Meet Felipe Guerrero | Owner & Guide at Arizona Birding Tours

We had the good fortune of connecting with Felipe Guerrero and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Felipe, what makes you happy? Why?
The first thing that comes to mind is exploring nature. It makes me happy because it makes me present.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our About page says “Arizona Birding Tours is about following passions – passion for being in nature, for exploring beautiful places and amazing birds, for getting the best possible photo, and for having new experiences that create lasting memories.” That is truly the essence of ABT.

I’m definitely feeling very proud of our expansion this year. We brought on 6 guides in February. Providing full- and part-time work for birders, especially younger birders, is very rewarding.

I think I got here because I want to do what I love as much and as often as possible. I have had the good fortune of knowing what I love from a very early age and I have always pursued it relentlessly. In that sense, perhaps it was easy because I knew what I wanted. It was a winding road to get here, though. I worked as professionally, as a traveling field biologist, then as an educator at a nonprofit, for nearly 10 years before I decided to start Arizona Birding Tours. There were lots of lessons along the way but the most valuable was learning the importance of getting out there in the world and trying things out. The road to Arizona Birding Tours had as much to do with learning what I didn’t want to do as much as what I did.

I think the world should know that every person at Arizona Birding Tours loves what they do. It is evidenced in our every day lives outside of guiding. We eat, sleep, and breathe birds and exploring and learning about the natural world.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Whenever friends come to visit plans revolve around a camping trip. Of course, you can’t come to Arizona without having some good Mexican food so that’s on the itinerary as well. But it’s all about the natural wonders in Arizona. Grand Canyon in northern AZ, the Kofa Mountains in western AZ, or the Chiricahua Mountains in Southeastern AZ, and anywhere else with mind-blowing wilderness and scenery.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My undergrad professor Carl Tomoff deserves credit. His mentorship and contagious love of nature is why I’m doing what I’m doing today.

Website: www.arizonabirdingtours.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arizonabirdingtours