Richard Knapton

Richard Knapton has been an avid birder since his teen years in England, and has graduate degrees in bird research from UBC on Song Sparrows and the University of Manitoba on Clay-colored Sparrows. He has led tours for almost 30 years to over 30 countries on six continents! He was recently a member of the Alberta Bird Records Committee, and of the COSEWIC Special Studies Group for threatened and endangered birds in Canada. He has been involved in several conservation issues, including the Henslow's Sparrow Recovery Plan. He has taught biology and ornithology courses at three universities, and has researched and published papers on subjects as diverse as meadowlarks and cormorants, Bicknell's Thrushes and Nashville Warblers, White-throated Sparrows and Bohemian Waxwings, as well as zebra mussels and arctic butterflies.

Testimonials:

"Richard was very experienced as a travel guide and has outstanding knowledge of birds, animals and locations we visited." - 2016 High Arctic & NWT participant

"Richard is kind, generous with his time and knowledgable, professional and friendly, simply a wonderful person and leader. Thank you!" - 20116 High Arctic & NWT participant

"Richard has a wealth of knowlege and travelling experience and is good at telling stories." - 2016 Cuba participant

"Excellent - took care to ensure that everyone's interests were accommodated." - 2016 Cuba participant

"Excellent - Richard ensured that my wife (a non-birder) was given chances to see everythings she wanted." - 2016 Dominica participant

"Excellent. A great leader - knowledgeable and approachable. I was so impressed with your knowledge, loved the "finding" of each bird, your use of electronic calls was respectful of the birds (not overdone). Thanks for a memorable experience." H.K. 2014

"Excellent. Enjoyed traveling with Richard (and Lucy)." C.B. 2014

"It was outstanding. Richard's leadership is amazing." L.N. & L.F. 2013

"Excellent. Richard is Richard - what else can I say? I like his knowledge, humour, and his unbossy leadership. I enjoyed the birds, especially the albatrosses and Yellow-eyed Penguins." G.T. 2013

"Excellent. Richard is superb." R.W. 2013

"Excellent. These guys knew the birds. Both are patient and meet needs of group. Overcame problems to achieve successful trip." R.G. 2013

"Excellent. Knowledgeable, helpful, friendly, efficient." E.W. 2013

"Excellent. Good people skills - what I'd call shepherding. Making sure folks got a chance to see what they wanted, took turns, etc." S.S. 2013

"Relaxed approach to enjoying nature and birds. Richard's vast knowledge and ability to identify so many species by sight and sound, and his willingness to share tips made the tour most educational and enjoyable." L.R. 2012

"Not only did Richard spot multitudes of birds for us, but he always did his utmost to make sure each of us was able to see them. He answered all our questions and made it an interesting learning experience. He handled a slightly "difficult" participant with great tact and patience." S.R. 2012

“The man is terrific.” M.Z. 2012

“Richard is not only a great birder but a very kind, pleasant man with a good sense of humour, which makes for a very pleasant experience.” M.M. 2012

“Both leaders (with Lucy) displayed great knowledge and I came away from the tour well informed, their conscientiousness was infectious!” D.M. 2012

“Very knowledgeable. Met the needs of the group well. Good sense of humour.” V.R. 2012

“Having one guide for gardens and another for birds worked out well. It was great to have Lucy providing background and history for each garden, as well as being able to identify the more obscure plants. For me, as a relatively ignorant birder, Richard was wonderfully patient and helpful. Should also mention our driver, Peter, who supplemented Richard’s information with valuable local knowledge.” L.M. 2011

“Richard engaged with national history and knowledge of birding. He took care of the details and we went along for a superb ride.” M.S. 2010

“Very pleasant companions with phenomenal knowledge of birds and flowers.” R.D. 2010

“Realistically optimistic, enjoys and works well with the travelers, very knowledgeable.” D.S. 2010

“I learned so much from you! Thank you. You were always positive.” Anon 2010

“Great knowledge and warm personalities. Thank you for your major efforts.” D.P. 2010

“Lovely gents – besides being excellent bird guides, they are fun, funny, positive, a pleasure to be with.” L.C. 2010

“Richard’s skills as a birder are a major plus. His driving was excellent and he was generous with assistance and tips on what to be looking for. Lucy’s knowledge of plant species is good and she managed to stay ahead of our progress by checking her books.” J.S. 2009

“The trip was extremely well-organized, and we saw fantastic birds. I learned a lot about plants and trees even though birds were my primary interest.” Anon 2009

“Richard was very accommodating in seeing that we all got our target birds. We appreciated his knowledge and stories.” Anon 2009

“Overall knowledge of the arctic islands and fauna and flora made the experience very satisfying.” Anon 2009

“Going on a bird-watching tour and not being a bird-watcher was a risk – it was very interesting to visit many dump and sewer lagoons instead of museums and culture centres, but I liked it!” M.D. 2009

“Richard has a knack for adjusting his approach according to the needs/personalities of each participant. This combined with his knowledge makes him an extraordinary guide.” M.&D.H. 2009