The Team
António Cotão
António was born in Portalegre, North Alentejo and studied Biology at the University of Algarve. He grew up in a small village where he developed a special connection with nature from a very early age. After his studies, he spent time as a volunteer in wildlife conservation. He eventually started working in a wildlife rescue centre and, some years later, in an environmental organisation focusing on birdlife studies and conservation. António has 15 years’ field experience in Southern Portugal and has a great knowledge of its biodiversity and birdlife in particular. He regularly travels abroad to birdwatch and, apart from birds, enjoys hiking and has an interest in butterflies, mammals and flowers. He is active in the preservation of the environment and is committed to wildlife conservation, supporting several projects on biodiversity conservation. António has guided for Birds & Nature since 2022.
Bernardo Barreto
Bernardo was born in Lisbon and has been passionate about nature since he was a child. He has a degree in Human Resources Management and developed his work in this area with several national and international companies in the hospitality and tourism industry, taking on different management positions which deepened his appreciation of the issues of training, development and quality of service. Bernardo also teaches at Lisbon’s Hospitality & Tourism School, where he has worked since 2009. Motivated by a passion for all things related to the environment, nature and tourism, he began collaborating with Birds & Nature in the area of business development. In order to deepen his expertise in that discipline, he later obtained a post graduate qualification in Ecotourism. He has more than 20 years’ experience of birding and over the last few years has guided hundreds of birding tours in Portugal, especially in the Lisbon estuaries area. Bernardo is also an enthusiastic and accomplished photographer and is fluent in both English and French. He has guided for Birds & Nature since 2009 and is one of its principal guides.
Eduardo Realinho
Eduardo was born in Guarda where, from a young age, he took an interest in birds and nature generally. It was while studying Biology at Aveiro University that he developed his identification skills and knowledge of the birds of Portugal. He began his career as a Field Biologist at a privately-owned protected area where he was engaged in the conservation of, in particular, large birds of prey, simultaneously gaining experience in the sphere of nature tourism. He has worked throughout Iberia as a professional ornithologist and has an intimate knowledge of the region’s diverse habitats and the birds that occupy them. Eduardo is well-travelled and particularly enjoys observing the birds of other parts of the world, but is never happier than when showing visitors the wealth and variety of birds in Portugal. Based in Mértola, a must-visit location for birdwatching in Portugal, he continues a career studying threatened birds of prey and specialist steppe species. Eduardo has guided for Birds & Nature since 2022.
Guillaume Réthoré
Guillaume was born in Western France and became interested in nature at a young age. He began birding at the age of 15, going out every Sunday morning with a local group. That lead him to study Biology and specialize in wetland ecology at the University of Angers (Western France). He trained at several nature reserves in France, studying Red Knots and European Pond Turtles. He was involved with the LPO (BirdLife International partner in France) in his region, becoming a member of the local committee and taking part in various bird monitoring and census projects. In 2009, he worked in Texas, studying Black-capped Vireo and Golden-cheeked Warbler at Texas A&M University. Guillaume moved to Portugal in 2010 where he trained as a bird ringer and is a member of the National Directorate of the Portuguese Association of Bird Banders (APAA). He regularly collaborates with SPEA (BirdLife International partner in Portugal). He is a regional coordinator for the common bird census and an eBird reviewer. He works regularly with environmental consultancy companies, focusing mostly on raptor migration but also on environmental impact assessment in North Africa. Guillaume has birdwatched in more than 10 countries and has guided for Birds & Nature since 2022.
Helder Cardoso
Helder was born in west Portugal and began birding at the age of 11. Having developed his skills as a bird bander, with special focus on moult in passerines, he was a founding member and is the vice-president of the Portuguese Association of Bird Banders (APAA). His considerable knowledge in the field of ornithology has led him to writing and co-authoring several articles and books on the subject as well as becoming, in 2018, a voting member of the Portuguese Rarities Committee. He has worked all over Portugal in various environmental impact assessment and academic projects, which have enabled him to gain substantial experience of less studied habitats and their associated species. Besides birding, he also dedicates time to other winged groups such as moths, butterflies and dragonflies. Helder is a keen and enthusiastic nature communicator. He has guided for Birds & Nature since 2015 and is one of its principal guides.
Hugo Sampaio
Hugo was born in Coimbra, central Portugal, and holds a degree in Biology. From an early age, he developed a passion for nature and outdoor activities, especially birdwatching. Professionally, he has worked on various conservation projects with SPEA, BirdLife International in Portugal, including monitoring the Azores Bullfinch population, assessing the impact of power lines on birds, and contributing to the Portuguese Atlas of Wintering and Migratory Birds and the Atlas of Breeding Birds. Additionally, he was involved for more than a decade in the conservation of Obô Natural Park and the study of its endemic species, in São Tomé and Príncipe. He is currently working on the conservation of threatened steppe birds such as the Great Bustard, Little Bustard and Montagu’s Harrier. With his extensive field experience, Hugo began working as a nature guide a decade ago and has led birdwatching tours in Portugal and the Azores, as well as in Spain, Greece, São Tomé and Príncipe and Bhutan. He has been guiding for Birds & Nature since 2023.
João Jara
João was born in Lisbon and studied Biology at the Faculdade de Ciências de Lisboa, from where he developed his professional career in the pharmaceutical industry, as senior manager and director of various multinational companies. With some 40 years of field experience, he has an intimate knowledge of the birds and birding in Portugal. He has travelled extensively in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas with birding as the main objective. João was a member of the national board of SPEA (BirdlLife International partner in Portugal) and was a voting member of the Portuguese Rarities Committee from 2005 until 2011 and chairman of the committee from 2007 until 2011. Author and co-author of articles about birds, João is also co-author of the book Where to Watch Birds in Southern Portugal. In 2008, he launched the first Portuguese company totally dedicated to the organization of birdwatching tours, Birds & Nature Tours Portugal, which he manages and guides many of its tours, as well as presenting bird identification courses. Besides birds, he has an active special interest in amphibians, reptiles and fish.
Miguel Rodrigues
Miguel was born in Viana do Castelo and grew up next to the River Minho where, from a young age, he developed a deep interest in the countryside, nature and its conservation. A lover of the mountains, the underwater world and all natural environments, he graduated in Biology at Aveiro University. He pursued his thesis in the mountains of the Algarve, where he conducted research on the habitat of the Iberian Lynx. In addition to mammals, his interests widened to cover birds, flora and monumental trees. He co-founded the association Árvores de Portugal and has organized numerous lectures, activities and field trips dedicated to conservation and biodiversity, as well as publishing several articles online and a book about trees. Having trained as a divemaster, he has also acted as a diving guide. He started birding in 1997 and has carried out field work on a variety of bird species, as well as conducting bird diversity surveys in different locations in Portugal. Based in the Algarve, he regularly participates in annual bird censuses, as well as specific species censuses (e.g. Osprey, Western Jackdaw, Short-eared Owl, Barn Owl). Certified as a nature guide, he has been leading nature tours in the Algarve since 2015 and has guided for Birds & Nature since 2024.
Pedro Moreira
Pedro was born in Mozambique, grew up in Aveiro (northwest Portugal) and obtained a degree in Biology at the University of Lisbon. He holds a Masters in Conservation Biology and a PhD in Behavioural Ecology, having conducted field-based academic research for 16 years. He has a life-long passion for wildlife, especially for birds, starting his birdwatching at an early age, after receiving his first bird guide. Since 2011 Pedro has worked as an environmental consultant engaged primarily on bird population monitoring, including the migration of soaring birds across major migratory flyways. This work has taken him on extended field trips in Portugal and abroad (Egypt and Djibouti). Currently based in Aveiro, Pedro is an enthusiastic local birdwatcher. His dedication has led to the discovery of several new bird species in his district, and he is known for finding rarities, particularly within his local patch. He has participated in and regionally coordinated several national bird censuses, including the Portuguese Breeding Bird Atlas. He also initiated the monthly sea-watching counts in Aveiro. Pedro has co-authored studies on birds and serves as a regional editor for eBird. He has been guiding birdwatching tours since 2020 and has guided for Birds & Nature since 2024.
Ray Tipper
Ray is a life-long birdwatcher who left his native Britain in 1973 and spent most of the next 22 years in Hong Kong where he was a trustee of WWF and became intimately involved with its renowned Mai Po Nature Reserve. He has wide-ranging field experience in both the Palearctic and Nearctic regions and is especially familiar with birdwatching in Portugal, a fact that was recognized in 2007 with his appointment as a member, and in 2017 the chairman, of the Portuguese Rarities Committee. He led his first birdwatching tours in 1997, since when he has guided more than 100 bird and bird photography tours in Europe, North, Central and South America, Asia and Africa (including Madagascar). He has authored some 20 papers and articles and is the author/co-author of three books – A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of Hong Kong, Algarve Wildlife – the Natural Year and Where to Watch Birds in Southern Portugal, but is best known as a bird photographer whose work is published all over the world. He has guided for Birds & Nature since 2014.
Ricardo Tomé
Ricardo is an ornithologist and ecology expert with a huge passion for owls, which led him to a Ph.D. on the ecology of Barn and Little Owls in Mediterranean habitats. A birdwatcher since he was 10, Ricardo has been working professionally in ornithology for the past 30 years. Apart from owls, the main subjects of interest are bird migration, raptors and the use of radar in the study of bird movements. He has been involved both as a coordinator and field worker in the main national bird monitoring schemes, such as breeding birds atlas, common bird census and migratory soaring birds monitoring. He is the scientific director of an international environmental consultancy, mostly dealing with the impact of wind energy on wildlife and how to mitigate adverse effects. In this context he has conducted extensive ornithological work in different regions of Africa and the Middle East. Ricardo is also very solidly committed to nature conservation. He maintains an enduring relationship with SPEA (BirdLife International partner in Portugal), a body he helped to found and was a member of its national board and the steering committee of the general assembly between 1995 and 2006. He was then president of the national board from 2006 to 2010. Ricardo has guided birdwatching tours for Birds & Nature since 2009.
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Photos by Pedro Marques
