Very occasionally you meet and spend time with someone whos infectious enthusiasm, passion and commitment to a chosen endeavour erodes a little of your cynicism and restores a huge chunk of your faith in humanity. Mandy Talpas is one such individual. I have just had the pleasure of spending six days with Mandy birding and photographing on Oahu and Big island. The brief was to get me as many endemics as possible and get me into a position to get some good photos. I have been let down before when my expectations of a trip fell short but on this occassion I need not have worried. Mandy found all the important birds and gained me great access to areas where I could get my photographs. Mandy was always considerate and patient which made for a pleasant birding experience, sharing her knowledge of the Islands, its plants, native peoples and its imperilled birdlife. Our last day in the Hakalau Forest refuge with Jack Jeffrey was a spectacular end to a great week. Full sunshine all day, great photography and a Hawaiian Hawk flyover to send me on my way. One very happy Aussie birder as we drove back to Kona at last light. In a male dominated industry Mandy easily holds her own and has raised the gender equality bar to a height her male colleagues now need to strive for. She is by far the best guide I have been out with, knows her birds, has passion and committment unparralelled and is an absolute pleasure to spend time with. You cant ask for any more than that. I would thoroughly recommend a day or two with Mandy if ever you bird in Hawaii. Warren Chad, Central Nsw Australia #weejugla-wildlife read more

Mandy took me on a birding tour of Oahu and she took my wife and me on another tour on the Big Island. When I told my wife about my experience birding with Mandy on Oahu she was ready to join us on the Big Island tour. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience(s). Mandy is knowledgeable in so many areas. In addition to seeing birds, we received insights into the history, culture, ecology, bird conservation, and geology of the islands. My birding goal was to see honey creepers and Mandy put me on several. If one goes birding expect to do some walking over uneven terrain. On the Big Island we walked into a old forest that was surrounded by old lava flows. We entered through a path of lava. The walking was not terribly strenuous. Mandy will not put you into an uncomfortable situation. My wife and I are both over 65. Be sure to take a camera and binoculars if not a spotting scope. Mandy will supply binoculars for your use and will set up a spotting scope when conditions are suitable (i.e., the birds are not flitting from tree to tree or shrub to shrub). We recommend that you plan for an all day trip. The ecology of the islands is diverse (montane to desert) Mandy is a professional, knowledgeable ornithologist that we recommend as a birding guide without reservation. read more

My wife and I hired Mandy to guide us for the first two days of birding on Kauai and for a book-end day on Oahu on our last day in Hawai'i. She carefully structured itineraries that gave us more endemic avifauna that I thought would be possible in those 3 days. And was attentive to our requirements for counting a sighting as a Lifer and in trying to assist with photography when possible. She has an amazing ear for the calls--such a critical skill in such dense and unfamiliar forests--and gave us great looks at such rare endemics. She's thoroughly passionate about bird conservation and deeply knowledgeable about island birds in specific, and natural history in general. We couldn't recommend her more strongly and wish we'd reached out to her earlier in our planning process. Oh, and if she tells you that the trails are wicked difficult, believe her. Hiking boots not hiking shoes. GoreTex everything--if you are going into a rainforest, it will rain. Trek poles help. She has a sense about the pace you need to go, so don't worry about that. To us, the best aspect of hiring Mandy is that she's guiding you but she also follows your lead. read more

My wife and I are very happy to review our experience from a day with birding guide Mandy Talpas, Honolulu, in June 2018. (She is willing to work on other islands as well.) We were in Hawaii on a two-week vacation from Scandinavia and had asked her to show us as many birds as possible from 7 a.m. till 4 p.m. out of Waikiki Beach. To be brief it was the best day that we had on all 3 islands and I wish we could have hired her for the other islands as well. We had a round trip of Southeast Oahu. She is a cornucopia of information on ornithology, botany and the history of Hawaii. Not only does she know her birds and their sounds, she knows where to find them and how to pass information on. She picked us up punctually at 7 a.m. at our Waikiki hotel, had brought water in a cooler, in case we had not brought some ourselves, and energy bars. This enthusiastic, energetic, charming, attentive young woman cared for us as were we family. She willingly gave us information about birding the other islands on our own. She is very active in environmental programs and nature conservation. Hire her before somebody else does. Kirsten & Peter, Denmark read more

I would HIGHLY recommend Mandy Talpas for birding and nature excursions in Hawaii. We spent a full day in Oct 2018 while in port on a cruise Vancouver to Hawaii (Honolulu) Planning for travel tours off a cruise to Hawaii with my elderly father - not knowing how well he would manage with mobility and stamina - was really a challenge. At age 90 - He is an ardent and experienced birder and I knew that any opportunity to birdwatch on the islands would be a real gift to him. Mandy made this possible and was a delight to plan and be with for our day together. Mandy planned accessible locations and viewpoints and a route near Honolulu that would fit with our timeline, we visited several locations with a variety of habitats & rare species, and enjoyed a delightful lunch. Mandy proved VERY professional and knowledgeable on wildlife, botanical and environmental issues. Her energy, enthusiasm and patience was boundless - and I could not have chosen a better guide for our memorable Oahu excursion. So valuable to have had this opportunity in his declining years...Dad is still talking about this unique experience. read more

This was our first time meeting and taking a tour with Mandy. However it definitely will not be the last. Both birders and non-birders will thoroughly enjoy a bird tour with Mandy. She has as much knowledge of birds on the Hawaiian Islands as anyone. She also has vast knowledge of all North American birds. So she can speak intelligently about birds with anyone. However what really sets her apart is her sparkling personality. When you bird with Mandy you are not just hiring a guide, but gaining a friend. She does everything she can to make your trip comfortable, informative, and fun. Not only does she know all of the birds, but she knows the back story on each and every one of them. We will be birding with Mandy again on Oahu, and probably on the Big Island. We can't thank her enough for the great time, and being a most genuine person. Do not hesitate to book this tour! Just please don't book the dates I want :) . read more

Mandy is 'rebranding' herself as "Hawaii Birding & Nature" which I think better reflects the tours she offers. She is an excellent and knowledgeable birder, and got us amazing views of two of the rare forest endemics and of Bristle-thighed Curlews (there's only 7,000 of them in the world), but she also a keen and active conservationist, and a very personable and helpful guide. She gave us a mini-tour of the island, with lots of information on the history, culture and landscapes, which added greatly to our day, as well as some really satisfying bird sightings. She'd be a good guide for a family where one member is a keen birder, but others just want to see more of the island - which isn't to say she could also give a thoroughly memorable day also to the most ardent of bird twitchers! Highly recommended! read more

Great for hardcore birders and non-birders alike! I booked Mandy because I was keen to get the endemics and ABA lifers on a recent pleasure trip to Hawaii. I had promised my non-birding spouse I would do only one day with Mandy on the three islands we visited: Oahu, Kauia, and the Big Island. Mandy was a great choice! Not only is she an energetic and knowledgeable birder, she is a wealth of facts and local lore to keep the non-birders happy. The day on Oahu was glorious fun, and I learned a ton about history and local sites while getting the desired endemics on a relatively easy hike. She has a great outgoing personality, strives to please in every way, and is fun to spend time with. She volunteers for several refuges, with an eye towards saving the remaining habitat/endemics. Book this babe! read more

We had never been birdwatching before our tour with Mandy, and we are now completely hooked! She is knowledgeable, personable, and dedicated to finding as many species as possible. Mandy took our interests into account as she drove us all over the island, and we learned about a lot more than birds in the process! We did our tour on the first day of our week-long stay in Hawaii, and I can't tell you how many times we shared what we learned from Mandy with the rest of our family. Honestly, even if you had minimal interest in birds, you would have learned a lot about the history, culture, and natural life of Hawaii and Oahu. I cannot recommend her enough as a guide, and I'm excited to continue birdwatching back here on the East Coast! read more

Mandy is an extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic birding guide. We spent a full day with her on Oahu and she helped my husband and I find our three target species (Elepaio, Apapane, and Amakihi). She also helped us to identify many other bird species in locations we did not know existed. We were ecstatic when we mentioned we would love to see a White Tern chick and that she knew just where to find one. She volunteers for many conservation efforts to save the native Hawaiian birds - this greatly adds to the conversation and her ability to find these wonderful birds. We look forward to going birding with her again on Oahu and hopefully even on a neighbor island. read more

The only birding guide you need in Hawaii! Mandy is enthusiastic, fun and knows where the birds are! She took me around Oahu and I saw amazing birds, wildlife, and scenery. She's not only a great birding/nature guide but also knows local history/culture. Mandy recommended other activities and even got tickets for me. Mandy volunteers her time in local conservation efforts and conservation work that has taken her around the world. Hearing about her volunteer experiences just enriched the time I spent with Mandy. I will definitely be returning to bird other islands with Mandy! read more

Mandy is the best guide I have ever had and I have birded for 50 years. We spent an entire week together traveling from Oahu to Kauai to The Big Island. She is extremely professional, talented and tenacious. She upped my lifer list by 46....including 16/17 of the endemics (we missed the Hawaiian Hawk). AND she has a tremendous personality! Her humor is infectious. I have made a life-long friend and I recommend her for any level of birder/nature person. She knows about all flora and fauna and is a natural teacher. GO Hawaii Birding Babe!!! Your Philly friend, George read more

As a wildlife photographer, I have a special slow pace of doing birding, and Mandy well-understood this, and was able to easily cater for it, so that I was able to get very good photos of many of the target birds I was looking for. She is super knowledgeable, friendly and easy-going. She is also very committed to and active in the conservation of Hawaii's birdlife, which is very important to me as a conservationist. I would highly recommend her to anyone seeking to do bird/wildlife watching or photography in Hawaii. read more

We are so pleased to have spent the day with Mandy, exploring Oahu and seeing great birds! We couldn't have asked for more. Mandy is very knowledgeable about all things birds, history, plants, nature in general, and is overall a kind and enthusiastic guide. She showed the four of us (two novice birders and two non-birders) a great time and everyone was certainly kept engaged and entertained. I would highly recommend Mandy as she went above and beyond in showing us a great time, and we learned a lot too! read more

My wife and I spent a day birding Oahu with Mandy, and she was able to take us to places to see exactly the birds that we wanted to see. And, we had a lot of fun spending the day with her. The next day we did a touristy/culture trip with her and a larger family group. She's very knowledgeable about birds, nature in general, Hawaiian history and culture, and where to go. It's also nice that she picks you up where you're staying and will tailor your tour to whatever you want to do. We highly recommend her. read more

We had a full day of birding with Mandy on Oahu, and an additional short trip at James Campbell NWR. We have birded much of Central and South America, and Europe with guides and we have not worked with anyone more knowledgeable, personalble, or informative as Mandy. This was a great experience in everyway, and of course, we got the birds! Our Oahu list is not 100% complete, so we will have to come back and have her show us the rest! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. read more

We were on a 12 day Cruise/land tour. So glad we found Mandy. This was by far the best excursion we went on. My Dad loves birding and wanted to find species in Hawaii he had not seen before. He was so happy with what we saw and Mandy's knowledge. We didn't have as long as we would have liked to spend with her, but she took us to all the best spots to see birds. HIGHLY recommend. read more

What a great day spent birding with Mandy. She is extremely knowledgeable about birds (of course) and full of Hawaiian islands history (a nice bonus). No issue for Mandy getting the birds on my list, smoothly ferrying us through the (yuck) traffic on Oahu, and being personable the entire time. If you want the birds on any of the islands, see Mandy. read more

Just finished four days birding with Mandy aka "Hawaii Birding Babe". She was awesome! We saw 76 birds in 4 days (60 life birds), most of the endemics of Hawaii. Not only was she knowledgeable about birds, she also shared information on Hawaii, geology and was a ton of fun. We will use her again! read more