Rene Valdes is a Biologist/Ornithologist who lives in Monterrey, Mexico. He was born in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, and it was there where he became involved in birdwatching when he was a teenager. Rene began his first sightings at “Estero del Yugo” in Mazatlan looking for species of the local deciduous forest. When he moved to Monterrey, he became a specialist on psittacine field research working in both the Sierra Madre Oriental and Occidental, researching the endangered Thick-billed Parrots, Maroon-fronted Parrots, and Military Macaws. He 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 live. Rene guides professional birding trips in Monterrey and adjacent areas in northeastern Mexico and he’s associated with the company “Natura Red Web” (www.naturaredweb.com) which focuses on birding trips in northern Mexico. Rene’s interest in capturing the birding moment has led him to be an amateur photographer and to create the site: www.birdpicsandmore.com.