Many are published authors of works on natural history subjects, and all are accomplished at finding and identifying birds and other wildlife, as well placing those creatures in a broader ecological context.  Above all, our leaders specialize in making participants feel at home, welcoming questions and ensuring that everyone on the tour is comfortable and safe.

Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson is Program Director at New Jersey Audubon Society’s Scherman-Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary.  Mike has traveled extensively both at home and abroad; included in his work experience is time as a whitewater river guide in Tanzania.  Mike led our last trip to Belize in 2004.

Scott Barnes Scott Barnes began birding at the age of twelve and has been an avid naturalist ever since.  Encouragement and learning came from his parents and many birders, including members of the Urner Ornithological Club and staff of New Jersey Audubon Society.  An interest in travel and natural history has led him from Gambell Alaska through the desert southwest to the Dry Tortugas of Florida in search of birds and other wildlife.  He began birding at Sandy Hook, where he is the Senior Naturalist for the Sandy Hook Bird Observatory.  Scott is the Region 3 Editor for Records of New Jersey Birds, compiles the Sandy Hook Christmas Bird Count, co-leads pelagic trips with See Life Paulagics, and has been a member of the New Jersey Bird Records Committee for six years.  Scott  has led tours for the NJ Audubon Travel Program for over five years, and is particularly interested in migration, vagrancy, seabirds and shorebirds.

Pete Bacinski

Pete Bacinski grew up in Lyndhurst, NJ with an interest in natural history since early childhood.  He attended Pace University in New York City receiving a B.S. in Biology followed by M.S. in Biology, specialization entomology and an MBA in Marketing at Fairleigh Dickinson University.  Pete began volunteering for New Jersey Audubon in 1971, leading his first field trip for the organization in 1973.  He has been a tour and workshop leader for over 25 years, as well as a member of three winning World Series of Birding teams. Pete was a member of the New Jersey Bird Records Committee for eleven years and was a regional field notes editor for Records of New Jersey birds for eight years.  He established and directs the Sandy Hook Bird Observatory for NJAS and is co-compiler and voice of the Voice of New Jersey Audubon rare bird alert for the state of New Jersey.  Pete has also been a steering committee member and regional coordinator for the Birds of New Jersey atlas project and currently writes a weekly column in the Newark Star Ledger entitled “Seen in New Jersey.”    Pete’s favorite natural history interests are birds, butterflies, wildflowers, ferns, insects, “herps”, and mammals.  Other interests include classical music, American History, audio books, weather, public speaking and photography.  Pete currently resides in Atlantic Highlands.

Pete Dunne Pete is Director of the Cape May Bird Observatory and Vice President for Natural History Information.  Called by the Wall Street Journal "The Bard of Birding" he is author of twelve books (including PETE DUNNE'S FIELD GUIDE COMPANION and PETE DUNNE ON BIRDING) and has written columns and articles for every major birding and natural history publication.  Since 1976 when he served as the first hawk counter in Cape May, Pete has brought thousands of people to greater awareness and understanding of the natural world.  He has led tours to Antarctica, Australia, the Bearing Sea, Kenya, Ecuador, and Panama.  He has specialized in teaching birding workshops since 1979.  He and his wife Linda live in Mauricetown, New Jersey.

Don Freiday

Don Freiday is Director of Birding Programs at Cape May Bird Observatory.  A New Jersey native, Don’s degree in Natural Resource Management and Applied Ecology is from Rutgers University, where for several years he taught Wildlife Ecology to undergraduates.  Don has worked in the field of nature interpretation and/or wildlife biology for over 20 years, during which time he has led numerous nature tours to Arizona, Colorado, California, Montana, Texas, and Wyoming, among others.  He has also studied wildlife in Mexico, Costa Rica and Kenya.  Don was a regional coordinator of the New Jersey Breeding Bird Atlas, and is a member of the NJ Bird Records Committee.  Don is an author and columnist on nature, with two books to his credit:  A Precious Place: a Naturalist Explores New Jersey, and Wild Journeys:  Migration in New Jersey, which he co-authored with Brian Vernachio and Dale Rosselet. 

Mark Garland Mark Garland is an Associate Naturalist for the Cape May Bird Observatory.  He lives in West Cape May and works as a freelance naturalist.  He has held the position of Senior Naturalist for the Cape May Bird Observatory and also for the Audubon Naturalist Society, based in the Washington, D.C., area.  He has led eco-tours for various organizations for twenty-five years, leading well over 150 trips to date, along with countless field trips within the mid-Atlantic states.  He is author of Watching Nature: A Mid-Atlantic Natural History and is the Nature Editor for the Metro Connection program on WAMU, Washington's public radio station.  Mark has led many trips to Costa Rica, teaming with noted Costa Rican naturalist Charlie Gómez on numerous occasions.  The autumn 2008 Costa Rica eco-tour will be his 28th trip to this tropical paradise.

Sean Grace

Sean Grace has been with NJAS since 2005, and is currently the Sanctuary Director of the Plainsboro Preserve.  His life long interest in the natural world began as a child in Massachusetts, and he enjoys sharing that passion with others.  In 1999 he completed the Professional Residency in Environmental Education, a Graduate Certification offered at the Teton Science School in Jackson, Wyoming. He then worked as a wildlife biologist tracking moose, coyote, and elk in different studies in the mountains surrounding Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Sean completed his MS in Environmental Studies at the New Jersey School of Conservation, with a concentration in Environmental Education through Montclair State University. In 2001, Sean became Director for Wildlife Expeditions in Wyoming and trained a team of wildlife biologists that offered educational programs to the public on the wildlife and habitats of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem before relocating to New Jersey.

Linda Mack

Linda's interest in birding began twenty years ago on a Cape May Weekend and has been hooked ever since.  She is a member of the New Jersey Audubon Society's Board of Directors, an Associate Naturalist, and Co-Bookstore Manager at Sandy Hook Bird Observatory.  She is a past President, Program Chair, and Conservation Chair for Monmouth County Audubon Society.  Linda has a special interest in seabirds and other coastal species; she co-leads pelagic birding trips off New Jersey with See Life Paulagics.

Linda has traveled extensively throughout North America studying birds and natural history, with multiple trips to Arizona, California, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, Texas, and Utah.  Her infectious enthusiasm and willingness to share knowledge is well known.  She has co-led NJAS tours to Minnesota and North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, the Rio Grande Valley and Big Bend in Texas, and is a regular leader on SHBO's long weekend trips to coastal coastal Massachusetts, the Adirondack Mountains, and Bombay Hook, as well as the Cape May Spring and Fall Weekends.

Michael Pollock Michael Pollock is a teacher-naturalist and habitat restoration specialist with NJAS's Scherman-Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary where he conducts education programs, including a lecture series and fieldtrips to examine New Jersey Geology. Prior to moving to New Jersey in 1999, he lived in Oregon where he earned a degree in Geology at Portland State University. Michael has long been interested in the relationship between plants and related ecosystems, and the associated bedrock geology. While in Oregon, he led week-long college natural history classes in the Oregon High Desert and Elderhostel classes in birding and geology in the San Juan Islands of Washington.  He has also conducted geology and natural history tours throughout the tectonically active areas of the Pacific Northwest. He has co-led two successful NJAS Nature Tours back to the Pacific Northwest in 2005 and 2007.

Karla Risdon

Karla Risdon is Director  of the Weis Ecology Center in Ringwood.  She began at Weis in 1991 after working for the State Park Service conducting interpretive programs and at two residential facilities conducting environmental education programs.  Karla received her B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science, Minor in German, and her M.S. in Environmental Education.  Growing up in rural Sussex County, Karla was always interested in the natural world from childhood, but she didn’t begin birding seriously until after becoming involved with NJAS. 

Over the years Karla has traveled to and birded in Alabama, Florida, the Outer Banks, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, Washington and Wisconsin where she continues to add to her natural history background.  Foreign birding destinations include Belize, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador.  Karla co-authored NJ WATERS:  A watershed Approach to Teaching the Ecology of Regional Systems with Dale Rosselet, Brian Vernachio, Mike Anderson, and Scott Barnes.

Dale Rosselet

Dale Rosselet has been with New Jersey Audubon Society 1983.  She has worked in the education department as teacher naturalist, director of education, and currently is New Jersey Audubon Society’s Vice-president for Education.  Dale is a New Jersey native, having grown up near the Great Swamp in northern New Jersey and now resides in Cape May County.  She has been leading domestic and foreign tours for New Jersey Audubon Society for the last 12 years.  Domestic tours led include South Florida and the Dry Tortugas, Texas (Rio Grande Valley and Big Bend area), Washington State, and Montana.  She has also led tours to Churchill and Manitoba, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Panama, Peru, and Mexico. 

In addition to the above, Dale is co-author of the Society’s teacher education curriculum guides; Bridges to the Natural World, New Jersey WATERS:  Watershed Approach to Teaching the Ecology of Regional Systems, and the Society’s newest book Wild Journeys:  Migration in New Jersey.  She has written for New Jersey Audubon as well as co-authored articles with her husband, Kevin Karlson, for Wild Bird magazine.

Patrick Scheuer

Patrick is currently the Teacher-Naturalist at Lorrimer Sanctuary in Franklin Lakes, NJ.  Growing up in the shadow of the famous Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania, his interest in birding and natural history began at an early age.  He carried this interest with him to Penn State University where he earned a degree in Earth Sciences.  After completing school Patrick worked as a naturalist and guide for several years in the Pocono Mountains before coming to New Jersey Audubon Society.  In addition to birding, Patrick’s interests include fishing, backpacking, boating, and gardening.

Brian Vernachio

Brian Vernachio is the former Director of New Jersey Audubon Society's Plainsboro Preserve, and former co-coordinator of the Eco-Travel program.  He currently teaches Biology and Environmental Science at Toms River High School.  A New Jersey native, Brian's degree is in Environmental Studies from Stockton College of New Jersey.  Brian has worked in the field of nature interpretation and/or wildlife biology for over 20 years, during which time he has participated in numerous biological counts, resource inventories and environmental education initiatives.  He has traveled extensively, leading tours for NJAS as well as for his own enjoyment.  Brian co-authored two NJAS publications, including NJ WATERS: A Watershed Approach to Teaching the Ecology of Regional Systems, as well as Wild Journeys: Migration in New Jersey.  In his free time you will often find him wandering the sandy roads of his native Pine Barrens.  When not leading tours or teaching, Brian spends time with his family and enjoys birding, fishing, hunting, magic and cooking.

For tour itineraries, to register, or for more information contact:

NJAS Eco-Travel at: (908)-204-8998
9 Hardscrabble Road
Bernardsville, NJ 07924
or email travel@njaudubon.org.

If you are not a member and would like to become one, consider Joining New Jersey Audubon Society.