Mitch Lysinger, a native of Florida, grew up birding the southern part of the state as well as other parts of the US before moving to Ecuador to work at La Selva Lodge (for two years) and then with Field Guides since 1997. Mitch is fascinated by bird sounds and has spent many years intensively birding and tape-recording the birds of Ecuador and other Neotropical countries on tours and in his free time. As a result (and hundreds of field-recorded cassettes later!), Mitch and John Moore teamed up and published the two-volume cassette The Birds of Cabanas San Isidro, and then went on to tackle (with other co-authors) the multi-volume CD set--with four published and more to come--of the birds of Ecuador. An updated CD of The Birds of Cabanas San Isidro by Mitch, John Moore, and Niels Krabbe was published in 2011.

Mitch has more recently become involved in the conservation scene in Ecuador, working closely with the Jocotoco Foundation on land purchase for the purpose of setting up new reserves in areas critically in need of protection. When not on tour, Mitch can often be found with his wife, Carmen, and their two children (Martin and Sara) at San Isidro Lodge--their cloud forest lodge on the east slope of the Andes--where they see to the needs of their guests and continue to expand the lodge's already vast 1200-hectare reserve with the hopes of widening the existing forest corridor that bridges the gap between two large national parks.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Guide Mitch Lysinger was great and so helpful and made the experience come alive for me. Too many highlights to pick out one--can I bottle it and repeat it again and again?!? Your office service was excellent at all times." R. N., Ecuador's Rainforest & Andes 2011