Tour Guides

JOE BEACH

JOHN KELLY

Born in Corpus Christi, graduated in Austin from the University of Texas. After a career in the Air Force, John returned to Austin. John has searched for birds in all 50 states as well as in several places overseas. His North American list includes over 630 different species. John has been president of Audubon chapters in North Dakota, Illinois and Texas and is currently president of the Audubon Council of Texas.

KAREN KILFEATHER

Award-winning photographer Karen Kilfeather is currently consulting and developing varied eco tourism programs and nature photography workshops with local ranchers, including photo documentation with GPS mapping of various wildlife and their lands. Having attended Florida State University and the Art Institute of Florida, Karen has pursued her life-long dedication to the environment and its wildlife throughout the U.S. and overseas. Karen has worked with the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before migrating to the Hill Country. Karen teaches nature photography classes, volunteers with local schools, and is an active participant in “Bridges to Birding,” and working with at risk students with the Austin Youth River Watch. Karen also works part-time on the fire crew of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, participating in their prescribed fire burns for habitat restoration.

JOE LAPP

Joe Lapp transforms into "Spider Joe" when he dons his hat, sunscreen, and belt full of bug jars. He is a spider enthusiast and nature educator who regularly conducts children's spider programs at Wild-Connections, a nature center and butterfly farm in south Austin. He is fascinated with the everyday spiders we see in our parks, our gardens, and even in our houses, and his passion is contagious

KELLY McDOWELL

Kelly is a Texas native, with a B. S. from Fisheries and Wildlife University of Missouri, M. S. He also studied Wildlife Management at the University of Wisconsin. His career with the Fish and Wildlife Service includes Assistant Manager at Santa Ana NWR, Manager at Anahuac NWR, and currently Deputy Refuge Manager Balcones Canyonlands NWR.

JEAN NANCE

Jean is a native West Texan, living in Austin and the Hill Country since 1971. She is a long-time avid birder and nature-lover, and a certified Texas Master Naturalist, with a special interest in the plants and animals of the Hill Country.. She is a member of Travis Audubon Society and Capital Area Master Naturalists, and often volunteers for these and other organizations.

SEAY NANCE

Seay, a native Texan from the Gulf Coast, moved to Austin in 1966. He is a geologist specializing in stratigraphy and hydrogeology for the University of Texas when he is not working on his Ph.D. in hydrogeology or rockhounding everywhere from Alaska to Australia. He has been a volunteer water quality monitor for LCRA for over 10 years.

JEFF PHILLIPS

Jeff Phillips has been looking at the sky ever since Boy Scout camp. Twenty-five years and five telescopes later, you'll find him at Mansfield Dam most every Friday night along with the local observing group, Austin Dam Astronomers. Phillips regularly writes about astronomy (among other things) on his blog at imjeffp.com, and is a regular contributor on cloudynights.com

ROXIE ROCHAT

Roxie Rochat, a software developer with 16 years of birding experience, has taught an introductory class on Bird SOngs for Travis Audubon and served on its Education Committee for over 10 years. She conducts Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo surveys for the Nature Conservancy and enjoys exploring botany, butterflies, dragonflies, and damselflies.

CARL SCHWOPE

Carl Schwope graduated Texas State University in 1994 with a degree in wildlife biology. In 1995, he started working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a seasonal firefighter. He is now the Fire Management Officer for the Balcones Canyonlands NWR and is a Division Supervisor for the Southwest Area Incident Management Team.

CHUCK SEXTON

Dr. Sexton has been active in environmental issues for over 25 years in Austin and around Texas. He grew up in southern California and migrated to Austin in the mid-1970's to attend graduate school at the University of Texas. Dr. Sexton received his doctorate in 1987 studying the impacts of urbanization on birds. Chuck is an acknowledged expert on the biology of both the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo. He came to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as the staff biologist for the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge in December 1994. Chuck is an accomplished botanist and butterfly enthusiast and has presented programs on Texas natural history to a wide range of groups. He writes extensively about Texas birds, most notably with his friend and co-author Greg Lasley in American Birds/Field Notes/North American Birds for the past 17 years.

BYRON STONE

Dr. Stone is an Austin physician and naturalist with a lifelong love of the outdoors. He has been an avid birder for over three decades, and has traveled all parts of Texas to observe birds and wildlife. Recently, his sparrow identification talents were touted in the Wall Street Journal (Birdwatchers Find Sparrows Often Are A Tough Nut to Crack, dtd Feb. 23, 2006).

GARY WAGGERMAN

Gary Waggerman has been a Wildlife Biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife since 1967. He works closely with Travis Audubon and leads trips. He is a leading expert on White-winged Doves, common backyard birds in Austin. He retired a couple of years ago after 35 years. He holds a BS in Zoology and a MS in Wildlife Mangement from Oklahoma State University. Gary has led bird trips in the Lower Valley for the past 12 years and has done Christmas Counts in the Valley since 1972.

ELIZABETH WELLS