Eastern Connecticut State University where he was exposed to bird banding, birding by ear and tropical biology. Fred has worked for the Fish & Wildlife Service as a fisheries biologist for 18 years. He enjoys sharing birds with birders and non birders, dragonflies, carving, photography and hiking.