International Conference for Birders 2027
Women-led. Open to Everyone
Honduras 4th - 8th May 2027
Celebrating People, Birds, and Conservation Together.
Welcome to the International Conference for Women Birders 2027
The name celebrates women. The invitation is for everyone.
We are delighted to welcome you to IC4WB 2027, taking place in Honduras in May 2027. While the conference celebrates and highlights the role, achievements, leadership, and participation of women in birding, IC4WB is open to everyone. Women and men, children and young people, experienced birders and those just beginning their journey — everyone who loves birds and nature is welcome.
This international gathering will bring together birders from across Central America, South America, North America, Canada, Africa, Europe, Asia, and beyond. It will be a place to share knowledge, discover new perspectives, build friendships, exchange
experiences, and strengthen global partnerships in birding, conservation, research, and nature-based tourism.
Whether you are a birder, guide, conservationist, researcher, tourism professional, student, photographer, family, or simply
someone who is passionate about nature, there is a place for you at IC4WB Honduras 2027.
More than a conference
IC4WB is more than a meeting. It is a celebration, a connection, and a movement.
It is about recognizing and strengthening the role of women in birding and conservation, creating opportunities for leadership
and nature-based tourism, connecting people across cultures and generations, and inspiring the next generation of birders.
Because the future of birding belongs to all of us. Welcome to Honduras 2027. Where women lead, everyone belongs, and
birds bring us together
Isis Castro Alberto
ATTENDEES
SPEAKERS
EXHIBITORS
WORKSHOPS
Why Honduras?
A unique setting for birding, conservation and connection, Honduras offers something very special for an international
birding conference: exceptional biodiversity within a relatively compact destination. Forests, wetlands, coastal
ecosystems, botanical gardens, protected areas and private conservation initiatives can be experienced within a relatively short distance, creating diverse opportunities for birding, learning and connection.
Honduras is also home to a passionate and growing birding community, alongside local guides, conservation initiatives, tourism
businesses and community partners working to strengthen birding and nature-based tourism. The country's commitment to conservation, women's empowerment, sustainable tourism and community development makes it an inspiring destination for this global gathering.
Why Tela?
The conference will be hosted in Tela, on Honduras' Caribbean coast — a destination internationally known for its beaches, but
increasingly recognised for its remarkable birding potential. Tela offers an ideal setting for IC4WB because participants can easily move between the conference venue and a wide range of birding sites, with many key locations within approximately 30 minutes of town, including Lancetilla Botanical Garden, Los Micos Lagoon, Finca Macondo, Indura and other emerging birding sites. This proximity means participants can spend more time birding, learning and connecting — and less time travelling. But Tela offers much more than convenience.
IC4WB 2027 will provide an opportunity to introduce several emerging birding destinations to the international market, helping
diversify Tela's tourism offer and demonstrate that the destination has much more to offer beyond sun and beach.
Through the conference experience, participants will discover how birding can connect tourism, biodiversity conservation, local
livelihoods and new opportunities for communities and tourism businesses. And there is something even more special about May
2027: participants will have the opportunity to join Honduras' birding community for the Global Big Day, becoming part of a worldwide
celebration of birds, citizen science, conservation and international collaboration. For IC4WB 2027, Tela is not simply where the conference happens. It is part of the conference experience. Come for the conference. Discover the birds. Connect with Honduras.
Featuring Expert Speakers
Judith Mirembe
Passionate about conservation, especially of birds and their habitats. She has participated in various research projects at both site and national levels. Her specialisation and enthusiasm are in birds as indicator taxon.
She holds a Master’s degree in Environment and Natural Resources from Makerere University. She has further participated in several conservation courses: application of Citizen Science in research and conservation of species by Tropical Biology Association (TBA) and
Conservation Planning and leadership by the Zoological Society of London, which have further built her skills in conservation.
Judith is a Zoological Society of London (ZSL) EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) of Existence Fellowship Alumni (2017-2019), where she, together with the local communities on the shores of Lake Victoria, carried out research on the Shoebill, a globally threatened bird species. Currently, she is studying the movements and distribution of shoebills in Uganda using telemetry.
She has, in the past (2016-2019), worked with Nature Uganda, a BirdLife International partner in Uganda, as the research and monitoring coordinator, where her major role was to coordinate bird population monitoring in Uganda.
She is the pioneer Chairperson of the Uganda Women Birders’ Club, which started in 2013 as an initiative to introduce women to birdwatching, a niche that is dominated by men in Africa. She is the editor for the Birdwatch, a periodical newsletter that gives insights on Uganda’s
Birdwatching sector. Judith is an eBird Coordinator for Uganda, a reviewer, and is currently recording bird sounds as part of the Big Year of African sounds to enhance the ability of Merlin to recognise African birds
Isis Castro
Isis is a sustainable tourism professional, birding specialist, and tour leader with over 20 years of experience in tourism development and a specialized track record in designing and leading nature-based experiences.
Her connection with birdwatching began in 2004, and in 2015 she formalized her training in birding, integrating this specialization into her expertise in tourism planning, product development, marketing, and destination management. Since 2017, through HTM / Choose Honduras, she has designed, marketed, and led specialized itineraries for international markets, combining birdwatching, environmental interpretation, culture, and sustainable tourism.
Since 2019, she has conceptualized and developed Educational Bird Festivals and specialized technical events, while also participating in training programs for guides, women, and young people in birdwatching, birding ethics, and conservation. As a tour leader since 2021, she has guided groups across diverse regions of Honduras.
She is currently the only formally established female birding tour leader in Honduras operating and leading international groups, combining strategic tourism management with extensive hands-on field experience. She is also the Local Partner for IC4WB in Honduras, contributing to the country’s international positioning as a birding destination and promoting greater female leadership within the sector.
She is a wildlife photographer and conservation storyteller from Medellín, Colombia, currently based in Barcelona. She holds a PhD in Computational Chemistry and, after several years working in scientific research, found in photography a powerful way to communicate science and connect people with the natural world. Her work focuses primarily on birds and on creating visual stories that bring together photography, science, and conservation.
Bella (Zhuyang) Zhang
China
Bella is a professional bird and wildlife guide from China and the Managing Director of AlpineBirding, a specialized birding and wildlife tourism company. She also serves as a Board Member of the International Conference for Women Birders (IC4WB).
Spending more than 130 days each year in the field, Bella has extensive experience leading international birding and wildlife tours across China’s diverse ecosystems, particularly in Sichuan, Yunnan, the Tibetan Plateau, and other biodiversity-rich regions.
Beyond birding tourism, Bella is involved in avian research, conservation-related projects, and the wider international birding community. She has participated in field research on bird ecology and behavior and is a co-author of scientific publications. She also regularly takes part in international birding fairs, conferences, and conservation events.
With a background in Tourism Management and a lifelong passion for wildlife and the natural world, Bella hopes to help foster connections and exchange among birders and nature lovers from different backgrounds and regions.
Alena Kacal
Israel
Alena Kacal is Director of Avian Tourism at BirdLife Israel, part of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI). A avid lifelong birder and advocate for connecting people with nature, she previously directed the Nili and David Jerusalem Bird Observatory, Israel’s first urban nature site. During her time there, she developed programs that brought diverse communities into the world of birds and transformed the observatory into a vibrant hub for birdwatchers from Israel and around the world.
Alena is passionate about building a more gender-inclusive birdwatching community. She organizes Israel’s biennial Women’s Birdwatching Conference and founded Women in Steppe, the first international all-women’s team to participate in the Champions of the Flyway Big Day race, competing from 2020–2026.
Since the COVID-19 lockdowns, Alena has also been a leader in SPNI’s Nature Heals programs, creating online and in-person opportunities to connect communities with nature through positive and restorative experiences. Her own birding journey began in Trinidad and Tobago, where, as a child, she was captivated by Motmots and Scarlet Ibis. That early fascination grew into a lifelong career in birds, wildlife and environmental education, including degrees Wildlife Biology at the University of Rhode Island and a Master’s in Environmental Education from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point.
Jorunn Fleumer
Owner and Host, Finca Macondo Bird Sanctuary
Jorunn came to Honduras in 2001 to work on an FAO project and eventually made the country her home. More than two decades ago, she and her husband acquired 100 manzanas of land, primarily dedicated to African oil palm, while maintaining areas of native forest and pasture. From the beginning, they adopted more sustainable farming practices, avoiding chemical use, protecting native trees and allowing natural vegetation to regenerate in areas where palms had died.
Her passion for conservation eventually led her to Aves Honduras and its Bird Sanctuary Network.
Although Finca Macondo is a working oil palm farm—a crop widely associated with habitat loss and biodiversity concerns—its management practices revealed a different potential. By allowing vegetation to regenerate, protecting remaining forest and maintaining natural areas within the farm, the property developed a surprisingly diverse habitat for birds and other wildlife.
Today, Finca Macondo combines agriculture, habitat restoration and bird conservation, with more than 220 bird species documented in less than two years of monitoring. [Name] welcomes visitors to discover how thoughtful land management can create opportunities for biodiversity conservation—even within a productive landscape.
Ruth Rodriguez
Costa Rica
Biologist, Nature Guide and Birding Leader
Ruth is a Costa Rican biologist, tourism guide, entrepreneur and educator, recognised for her pioneering work in ecotourism, environmental interpretation and birdwatching. She began her career when ecotourism was still emerging in Costa Rica and quickly became known for her knowledge of biodiversity and her ability to train other guides, establishing herself as one of the country's early specialists in nature tourism.
Throughout her career, Ruth has used education as a tool to connect people with nature, working with children, adults and older generations and creating opportunities to discover Costa Rica's forests through biodiversity observation and interpretation. She is also a founding member of the Ornithological Association of Costa Rica, where she has contributed to ornithological outreach through publications, educational activities, talks and birdwatching field trips.
Her most visible legacy is Colectivo Jacanas Costa Rica, a women-led birdwatching group that grew from a small initiative into a national network of more than 300 women. Through Jacanas, Ruth has helped create spaces for women to participate and lead in birdwatching, promoting responsible and respectful nature tourism while demonstrating the power of collective action.
Today, Ruth represents a generation of Costa Rican women who have helped shape the country's nature tourism and birding culture. Her legacy lives not only in the forests she has helped people discover, but in the growing community of women who now see birdwatching, conservation and leadership as spaces where they belong.
Yanina Maggiotto
Argentina / Spain
An Ornithologist, Licensed in Tourism and specialized in Bird Watching and wild photography, is also certified as a professional tour guide.
Yanina was born in Argentina and has been passionate about wildlife since her childhood. She moved to Spain in 2002 and fell in love with the Albufera de Valencia Natural Park, where she now lives with her family. For the past 6 years, she has been President of the Birding Guides Association in the region of the Valencian Community, acting as a consultant on eco-tourism and bird watching, she has also been attending to national and international bird shows to promote the area.
She is heavily involved in numerous local conservation projects and bird census.
Erick Jesús Herrera Rodríguez
Honduras
Community-Based Birding & Nature Guide at Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge
Is a local tourism and nature guide from Salado Barra, Honduras, where he was born and raised. His journey as a guide began in 2008, after being inspired by early environmental education experiences in his community.
For more than 15 years, Erick has worked as a community-based guide, developing his knowledge of the forests, wetlands and wildlife of the region through direct experience, continuous training and years in the field. His expertise includes birdwatching, wildlife interpretation, kayaking, sport fishing and nature-based tourism.
His professional journey reflects the value of local knowledge and community-based tourism. Erick transformed his deep familiarity with the territory and its wildlife into a profession, while becoming an active part of the tourism development of Salado Barra and the wider Caribbean coast of Honduras.
Through his work, he offers visitors not only knowledge of the area's biodiversity, but also the perspective of someone who grew up in the landscape he now guides others to discover.
José Leonel Chaves
Honduras
Conservationist and Nature Guide
José Leonel Chaves began his journey in conservation in 2002, when he trained as a nature guide and discovered the importance of protecting Honduras' natural heritage. He soon began exploring the Mountain of Santa Bárbara, studying its forests, landscapes and biodiversity, while developing trails that allowed visitors to experience the highlands through hiking and birdwatching.
His commitment extended beyond tourism. In 2004, Leonel formed a group of children from the local community, using reforestation, environmental education, community cleanups, television programs and theatre to inspire a new generation to care for nature. Over the years, his work evolved into a nature tourism initiative with trails, cabins and camping areas, creating opportunities for visitors to discover the mountain while supporting conservation.
A defining moment came when the property where the project was located was sold. Rather than allowing the remaining natural forest to be converted to other productive uses, Leonel worked to preserve the area around the cabins and, most importantly, the forest itself. What began as a nature tourism project gradually became a personal commitment to conservation.
Today, after more than two decades of work in environmental education, nature tourism, forest conservation and birdwatching, Leonel continues to promote a simple but powerful idea: that experiencing nature can inspire people to understand its value—and ultimately, to protect it.
Hannah Buschert
USA
Secretary, IC4WB
Before Hannah found her way back to the Oregon Coast, she worked as a Park Ranger in Texas and Oregon and briefly served as the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail Coordinator.
Today, Hannah uses her passion for tourism to work with local industry leaders to promote responsible ecotourism. She is also a third-generation woman hotelier.
Hannah loves exploring the world with her husband, Erik. Through their podcast, Hannah and Erik Go Birding, they share their birding travels and insights into the nuances of the global birding community.
She also advocates for women in birding through her podcast, Women Birders (Happy Hour), and celebrates bird-related literature through the Bird Nerd Book Club.
Greg R. Homel
An ornithologist, award-winning international nature photojournalist, documentary film producer, and lecturer. He lives and works from his home in Bahia de Banderas, near Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, and from his second home in Tucson, Arizona, in the Sonoran Desert.
A birder-naturalist since childhood, Greg founded Natural Elements Productions in 1986 and Natural Encounters Birding Tours shortly thereafter. Now he travels the globe on a full-time basis in search of rare and little-known birds and other wildlife. He shares his unbounded (and contagious) enthusiasm through excursions for small groups worldwide, and with a wider audience through state-of-the-art digital lectures, television, and wide variety of publications and video productions.
Throughout his life, but especially since 1990, Greg has guided, educated, and inspired travelers in 107 countries. His travels on all the continents — and most major and minor archipelagos from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic — have allowed him to see two-thirds of the world’s 11,000 or so bird species in their natural habitats.
His early work appeared regularly in books and magazines, including Wildbird Magazine,The Audubon Society Field Guides to Eastern Birds and The Audubon Society Field Guides to Western Birds, Time, Birder’s World, Tucson Lifestyle, and Texas Monthly. Since the “digital revolution,” Greg has moved into television, video production, and lecturing aboard expedition ships with the hope of “giving a voice to his truest love, which is the natural world and its inhabitants, especially birds!”
Doris Valencia
Peru
Tour Leader and conservationist in Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador
Doris, a Peruvian birder and naturalist whose passion for nature began in childhood. Born in Cusco, she spent her early years in the Madre de Dios region of the southern Amazon, where her parents managed an ecolodge and introduced her to the richness of the rainforest.
With more than two decades of experience as a naturalist guide, Doris leads birding and wildlife trips throughout Peru and Colombia and is expanding her work into Ecuador. Her guiding brings together birds, ecology, natural history, culture, and local knowledge, with a particular passion for sharing Peru’s history.
Doris also leads the Pacha Conservancy Project, focused on reforestation, environmental education, research, and community engagement in the cloud forests north of Cusco. She is a strong advocate for women in tourism and for creating opportunities for female guides and naturalists in communities near important birding areas.
Alejandra Rendón
Colombia / Spain
She has developed projects in Latin America and Europe and combines her photographic work with editorial, educational and conservation projects. She is co-author of the book Portfolio 1: Photographs and Stories of Extraordinary Birds and worked as photo editor for the Handbook of the Reptiles of the World. She is also a Girls Who Click ambassador, supporting the participation of girls and young women in nature photography.
Alejandra is also the co-founder of Warbler Tours, a nature travel company specialising in birding and bird photography expeditions around the world.
Herbert Byaruhanga
Uganda
Founder and Treasurer, International Conference for Women Birders (IC4WB)
Herbert Byaruhanga is a visionary leader in African tourism, birding and conservation. He is the Founder and Managing Director of Bird Uganda Safaris and the Founder of the Africa Institute of Tourism, through which he promotes professional skills development, sustainable tourism and service excellence across the continent. He holds a degree in Tourism Management from Makerere University.
With more than 30 years of experience leading birding tours, Herbert is recognised as one of the leading bird guides in Uganda and East Africa. His extensive international birding experience has taken him to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, the United States, Canada, Asia, the United Kingdom, other parts of Europe and South Africa. This global exposure has enriched his knowledge and strengthened his commitment to positioning Africa as a world-class birding destination.
Herbert serves as President of the World Bird Guides Society and is a Founder Member of the World Birdfairs Council. Through these international roles, he advances professional bird-guiding standards, conservation, knowledge-sharing and global collaboration within the birding and tourism sectors.
He is the Founder of the International Conference for Women Birders (IC4WB) and serves as Treasurer of the IC4WB Board. The conference is a global platform that promotes women’s participation, leadership and professional development in birding, conservation and nature-based tourism. Herbert also established the Uganda Women Birders Club and has expanded the women birders’ empowerment campaign into Kenya and Tanzania, creating meaningful opportunities for women and young people across East Africa.
A passionate trainer of tourist guides and tour managers, Herbert has dedicated much of his career to capacity-building, mentorship and professional excellence. Beyond tourism, he actively supports women’s empowerment and community-development initiatives, using tourism and conservation as powerful tools for inclusive economic growth, leadership development and lasting social transformation.
IC4WB 2023
The inaugural International Conference for Women Birders (IC4WB) was held in Uganda in December 2023 and was a resounding success, drawing over 300 participants, 80% of whom were women. This landmark event showcased Uganda's rich avian biodiversity and significantly contributed to promoting birding and conservation efforts. Inspired by this success, the Board decided to host the second IC4WB in Costa Rica in September 2025, continuing the mission of empowering women in birding and conservation globally
Conference FAQ's
May 2027
Honduras
Men are invited to participate in the conference for women birders because it promotes inclusivity and gender diversity within the birding community. Involvement in such conferences nurtures a supportive environment that stimulates collaboration, understanding, and recognition of women's roles in birding and conservation. This initiative aids in dispelling gender stereotypes, fostering the exchange of knowledge, and contributes to the establishment of a more inclusive birding community. Here, both men and women can effectively collaborate for the preservation of avian habitats
IC4WB - 2023 Photo Gallery
GET IN TOUCH
QUICK LINKS
2027
© 2026 International Conference for Women Birders
Crafted by Robylinks Solutions