Philip Chaon

A life-long naturalist, Phil found an interest in birds while coping with the crushing reality there were not, and never would be, alligators in Cleveland. At 18 he left behind the power plants and gull flocks of his childhood and spent a year living in the Andes of Northwest Ecuador. Life among Lyre-tailed Nightjars and Ocellated Tapaculos taught him that, for him, the US was only a place to visit between forays to the tropics.

After some time studying botany and wildlife biology in the redwoods of Northern California, Phil spent the next few years taking field work jobs all over the globe. Banding birds in Peru, monitoring Fairy-wrens in Papua New Guinea, and surveying bird communities on coffee farms in Kenya were all great introductions to these areas. Transitioning from field work to guiding, Phil has spent the last 7 years leading birding, wildlife, and photography tours on 5 continents.

In addition to guiding, Phil works as an audio analyst, training AI systems to categorize bird songs and co-authored Habitats of the World and the forthcoming Habitats of North America. When not on tour, Phil lives in Albuquerque and occupies himself with long night drives, diving, gardening, and divining the secrets of perfect barbecue.