Ryan Chenery

Born in Barbados, Ryan (aka the Bajan Birder) has been leading birding tours in the Caribbean for over 2 decades. Known for his infectious smile and terrific sense of humour, Ryan is very much a people person and always gets a tremendous rush out of sharing and showing the birds of these spectacular islands to fellow birding enthusiasts.

  • Before getting into professional birding full time, Ryan combined guiding with numerous and varied jobs in the conservation field. He was Chief Naturalist and Eco-guide Manager at the largest mangrove wetland in Barbados; Environmental Consultant for mangrove restoration projects in the Caribbean; Field Researcher with Global Vision International at their lab and base-camp in the Ecuadorian Amazon; Development Officer with the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) at one of it's flagship nature reserves in the UK; and finally, National Parks Officer with North York Moors National Park in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom.

    In addition to leading trips, Ryan also enjoys branching off to do other projects; in 2022 authoring the Birds of the Lesser Antilles – the first field guide to focus exclusively on the fascinating birds found in this southeastern corner of the Caribbean. He also works with US Fish & Wildlife Service and Canadian Wildlife Service – most recently writing the episode scripts for their upcoming Nature Documentary on shorebird migration through the Caribbean. Ryan consults for various NGOs and is heavily involved in conservation projects aimed at saving the many critically endangered endemics of the Caribbean. 

    When not guiding Ryan spends his time between England and Barbados with his British wife and two young daughters – each of whom (at 3 years old and 1 year old) regularly join daddy and mummy on holiday...often brandishing their own binoculars!

English