About Steve Shunk

Stephen A. Shunk was raised with a passion for nature and the outdoors, and he went on to study Meteorology and Environmental Studies at San Jose State University. Steve began birding in the Bay Area in 1989, and he started teaching birding classes in 1992. After moving to central Oregon in 1997, he founded the Paradise Birding tour company. Now an accomplished professional naturalist, Steve leads birding and natural history tours throughout the Americas, as well as destinations in Asia and Europe.

While in central Oregon, Steve co-founded the East Cascades Bird Conservancy—now the East Cascades Audubon Society—and served as its first President. Steve co-founded the Oregon Birding Trails program and coordinated its flagship project, the Oregon Cascades Birding Trail. He served as a 15-year compiler for two Christmas bird counts, and he has worked as a field biologist off and on for over 20 years. Most recently, Steve conducted surveys for woodpeckers and other cavity nesters in Central Oregon’s Deschutes National Forest.

In 2021, Steve started leading domestic and international birding tours through Arizona-based Naturalist Journeys. In January 2024, Steve moved his home base to Rancho Primavera, in Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, Mexico. Here, Steve and his partner, Lizzy Martinez, lead tours on this private nature reserve, while Steve continues guiding for Naturalist Journeys.

Over 20 years ago, Steve recognized the amazing woodpecker diversity on the eastern slope of the Oregon Cascades, where 11 woodpecker species annually raise their young. He began studying the lives of woodpeckers across the continent, and he founded the Woodpecker Wonderland Festival in Camp Sherman, Oregon in 2008. But his crowning achievement was the publication of his woodpecker guide …

PUBLICATIONS

Peterson Reference Guide to Woodpeckers of North America

Steve's woodpecker research culminated with the publication of his Peterson Reference Guide to Woodpeckers of North America in 2016. Learn more about woodpeckers and Steve's book on our Woodpecker Wonderland website. 

Articles

For many years, Steve has been writing articles for a variety of publications, including Living Bird, Birding and Bird Watcher's Digest and the online Nature Travel Network. Here is a sampling of Steve’s articles.

BIRD WATCHER'S DIGEST—Species Profiles: White-tailed Ptarmigan, Northern Flicker & Acorn Woodpecker

BIRDING MAGAZINE—Puzzling Flickers, Understanding Introgression

BIRDING MAGAZINE—Sphyrapicus Anxiety: Identifying Hybrid Sapsuckers

LIVING BIRD MAGAZINE—Meriwether Lewis Would be Proud

NATURE TRAVEL NETWORK—My Birthday in the Caribbean

NATURE TRAVEL NETWORK—Five Reasons to Go Birding in Mexico

OREGON MAGAZINE—The Colors of Fall Migration

OREGON CASCADES BIRDING TRAIL - Comprehensive 32-page guide to nearly 200 birding sites

WILDLIFE SOCIETY NEWS—A New Forest Fire Paradigm, The need for high-severity fires (co-authored with 5 others)

WINGING IT - Woodpecker Wonderland, American Birding Association

PRESENTATIONS

Steve is an engaging and dynamic speaker. He has delivered presentations for the annual meetings of state ornithological societies, numerous annual bird festivals, and many local bird clubs, including over 50 local Audubon chapters.

For a detailed look at Steve's broad repertoire of program topics download his Summary of Birding Presentations pdf, then contact Steve as soon as possible with any questions, and get Steve on your calendar today!

"Steve's presentations are the perfect combination of science and entertainment." 
- Bartshe Miller, coordinator of the Mono Lake Bird Chautauqua

"Yours was the best presentation we have had in 25 years." 
- Bill Clark, historian for Audubon Society of Missouri