About Bill and WingsWest Birding

Bill’s attention was first caught by birds in the fourth grade when exposed to a science unit on birds’ beaks and feet. The following summer, as memory of the bird study faded, a Catbird visited Bill in his backyard for about fifteen minutes. What transpired between Bill and that avian messenger is not clear, but we do know that Bill proceeded to spend every spare moment that summer in the local woodlot attempting to get close to birds. Without binoculars, Bill put his skills of stealth to use, sometimes patiently crawling through the brush. But his reward, such as getting close enough to a male Yellow Warbler to see it’s superb red breast streaking, was often a moment of exhiliration. When an uncle presented him with a pair of binoculars at Christmas, Bill was on his way.

In the following four decades, Bill led tours for Massachusetts Audubon, Randall Davey Audubon, The Nature Conservancy, The Smithsonian, and Wild Birds Unlimited as well as taught classes for University of New Mexico/Los Alamos, Santa Fe Community College, and Ghost Ranch. Since 1996, Bill has operated WingsWest Birding and has conducted hundreds of tours in The Land of Enchantment, his home since 1980.