Andrew Griswold, Director of EcoTravel
35 Pratt Street, Suite 201
Essex 06426
860-767-0660
Fax: 860-767-9988
E-Mail Us Anytime!

Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved to Connecticut Audubon Society

The EcoTravel Team

Andrew Griswold is the Director of EcoTravel for Connecticut Audubon Society and graduated as an honor student in biology from Hartwick College, where he worked at their biological research station in the Bahamas studying avian ecology. Andy is the original concept creator and scientific consultant for a cable television series on bird watching called All Bird TV that aired on Discovery’s Animal Planet. He is the original concept creator of the award winning Connecticut River Eagle Festival (at the time the largest birding festival in the Americas). He leads trips for Connecticut Audubon to Canada, Texas, South Florida, Nova Scotia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, and many other unique destinations. Andy is a licensed USCG 100-Ton Master boat captain and lives in Essex, Connecticut with Marilou, his wife, and Sam, their young son. He is known for his attentiveness to traveler’s needs, fine birding skills, and infectious sense of humor.

Priscilla Wood has been with CT Audubon EcoTravel since 2007 as the Sales & Marketing Manager. She attended the University of Massachusetts and spent over 20 years as a Special Education Behavioral Consultant before changing careers in 2000 to become involved in the education and conservation of the lower CT River Valley. She works in the EcoTravel office in Essex designing and organizing day trips and has also begun leading and creating overnight trips as well. Many of our EcoTravelers have enjoyed Priscilla’s companionship and state that her leadership style, organization and sense of humor make for a great travel experience. Her attention to detail and traveler’s needs is well known. Priscilla traveled to Cornwall England in 2008, led trips to Washington, DC and Martha’s Vineyard in 2009, and has co-led a number of overnight trips in the New England area including Block Island and Cape May. Priscilla lives with her husband Terry and daughter Melaney in Old Saybrook.

Bob Kuchta has been involved with outdoor organizations most of his life, whether it be for work or play, including the American Public Gardens Association, Connecticut Horticulture Society, Connecticut Botanical Society and Madison and Guilford Land Trusts. Bob is Madison's Inland Wetland Officer and Tree Warden. He loves traveling, having visited over 500 botanical sites in the past 30 years, to some 30 states and 3 foreign countries. He particularly loves visiting gardens( wild and cultivated) and walking anywhere he is free to explore. Bob and his wife have camped in the wilds of Alaska and traveled by foot, ferry, airplane, canoe, motorhome, van and bicycle. As a landscape designer and ecologist/educator, Bob is always reading the story of the land and loves to share it with any type of audience, large or small. He has guided many Connecticut Audubon groups, over many years, mostly on daytrips to NY, RI, CT, MA, PA and NJ. With his horticulturist wife and two children, Bob lives within camera shot of an active osprey next on the Neck River in Madison, in a post and beam, solar home that he designed and built.

 Milan Bull is Senior Director of Research and Science for Connecticut Audubon  Society and is a long-time expedition leader for Connecticut Audubon including destinations throughout the Americas, Australia, Antarctica, and Africa. Miley has acquired a strong following that comment frequently about his wide ranging knowledge of natural history and birds. You will appreciate his enthusiastic willingness to share that knowledge and his unequalled passion for the natural world. His leadership and sense of humor will add immeasurably to your experience. Miley has a BS degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Connecticut and a MS degree in biology from the University of Bridgeport. He currently is a member of the Long Island Sound Advisory Committee, the Citizens Advisory Council to Connecticut's Department of Environmental Protection and was a founding director of the Connecticut Ornithological Association. He has also published numerous articles and speaks statewide on topics relating to ornithology and the environment. Milan and his wife, Cathy, reside with their two children in Fairfield. 

Joe Bear has been actively birding for over 20 years. A University of Florida graduate, and now Senior VP of Treasury at RBS Greenwich Capital, he entered into his passion for birds by signing up for as many CT Audubon trips as his weekends would allow. After not too long, his abilities and wanting to give back to the birding community had him leading trips for CT Audubon to Cape May and the Florida Everglades. A 3 year overseas work assignment in London interrupted this, but led Joe into a whole new world of birds. With a world list now exceeding 2,200 species, he has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa and takes great pleasure in helping people find and identify our avian friends; his enthusiastic and friendly personality compliment his overall leadership abilities. His upcoming trips for CT Audubon include Block Island, Monhegan Island, Dominican Republic, and Scotland. Joe believes that each time we pick up our bins - both beginners and experts alike - we learn something new about birds. He now resides in Wilton, CT with Barbara, his wife, and twins Cameron and Jemma.

Frank Gallo joined the New Canaan Nature Center as the Director of Public Programs/ Naturalist in 1990 and has taught school and public programs and lead eco-tours for much of his tenure. In 2000, he became the Center's Director of Eco-Travel and Field Studies. For seven years prior to working for NCNC he was a Ranger/Naturalist with the New Haven Parks Department. He was also a resident naturalist and field researcher at the Tambopata Nature Reserve in Peru. In June 2005, Frank became the Director of Coastal Education for the Connecticut Audubon Society and runs their Milford Point Sanctuary. A superb birder, he has led and participated in birding expeditions throughout North America and other parts of the world. Since 1993, Frank's tour leading has taken him as far as New Zealand and South Africa, Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Europe, including two visits to Spain. He is currently a member of the Avian Rare Records Committee of CT, is federally licensed as a master bird bander, and is a past President of the New Haven Bird Club. Frank holds a bachelor's degree in Biology with a specialization in Ornithology from Southern Connecticut State College, is the author of two children's books, Bird Calls and Night Sounds, and is currently working on a bird finding guide to CT and Rhode Island for Pequot Press. Frank is a published freelance photographer and lecturer. In 2003, he received the CT Outdoor Environmental Education Association's Outdoor Environmental Educator of the Year Award. Frank is also a certified Wilderness First Responder and flat-water canoe instructor. 

Jay Hand is a  veteran of the Connecticut Audubon Society travel program. He has led many tours, each one with rave reviews. Jay has led tours to Texas, Chincoteague, Block Island, Cape May, South Florida, East Africa, Costa Rica, and Arizona, to name just a few! A former Connecticut native, Jay now lives in Tucson, AZ where he has been the voice of the Southeast Arizona Rare Bird Alert. Jay is a graduate of Yale University with a degree in Geology. Jay is known for his competent birding skills, great ear, energy, and commitment to your having a memorable trip.

James Restivo has been leading tours for Connecticut Audubon for a number of years and is now a veteran guide. His resume of tours includes Nebraska's Platte River, New Hampshire's Connecticut Lakes, Pennsylvania's Hawk Mountain, and Massachusetts' North Shore. Before his introduction to CAS EcoTravel, he spent time working with The Nature Conservancy in central Texas on various projects including banding and nest monitoring of Black-capped Vireos, habitat control for Golden-cheeked Warbler, and a management program for prescribed fires. Also, his experience includes bird banding and mist-netting work in Alaska and California. James has traveled throughout North America in search of birds, and touts a world-wide life list of approximately 1,400 species.

Nick Bonomo has been birding New England since the age of 16. He graduated from Stonehill College with a degree in Biology in May of 2006. In autumn 2007, he began attending Yale University from which he recently graduated as a Physician Assistant. Despite his rigorous career schedule, Nick has escaped to bird such locations as Nova Scotia, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Costa Rica, eastern Australia, and New Zealand. He currently lives in Connecticut and can often be found birding the New Haven County coast in his spare time. His interest in bird identification, status, and distribution makes him a skillful leader, and his youthful enthusiasm is matched by few.

Dave Tripp is one of Connecticut’s sharp, enthusiastic birders and has traveled the globe in search of avian discoveries. He has been a long-time trip leader for Connecticut Audubon Society and Litchfield Hills Audubon Society, leading tours to Cape May, Boston’s North Shore, and Trinidad. Currently, he is the Field Trips Chairman for the LHAS. He has participated in New Jersey’s World Series of Birding as a member of the CAS team, and is a lifetime member of the Connecticut Ornithological Association, serving as a member of their Avian Records Committee. Dave is employed as a firefighter and lives in Canton, CT with his wife and young son. Dave is known for his incredible birding skills and energy, as well as his kind spirit and friendliness.  

Charles Avenengo is our offshore guy. He first lead a pelagic trip for Connecticut Audubon EcoTravel in 1992. Since then, in addition to the many inshore and offshore trips with EcoTravel, Charles has been to Italy and Brazil with us. Since sailing from his homeport of Newport, Rhode Island in 1982, he has logged 150,000-global miles in his oceanic and land wanderings in his pursuit of seeing wildlife. This quest has found him on all three major oceans, four continents, and over 40-countries and island groups. He has lived for extensive periods in Europe, Micronesia, Asia, Central America, and the Caribbean. As a wildlife guide, Charles has lead over 750 trips on various nature related marine voyages in southern New England and the Caribbean. These trips have focused on marine mammals, fish, and pelagic birds. Blessed with an uncanny sense of good timing and a nose for sniffing out an adventure from even the mundane, passengers have always enjoyed his thoughtful insights and cheery humor. Charles currently lives in Newport, Rhode Island with his 9-year old son Hugo.

Miley Bull

                                                                                       Jay Hand