Florencia Ocampo
Director/Tour Leader
Since I was a child I have been passionate about wildlife. When I was a teenager I started birding motivated by conservation issues. Years later I became a biologist and started to do research on birds. It was during this period when I began to spend my free time leading birding tours. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to do it full time, so this is what I have been undertaking for more than 10 years.
My goal is to create tours in which the traveler can get exclusive birdwatching experiences, and at the same time to leave a positive impact in the local communities and to promote wildlife conservation in the places we visit.
Commitment to local communities, birds and their habitats
Birding With Me promotes birding trips that benefit local communities. Whenever is possible, the chosen accommodations are run by the owners or, better still, are family houses where both the traveler and the host find a space to interact. These families preserve cultural traditions, are involved in environmental conservation projects or agro-ecologicalfood production. All this enriches the travelers' experience and at the same time is a way to contribute to the economic development of the local communities. Local guides are a very important part of the tours as well. They contribute with exclusive knowledge about the birds and their habitats. In most of the cases, the local guides are biologists or other specialists involved in bird and environmental conservation projects. Every birder who chooses Birding With Me contributes to this cause.
Testimonials & references
2022
Women watching birds
The Conversation - BBC World Service
Ornithologists from Zimbabwe and Uruguay discuss their passion for birdlife with Beatriz de la Pava.
"Women Birding Guides: A growing trend" Article by Bryony Angell. Bird Watcher's Digest. Click here to download the article.
2020 “It's only the second time we see so many species in a country (the other time was in Costa Rica). All was well organized and we really enjoyed your company, and the company of the people who joined us (Fernando, Serrana, Dario, and Laura)...”
Jérémie & Caroline. France.
2019 “Florencia was no less than outstanding at knowing where to find birds of particular species, how to coax them into view, how to point them out to clients when it was difficult to see them, and explaining their ecology and life histories to clients”
George S. Bloom, Ph.D. University of Virginia
2017 "I communicated with Florencia by email and she put together an amazing, custom 15 days tour that exceeded all my expectations. In addition to seeing over 200 species of birds, I enjoyed learning so much about the history and culture of Uruguay. I met many amazing people, visited a variety of habitats, stayed in a variety of accommodations, and enjoyed delicious traditional food. Florencia worked tirelessly to make every part of the trip enjoyable. As a biologist I was impressed with how much she knew about not only the birds but all the plants and animals we encountered. Although much smaller than its large neighbors, Brazil and Argentina, the country is safe, easy to navigate, and has a variety of habitats, home to over 450 species of birds. In my opinion, Uruguay is an undiscovered gem in South America".
William J. Pohley, PhD. USA.
With Nigel Marven (https://nigelmarven.com/). February 2020. Montevideo, Uruguay
2016 “My first opportunity to do some birding in South America was during a business trip to Uruguay in October 2012. We only had one day which coincided with a rain storm, which later developed into a hurricane. Despite the bad weather, Florencia showed me over 70 different species, most of which were new to me. So when the opportunity to return to Uruguay came up in May 2016, I did not hesitate to hire Florencia again; this time for two full days.
Florencia can not only identify the birds by sight, but she is also familiar with their calls and songs. Particularly important for me with my poor eyesight is her ability to point out or describe the exact location of our quarry.
Above all Florencia is great company and an absolute pleasure to be with. We are now good friends and I can’t wait to go birding with her again.”
Ian Misslebrook. UK.