MISSION

Third Coast Birding’s mission is to connect people with birdlife through amazing experiences and holistic learning. We aspire to have people appreciate, value, and act to preserve birds and nature in the Great Lakes region and beyond.

Experience. Learn. Connect.

PEOPLE

Geoff Williamson first became interested in birds at the age of eight when he was growing up in New Jersey and has been engaged in birding and bird watching since. His interest grew into a passion after moving to Chicago in 1989, where he became involved in local, state, and eventually national birding organizations. In 2013 he received the Ludlow Griscom award of the American Birding Association, given for outstanding contributions to regional ornithology. He is an eBird Regional Reviewer for Illinois; he co-edits the Illinois-Indiana regional reports in North American Birds, the journal of ornithological record published by the American Birding Association; and he serves as secretary of the Illinois Ornithological Records Committee. He has led more than 700 bird-watching field trips, and he has presented a variety of talks on birds and birding to numerous bird-watching and nature groups. When not birding, he works as a professor of electrical engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology, and he plays recreational ice hockey.