Alvaro Jaramillo
2026 Keynote Speaker
Alvaro Jaramillo has been birding since he was 11 years old and began guiding local trips as a teenager. That early interest grew into a career built around birds and time in the field. He is a biologist, researcher, conservationist, and longtime guide, with extensive experience studying shorebirds and migration. Alvaro’s work is grounded in careful observation and repeated time outdoors. He focuses on how birds move, feed, and behave, and how those patterns help people understand what they are seeing. He shares this knowledge through talks, workshops, and birding walks, focused on building confidence through observation.
Over the years, Alvaro has spent time birding and guiding across a wide range of landscapes, from familiar coastlines to remote corners of the world. Travel has played a large role in shaping how he thinks about birds, not just as species to identify, but as part of larger systems that connect places, seasons, and people. Much of his work centers on migration, especially how birds move through space and time, and what those movements can teach us when we slow down and pay attention.
“Birders are becoming much more focused on enjoying time in the field. I always tell people that birding is adaptable. You can practice it anywhere and in whatever manner fits your personality.”
- Alvaro Jaramillo, interviewed in ABA magazine
Alvaro is also deeply interested in how people learn to bird. He often returns to questions about experience, attention, and how understanding grows with time in the field. Rather than focusing on shortcuts or rules, he emphasizes watching closely and letting patterns reveal themselves. His work reflects a belief that birding can be challenging, absorbing, and rewarding at any level, and that spending time with birds is one of the simplest ways to stay connected to the natural world.
Meet Alvaro
Creative Conservation: Applying Your Passions to Nature Keynote Speech: Birding Fast and Slow
As we know, birding can be immensely gratifying. But there is a lot to it that we do not think about. Our brains actually engage in different ways to identify a bird. You have heard of the “reptilian brain” well there is something to that, and some aspects of what we do as birders is reflexive, other aspects are deeply thoughtful and contemplative. The two modes interact in our brains, in different ways. When we are a beginner, it is tougher and a different brain mode is in operation to identify birds than when one is expert. The expert actually does not identify birds, it is even easier than that! I will let you know how that works at the talk. Even the role of the field mark is perhaps not as important as you would think. But it all gets down to our modes of brain function. Fast or slow!
This is what makes birding so rich. There is perhaps no activity as complete as birding, in that it can be enjoyed in a multitude of ways, by essentially every type of person. Even every personality can get something from birding. As a pastime birding is also like a good hot sauce, it goes well with everything! It adds to other outdoor activities, and even to mundane situations like doing outdoor chores. There is a lot to birding, and perhaps what we forget is that it makes us privileged to become connected with nature. This connection is not only fun, it is vital, and it is absolutely wonderful for your health. Yes, I can assure you that in time doctors will prescribe birding to people as it is good for us! Come see how, and why this is.
Before the talk starts, take some time to check out the final viewing of the silent auction, pick up shorebird merchandise, and see what else is happening around the auditorium.
Saturday, doors open 6:15 PM, talk begins 7:15 PM | Limit: 250 | $10 in advance, $15 at door | Location: Homer High School Auditorium
On the Move: Bird Migration
Bird migration shapes much of what we see along the coast each spring. In this talk, keynote speaker Alvaro Jaramillo looks at how birds move across long distances and what drives those journeys, with a focus on shorebirds. Drawing from time in the field, he shares ways to better understand migration as it unfolds around us.
Friday, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Limit: 30 | $3 | Location: AMNWR
Listers: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching
Before the screening, Alvaro Jaramillo will offer a brief introduction to Listers, a documentary that explores the world of competitive birding. Alvaro appears in the film and will share a bit of context about the people, places, and birding culture featured on screen.
Friday, 4:15 PM – 6:30 PM and Sunday, 10:15 AM – 12:30 PM | Included | Location: AMNWR
Birder’s Coffee
Join keynote speaker Alvaro Jaramillo, fellow birders, and Friends board members for coffee and a morning snack. Share your festival bird sightings and learn about the exciting ways to get involved with Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges through education, service, and advocacy.
Sunday 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM | Included | AMNWR Seminar Room