Torin has had an interest in nature from a young age and began “officially” birding at 16 in his hometown of San Diego, California. Medical training took him across the country, providing birding opportunities in New York, Iowa, and various regions of California. As a parent and pediatrician, he has a passion for passing on his love of nature to the next generation.
Torin enjoys many aspects of birding, including the nuances of visual and auditory identification, behavior, and biogeographic distribution. He also appreciates birding as a gateway to a broader appreciation of the natural world, which has inspired him to identify the mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, and dragonflies he encounters. Spending most of his working hours in a hospital, he also values the well-documented mental health benefits of spending time outdoors with birds.
Since moving to Phoenix in 2021, Torin has taken an active role in the Arizona birding community. He has published articles in Arizona Birds (the journal of Arizona Field Ornithologists), and The Cactus Wrendition (the newsletter of Maricopa Bird Alliance). He has led dozens of field trips for Maricopa Bird Alliance, including several geared specifically toward children, and has participated in numerous Christmas Bird Counts. He enjoys visiting under-birded areas, particularly urban parks, and has added more than 250 hotspots to the eBird Hotspot map. He is also an avid photographer and has uploaded thousands of photos, audio recordings, and videos to eBird and iNaturalist.
