ABOUT US

Mottled Duck © Robert Royse

Professional Birding Guides

Florida Birding Guides is dedicated to helping you follow your passions—whether it’s discovering amazing birds, capturing that perfect photo, exploring beautiful places, or simply embracing your love of nature. Our expert guides specialize in creating personalized birding experiences tailored to your specific interests and skill level. Our unique approach combines the invaluable knowledge of local guides with the dedicated customer support provided by our administrative team. With a focus on flexibility and progressive client-centric policies regarding reservations, payments, and cancellations, we strive to create a smooth and unforgettable experience for you. We can’t wait to share our passion for Florida’s birds with you!

Kenny Miller – Guide

Kenny, originally hailing from Northeast Philadelphia, embarked on a transformative journey when he moved to South Florida with his family in 1993. As a young boy, he instantly fell in love with Florida's vast and diverse landscapes, nurturing a lifelong passion for nature and wildlife. In 2012, Kenny became an avid birder, capturing high-quality photos and videos of the beautiful birds and wildlife that call Florida home. His nearly 15 years of experience with over 400 species of birds in the state has enabled him to lead private, individualized birding and photography tours, as well as group tours for Audubon-affiliated non-profits... (click to expand)

Kenny’s journey took a creative turn when he earned a film degree in 2020. This new skill set along with a life long obsession with video production allowed him to blend his love for birding with the art of storytelling, producing captivating videos that highlight Florida’s avian wonders. Beyond his passion for birds, Kenny has over a decade of experience working in mental health and substance abuse. Through this work, he discovered the profound benefits of mindfulness in easing stress and anxiety. He now integrates these principles into his birding tours, offering a unique experience that promotes mental well-being through the soothing practice of birdwatching.

Kenny is currently the creator and admin of the Palm Beach County, FL. rare bird alert group chat which sends updates and alerts to over 150 birders regarding rare birds in the county. He also works very closely with the 2 Palm Beach County eBird reviewers on a daily basis discussing and debating rare bird sightings in Palm Beach. He is currently working on a Florida birding documentary called BirdingRx which has been sponsored by Kowa Optics.

Jim Collins – Guide

Originally from the upper Midwest, Jim has called Florida home for 25+ years and lives in the Sarasota, Florida area with his family. He has had a life-long passion for birds, wildlife, and nature, and that passion was intensified when he moved to Florida and was surrounded by its vast array of birdlife, wildlife, and environments. Jim has very specifically focused on birding and bird photography over the last 10 years and has now birded in all of Florida’s 67 counties, having seen nearly 400 species of birds in Florida and photographed most of them. He also currently serves as an E-bird reviewer for Manatee County... (click to expand)

In addition to the practical side of birding with its beauty and variety, Jim also brings an academic bent to the learning and science of birding informed by his career background in theology and law. Raptors and owls hold a special interest to Jim, as do warblers and sparrows on the other end of the spectrum. Jim has been able to view and photograph all 34 species of diurnal North American raptors and all US warblers and sparrows. The Crescent-chested Warbler remains the only outlier in the warbler world to his finding and photographing all US warblers.

Jim enjoys birding and photography across three generations in his family, as his son and grandson are both very active birders as well.

John Groskopf – Guide

A true Floridian, John was born and has lived in Florida all his life. While he has always been passionate about birds – his mother stating his first word was “bird”- John began seriously birding around late 2017. Since then he has traveled extensively throughout the peninsula, seeking not only the birds of Florida, but also the unique habitats and birding community within, juggling travels with his career as a Registered Nurse... (click to expand)

John has a particular affinity towards pelagic birding and sea-watching, with keen interest in birding the unique tropical hardwood hammocks of southern Florida and the Keys. Equally enticing is a trip to the landfill for gulling! John enjoys the social and community aspect of birding as much as a good chase and hopes to elevate and expand birding and its community within Florida.

John is a current member of the Florida Ornithological Society’s records committee and is statewide Florida eBird reviewer.

Kyle Matera – Guide

Kyle, originally from New York, moved to Florida in 2007 to attend college on the Gulf Coast. He now resides in Palm Beach County, where he has lived since 2011. Kyle began birding casually in 2015 and it quickly evolved into an obsession. Over the last 10 years, he has become extremely well-versed in the birdlife of Florida, specializing in South Florida and Palm Beach County. Kyle has extensively traveled the state, visiting every county and observing over 450 species of birds in Florida... (click to expand)

Kyle, an educator and mental health professional, has a particular passion for the therapeutic benefits that birding offers. While he enjoys chasing rarities and seeking out tough-to-find birds, he also advocates for taking the time to be mindful of the experience and appreciating every bird. Kyle also has a keen interest in wildlife photography, always aiming to document the species that he encounters.

Kyle’s experience has resulted in leading tours for the local university as well as regional and state Audubon chapters. He currently serves as an eBird reviewer for Palm Beach County.

Brian Cammarano – Guide

Having called South Florida his home since birth, Brian now resides in Pensacola, located in the far Western Florida Panhandle. Over the years, he has grown a deep connection and appreciation for the many sensitive ecosystems throughout Florida. Eventually becoming hyper-focused on birds, his birding journey began in 2017. Since then, he has lived all throughout the state in cities like Orlando, Fort Myers and Miami, where he has gained a well-rounded grasp of what Florida birding has to offer... (click to expand)

Brian currently works for Audubon FL as the panhandle’s Shorebird Stewardship Coordinator, where he works with staff, volunteers and partners of the Florida Shorebird Alliance to help protect Florida’s imperiled beach-nesting birds, including Snowy Plovers and Black Skimmers. Throughout the state of Florida, he has held seasonal positions monitoring Florida Scrub-Jay productivity, conducting Black Rail detection surveys and banding migratory songbirds at the Cape Florida Banding Station. He is closing in on listing his 400th species of bird for Florida.

With a special interest towards shorebirds and seabirds, Brian spends most of his time birding the coast where he explores the dunes and tidal flats of barrier islands in search of vagrants and local rarities. Brian also finds the phenomenon of bird migration fascinating, always keeping an eye out for favorable conditions to get the most out of spring and fall migration.

Brian has guided for the North Shore Birding Festival in Central Florida and leads bird outings throughout the year under his current position with Audubon FL.

Felipe Guerrero – Owner & Guide

Felipe started his birding career 17 years ago as a college student studying natural history and ecology in Prescott, Arizona. The more he learned about birds the more he discovered about himself and his passion for exploring the natural world and sharing the experience with others... (click to expand)

After several years of avian field surveys, graduate school, adventures in non-profit environmental education, and countless birding trips across the US and to destinations such as Chile, northern Mexico, and Dominican Republic, he started what would become American Birding Guides in 2018.

Florida was one of several places Felipe lived and worked in his years as a field biologist. In spring of 2011 he helped operate a banding station in Bill Baggs State Park on Key Biscayne and got his first taste of Florida’s staggering bird diversity. He is excited to return to Florida in years to come and explore more in this amazing state.

Felipe is the owner and lead guide of American Birding Guides and Florida Birding Guides. He is currently a member of the Arizona Bird Committee, and a former eBird reviewer for Yavapai, Navajo, and Apache Counties. In the past he served as Field Expeditions Chair and board member for Arizona Field Ornithologists, as well as board member for Prescott Audubon Society.