Eric Hynes at Miramonte Reservoir. — Photo by Pam LeBlanc

About Box Canyon Birding

My name is Eric Hynes and I have been fascinated by birds and passionate about birding since I first heard the ghostly wailing of a Common Loon at summer camp in Maine almost 40 years ago. Upon completion of my B.S. at the University of Vermont, where I studied environmental studies and wildlife biology, I began a serious endeavor as a bird hobo that lasted more than a decade. My travels ranged across the U.S. with a number of trips to Central America as well. During this quest, I did everything from monitoring breeding raptors in the Snake River Canyon in Idaho, to guiding for two summers in Alaska on St. Paul Island in The Pribilofs, to ground squirrel rustling in Montana, to owl banding and hawk counting in Pennsylvania. I have worked with birds in one capacity or another in 17 different states and have simply enjoyed birding in numerous others.

Getting married to Christine helped me settle into a fulltime position at Maine Audubon but not until after a birding trip to Panama not-so-cleverly disguised as our honeymoon. As the staff naturalist and adult education coordinator, I taught numerous bird identification workshops and led field trips locally and abroad for Maine Audubon. My positive energy and infectious enthusiasm for all things wild has drawn many a convert to birding and conservation. I served several terms on the Maine Bird Records Committee.

My family and I relocated to the Telluride community in the summer of 2016. We feel very fortunate to be year-round residents in the spectacular San Juan Mountains.

Since 2012, I have been guiding part-time for Field Guides Inc., which has truly been one of the greatest pleasures of my life. As a Tour leader, I have birded in The Galapagos, Australia, Iceland, France, Mexico, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous destinations across the United States. As much as I enjoy guiding internationally on longer tours, my love and dedication to my family limits my stints away from home. Helping people find birds and explore nature is something I can never get enough of so I started Box Canyon Birding to help me get my fix closer to home.

o   Box Canyon Birding is an LLC and is fully insured. Eric Hynes maintains current certification in First Aid/CPR/AED and was trained and certified as a Wilderness First Responder but that certification has lapsed.