Michael Retter works as a tour leader for Tropical Birding, specializing in tours to the U.S. and Mexico.  A central Illinois native, he holds a B.A. in Biology from IWU, where he also studied classical voice.  Birding since the age of six, Michael's greatest areas of interest are taxonomy and distribution, though he also has an inherently masochistic interest in four-year gulls. As an artist and author, Michael's work has appeared in Birding (where he serves as both Technical Reviewer and "Sightings" Department Editor) and Meadowlark, among other journals.  He worked for the National Forest Serivce on its Black Hills bird-monitoring project from 2001-2005.  He also runs GBNA, the continent's email listserv for GLBT birders.  Michael currently resides in West Lafayette, Indiana with his partner, Matt.

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