Toll Free: 800.328.8368
Phone: 512.328.5221
We offer a variety of tour types to accommodate a wide range of interests.
Expedition cruises with the experience and expertise you trust from a VENT leader.
The “original VENT tour.” Includes a comprehensive survey of its birds and animals.
Designed for people who are interested in birds and nature, as well as culture and history.
Same birding focus with a slower pace and lighter physical activity.
Summer Birding Camps for birders between the ages of 14 and 18.
Erik Bruhnke has loved birds since he was a child looking at chickadees. In 2008 he graduated from Northland College in Wisconsin with a Natural Resources degree. Erik taught field ornithology at Northland College for three semesters. Between 2009 and 2014, he spent his summers conducting field research focused on breeding bird transects in Upper Michigan, point counts for a breeding bird atlas in Minnesota and Wisconsin’s Northwoods, vegetation and breeding bird surveys throughout wind farms in North Dakota’s prairie potholes, and cavity-nesting surveys in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. A devoted raptor nerd, he is drawn to hawkwatches. He worked as an interpreter for six seasons at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth, Minnesota; counted migrating raptors at the Corpus Christi HawkWatch in Texas in 2015; and was the 2016, 2017, and 2018 hawk counter at the Cape May Hawkwatch in New Jersey. Erik’s wildlife photography has won national awards, and he’s written for the American Birding Association’s Birder’s Guide, BirdWatching magazine, and Bird Watcher’s Digest. When not leading birding tours, Erik often leads field trips and speaks at birding festivals. He also enjoys hiking, kayaking, cross-country skiing, and just being out in the snow. In his free time he loves to cook and bake.
This is the reason I use VENT: superb tour leaders, who excel at people “management,” communications, and knowledge of birds and nature generally. This was my second tour with Brian and my first with Barry. In the future, I would seek out their tours for participation, if they were leading tours in the locations I wished to visit.
Best of Belize: Crooked Tree & Chan Chich Lodge | March 10 - 18, 2024
This trip was perfect! Both Brian and Erik were amazing at getting everyone on the birds. Even though the pace was fast, we loved every aspect of this trip! We’ve been on 12 VENT trips, and this one was by far the best. Loved Erik’s enthusiasm and the ability of both guides to quickly find birds. I would do this trip again in a heartbeat!
Colorado Grouse | April 1 - 11, 2022
The blend of birds and culture was excellent. Rafael and Attila’s knowledge of people, area, customs, and habitats was deep and apparent. The chanting, meals (supras), and geographic diversity made each day a delight and an adventure. The tour truly combined culture and birds in an enjoyable and educational way.
Caucasus Georgia | September 23 - October 9, 2021
Love these guys! Barry and Brennan are a wonderful team—good natured, even when asked the same thing over and over! We pick trips that they are guiding intentionally!
Autumn Grand Manan | August 27 - September 2, 2018
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