Nick is originally from Montana, where growing up on a biological research station fostered a lifelong love for ecology and nature. At 17, he moved to Louisiana to attend Louisiana State University and learn from the excellent community of ornithologists based in Baton Rouge. He was soon enamored with the state’s birding spectacles and remarkably diverse ecosystems. Fieldwork and birding took Nick around the United States and abroad, but Alaska was the place he couldn’t stay away from. He moved to Fairbanks in the fall of 2025 to begin his master’s degree studying evolution in Neotropical birds.
Nick first came to Alaska after graduating from college to work on the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta monitoring Emperor Geese and Spectacled Eiders. He fell in love with the state’s sense of community and its recreational opportunities. Six months later, he couldn’t wait to move there full time. The next summer, he returned for a field season in the western Aleutians monitoring nesting seabirds and finding Asian vagrants. Now, he’s based in Fairbanks, where he attends the University of Alaska and works in the University of Alaska Museum as a curatorial assistant. In his free time, Nick volunteers with the Alaska Songbird Institute and enjoys exploring other parts of the state. Particularly fond of the North Slope, he heads to Utqiaġvik every fall to enjoy Polar Bears and the Ross’s Gull migration.
Though he’s based in Alaska now, he returns to Louisiana regularly and thinks of it as a second home. He is especially fond of Louisiana’s coastal cheniers, longleaf pine savannas, and expansive marshes. He has conducted fieldwork throughout the state, focusing on shorebirds and secretive marshbirds. Passionate about giving back to the birding and ornithological communities, Nick remains active in conservation efforts and outreach, with a strong commitment to inspiring the next generation of birders and ornithologists. As a guide, he strives to share not only his knowledge of birds but also the ecological stories of the landscapes they depend on.
