Holly Merker
Guide & Educator
Holly Merker is an avid birder, writer, public speaker, and certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide. Some of Holly’s earliest memories are of nature and birds, igniting unending wonder that still drives her forward today. A professional birding guide for two decades, she’s grateful to share her passion with others, and loves when birds bring people together.
Bridging gaps between avian science and communities of people in order to propel bird conservation has motivated her involvement as the state coordinator for eBird in Pennsylvania since 2005. A strong supporter for young birders, Holly is the Director for the American Birding Association’s teen Camp Delaware Bay, and co-founded the Frontiers in Ornithology Symposium for Youth, which aims to build connections for young people interested in careers in avian conservation. She also works as a Session Director and Instructor for National Audubon’s Hog Island Camp in Maine and has professional guided birding tours for multiple organizations.
Holly believes strongly in the powerful benefits that nature and birds can bring to our overall wellbeing, recently co-authoring Ornitherapy: For Your Mind, Body, and Soul, a book promoting this practice, and which guides readers into deeper experiences with birds. She hopes her passion and love for birds to be contagious and strives to provide meaningful encounters with nature for all people in her work with nature-based wellness programming and tours for Hillstar Nature.
Upcoming tours with Holly
Panama: The Canal Zone & the Chiriqui Highlands - March 2025