Javi Elorriaga

Javi Elorriaga (pronounced Habee) was born in the Txorierri Valley, which means 'land of birds' in Basque, in 1978. It was in this region close to Bilbao, in northern Spain, where he started to develop a deep interest in birds at an early age. Over the last 15 years, he has worked on the survey of cliff-nesting raptors (Basque Government), the conservation of the Cinereous Vulture in Dadia National Park (WWF-Greece), the Bearded Vulture in the Pyrenees and Picos de Europa National Park (FCQ), the monitoring of bird migration in the Strait of Gibraltar (Migres Foundation), the Osprey reintroduction in Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve (Urdaibai Bird Center) and the study of the Long-legged Buzzard in Morocco. Additionally, in 2011 Javi was granted a Leadership Internship in Conservation by the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary (Pennsylvania, USA) to participate in the study of the migration geography of the Turkey Vulture in North America. Javi's career as a field ornithologist includes contributions to over 30 scientific papers, book chapters and articles in birding journals including British Birds, Birding World and Dutch Birding. He has also been a member of the Spanish Committee of Rare Birds (SEO/Birdlife). Wildlife photography is another of his great passions and a powerful tool he uses to raise awareness of conservation issues through social networking and lectures. Over the last 5 years Javi has been working as a full-time nature guide leading tours mostly throughout Spain and Morocco.