Jamaica's Beautiful Birds, Blooms, and Bugs
By: Chris Earley
Chris Earley
Chris Earley is the University of Guelph Arboretum’s Interpretive Biologist and Education Coordinator. He's been a 'nature geek' his whole life and truly loves sharing his interest with those around him. Chris teaches a variety of bird, insect and art workshops at The Arboretum as well as designing signage and leading tours. He also presents a variety of special lectures and labs for undergraduate and graduate classes.
Chris is the author of five bird books published by Firefly Books: Warblers; Sparrows and Finches; Waterfowl; Hawks and Owls of Eastern North America; Birds A-Z; Feed the Birds (read a review here); and his latest, How to Feed Backyard Birds: A Step-by-Step Guide for Kids. He also co-authored the wildly successful 100 Nature Hotpots in Ontario. Two other books, Caterpillars: Find - Identify - Raise Your Own and Dragonflies: Catching – Identifying – How and Where They Live, were written with his children as co-authors. Recently, Chris completed work on the American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Ontario.
Chris has been a part of many interesting research projects and field trips in places such as Australia, New Zealand, Bolivia, Nevis and Ontario. To expand his knowledge base, he recently completed a part-time Master of Science project studying an invasive paper wasp that may be competing with cavity-nesting birds for nest boxes. In 2013, Chris was awarded the Richards Education Award by Ontario Nature for “his significant contributions as an enthusiastic natural history educator over the past 25 years.
These pursuits still leave him with enough time to go to the cottage, play basketball and soccer, and hang out with his awesome (and obviously very patient) wife and wonderful children.
Chris has been leading tours for Quest Nature Tours since 1999. These include destinations such as Sri Lanka, the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Galapagos, South Africa, Ontario, Baja California, Brazil, Ethiopia, and Jamaica.
Here's what travellers are saying about Chris:
"I wanted to say how much I appreciated all your care for and input into the group". - Anne, on Baja California Expedition Cruise, 2019
Chris is the author of five bird books published by Firefly Books: Warblers; Sparrows and Finches; Waterfowl; Hawks and Owls of Eastern North America; Birds A-Z; Feed the Birds (read a review here); and his latest, How to Feed Backyard Birds: A Step-by-Step Guide for Kids. He also co-authored the wildly successful 100 Nature Hotpots in Ontario. Two other books, Caterpillars: Find - Identify - Raise Your Own and Dragonflies: Catching – Identifying – How and Where They Live, were written with his children as co-authors. Recently, Chris completed work on the American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Ontario.
Chris has been a part of many interesting research projects and field trips in places such as Australia, New Zealand, Bolivia, Nevis and Ontario. To expand his knowledge base, he recently completed a part-time Master of Science project studying an invasive paper wasp that may be competing with cavity-nesting birds for nest boxes. In 2013, Chris was awarded the Richards Education Award by Ontario Nature for “his significant contributions as an enthusiastic natural history educator over the past 25 years.
These pursuits still leave him with enough time to go to the cottage, play basketball and soccer, and hang out with his awesome (and obviously very patient) wife and wonderful children.
Chris has been leading tours for Quest Nature Tours since 1999. These include destinations such as Sri Lanka, the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Galapagos, South Africa, Ontario, Baja California, Brazil, Ethiopia, and Jamaica.
Here's what travellers are saying about Chris:
"I wanted to say how much I appreciated all your care for and input into the group". - Anne, on Baja California Expedition Cruise, 2019
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