Carolyn Felderhof has been the principal motor behind Sendero Mexico’s Birding Program. Born and raised on Vancouver Island, Canada Carolyn studied aquaculture and fisheries. She moved with her husband, Paul Beckman, to Mazatlan in 1992 to experience life in Mexico where he was born. In 1994 they started operating a nature and adventure tours primarily kayak tours to the coastal islands and nearby estuaries. Impressed by the incredible biodiversity of her adopted country, especially the birdlife, Carolyn decided to create and promote quality birding tours to hotspots in southern Sinaloa.

In 1997, seeing a need for a conservation initiative to protect the habitat for the Tufted Jay, Paul and Carolyn decided to get involved by offering their time and energy to promote its creation. Carolyn has lead birding trips for Sendero Mexico to various locations in Sinaloa, Durango and Nayarit including San Blas. She is also been the local logistics liaison and co-leader for companies such as Naturalist Journeys, Carpenter Nature Center, Toucan Birding Tours from Britain and, starting in 2010, for Victor Emmanuel Nature Tours. The Mazatlan Bird Festival was a goal Carolyn and her husband shared to promote conservation awareness and attract visitors to the birding hotspots of Sinaloa.
Currently Carolyn is not available for guiding day tours as she is spending time with her family in Canada.

Sendero Mexico is very excited to announce that Rene Valdes an experienced Biologist/Ornithologist born in Mazatlan, Mexico will join our staff as a Birding Tour Leader starting in January 2010. Rene is very knowledgeable on the birds and habitats of the Mazatlan area and became a biologist - ornithologist in Monterrey, Mexico where he became a specialist on psittacines (parrots/macaws). He conducted field research working in both the Sierra Madre Oriental and Occidental with the endangered Thick-billed Parrots, Maroon-fronted Parrots, and Military Macaws.

Rene is also an expert on pine-oak forest bird diversity and over the last 8 years has acquired knowledge of hot spot locations where many other endangered and endemic bird species are found. He has guided for Sendero Mexico during the Mazatlan Bird Festival, in Monterrey and adjacent areas in northeastern Mexico and is an accomplished bird and wildlife photographer whose work was on display and on sale during the festival.