Our Birding Journey
Laid-Back Birding is a travel business dedicated to providing memorable and inclusive birding experiences. Our team is passionate about creating unique, customizable, birding adventures for bird enthusiasts of all levels.
The main way we differ from other tours is by focusing on patience and location, instead of playback to birdwatch. We believe birding is not about how many birds you see, but how you see the birds – though of course we still see many birds! While we understand that for many it is not feasible to spend the time and energy waiting for birds to come to them, and using playback can facilitate sightings*, our laid-back approach is geared towards a slower pace. This slower pace allows us to enjoy all nature as we find it.
Join us to discover the beauty of avian life in the Muskoka area and Algonquin Provincial Park. We look forward to some Laid-Back Birding with you!
And stay tuned! We will be adding set international tours in the next few years. If you want a private tour anywhere internationally, feel free to contact us and we can make that happen!​​
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*At Laid-Back Birding, we do use a "Last Ditch Effort" version of playback. What this means is we will spend 90% of the time in an area waiting to see which birds feel like popping out to say "hi", but if certain special species don't show in that time, we will do a short little call before leaving the area, just to see if they're around.
Founder and Guide
Krista Oswald, Professional Bird Enthusiast
(PhD, MSc, BSc, and BA)
Krista became a birder relatively late in life, but when she dove into it, she dove off the deep end. Moving to South Africa in 2015 to start an MSc and PhD on the Cape Rockjumper, an endangered mountain endemic, she found herself in a lab with a supervisor and two other graduate students who were quite keen birders. Not wanting to feel left out, she decided to join them in the obsession. Well, thanks Ben, Nick, and Mokgatla for showing her the light.
For the next 5 years Krista made it her goal to cover as much of southern Africa's diverse habitats as possible, and continued to be overwhelmed by the beauty and diversity of birds. She is looking forward to starting official tours back in that area, as the African bird families will always hold a special place in her heart.
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After finishing her PhD, Krista moved back home to just outside Huntsville, Ontario, and began delving into the local birds of Eastern Canada. After a brief fellowship in Israel, working on the extremely charismatic Arabian Babblers, she decided she wanted to spend more time at home in southern Ontario. What better way to do so than sharing her love of the local birds with anyone and everyone who visits the Muskoka/Algonquin area.