The Crossbill Guides Foundation is basically a grass-root organisation of ecologists. Its core consists of Dutch biologists, who founded the organisation from the notion that it is unacceptable that there is only limited in-depth information on Europe’s natural areas aimed at a wide audience.
If we want to increase public involvement with nature conservation, we need to invite people to see through the eyes of nature conservation. We created a concept in which we think this target is best met: the Crossbill Guides.
Dirk Hilbers - Director and Author

Dirk Hilbers is the founder and director of the Crossbill Guides Foundation and the principal author of the Crossbill nature travel guidebooks. Dirk has been interested in nature since childhood and has been active in the NJN, the Dutch youth organisation for field biology, for many years. During his studies in ecology at the University of Nijmegen, Dirk found out he wanted to focus on nature conservation. The biggest challenge in this was to bridge the gap between conservation and the general public. The conspicuous lack of information on the value of Europe’s most important natural areas (Natura 2000) was a special incentive to start the Crossbill Guides Foundation. He found himself a great job: combining nature trips and reliving them when writing the travel guides.
Next to his part-time job at Crossbill Guides, Dirk also teaches topics such as Science & Society and bioethics at the University of Amsterdam.
Author / co-author: Biebrza marshes, Coto Doñana, Bialowieza primeval forest (2005), Extremadura (2006, 2011, 2013, 2019), Camargue (2006), Andalusian Sierras (2007), Hortobagy (2008), Cevenes and Grands Causes (2009, 2015), Finnish Lapland (2010, 2017), Loire, Spanish Pyrenees (2011, 2016), Northeast Poland, Eastern Rhodopes (2013), Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, Iceland (2014, 2017), Tenerife and La Gomera (2015), Western Andalucia, Eastern Andalucia, Veluwe (2017, 2018), Southern Portugal (2018), Madeira, Wadden (2019), Provence and Camargue (2020)
Board

Merijn van Leeuwen
Secretary

Neil McIntosh

Merijn Biemans
Authors, Illustrators, Designers & Marketing

Albert Vliegenthart
Author
Author / co-author: Eastern Rhodopes (2013), Eastern Andalucia (2017), Wadden (2019).
Redaction (insects): from Hortobagy (2008) until the present

John Cantelo
Author
Author / co-author: Andalusian Sierras (2007), Western Andalucia (2017).
Editing: from Andalusian Sierras (2006) until the present.

Graham Chisholm
Author
As a child he lived in Italy and has maintained a close connection to Italy and the Mediterranean. After many years in the U.S., he returned to Germany to complete dissertation research on the West German Green Party using his time off to further explore Europe’s natural areas. In addition to working with The Nature Conservancy and Audubon in California and Nevada, he has been involved in helping build connections among conservationists working in Mediterranean habitats in California, Chile and Baja California, Mexico.
In the past several years he has started spending more time back in Italy and can’t think of a better way to learn about a new landscape than teaming up with the Crossbill Foundation and colleagues to encourage nature tourism to Tuscany. He looks forward to getting involved in conservation projects and learning from the work in the European Union. He is passionate about supporting the next generation of conservation leaders and ensuring that nature has a strong constituency in the coming century.

Martin Pitt
Author
Primarily interested in birds and mammals, his time living in the Middle East gave him a deep interest in desert ecosystems and the migrant species of the African flyways. Recently he has expanded his interests to butterflies and dragonflies and is currently trying to get to grips with reptiles and amphibians.
Since taking semi-retirement, he also acts a tour guide for Naturetrek, probably the world’s largest eco-tour company and has led a range of tours over the last 4 years including Ethiopia, Morocco, Ethiopia, Extremadura (Spain), Austria, Hungary, Romania and Poland.
For Crossbill Guides, Martin writes the Crossbill Guide to Southern Morocco (planned 2021)

Constant Swinkels
Author
Primarily interested in birds and mammals, his time living in the Middle East gave him a deep interest in desert ecosystems and the migrant species of the African flyways. Recently he has expanded his interests to butterflies and dragonflies and is currently trying to get to grips with reptiles and amphibians.
Since taking semi-retirement, he also acts a tour guide for Naturetrek, probably the world’s largest eco-tour company and has led a range of tours over the last 4 years including Ethiopia, Morocco, Ethiopia, Extremadura (Spain), Austria, Hungary, Romania and Poland.
Author / co-author: Provence and Camargue (2020), Crossbill Guide route app Veluwe (2017, in Dutch), Crossbill Guide route app Wadden (2019, in Dutch).

Kees Woutersen
Author
Author / co-author: Spanish Pyrenees (2011, 2016), Lanzarote and Fuerteventura (2013), Tenerife and La Gomera (2015), Eastern Andalucia (2017), Southern Portugal (2018), Madeira (2019).

Marjolein de Graaf
Marketing & PR
Marjolein is a passionate rambler and enjoys the ‘good country life’ – the local food and the fine landscape of the region.
Marjolein is a great network builder and organisor.

Carsten Krieger
Author
Since he settled in Ireland he has photographed and written more than ten books on Ireland’s landscape, nature and heritage and has been working on numerous assignments in the tourism sector.
In 2018 Carsten decided to concentrate exclusively on natural history photography, writing and conservation work. Since then he has been invited to be an AnTaisce Climate Ambassador and a Biodiversity Ambassador for Greensod Ireland. He has been working with Ireland’s major NGOs and is a project manager for Loop Head Together for Nature, a grassroots group that focusses on protecting and improving natural habitats on the Loop Head Peninsula in County Clare (www.widlloophead.com).
Carsten is the author of the Crossbill Ireland Guide.

Kim Lotterman
Author
Redaction: from the first guide (2005) until the present

Bouke ten Cate
Author
Author / co-author: Northeast Poland (2013), Eastern Andalucia (2017).

Frank Jouandoudet
Author
For Crossbill Guides, Frank co-authored the Crossbill Guide to Dordogne (2018).

David Simpson
Author
David has published several articles in British Wildlife on Black-headed Gulls, Natterjack Toads and the Dordogne. In 2010 he wrote the book Birding Dordogne in the popular BirdGuides series and is the Dordogne contact for the European Butterfly Group, part of Butterfly Conservation UK. He has contributed over twenty monographs to the Aquitaine Butterfly Atlas and was a committee member for the Red Data List report of butterflies in Aquitaine.
For Crossbill Guides, David wrote the Dordogne Crossbill Guide (2018)

Alex Tabak
Author
Author / co-author: Eastern Rhodopes (2013), Lesbos (2016).

Chris Braat
Illustrator
For Chris, the Crossbill Guides are more than just travel guides. Apart from their quality and usefulness for different kinds of people (experts and hobby travellers), the Crossbill Guides can really contribute to an area’s economy. The guides help tourists to go to specific areas, which boosts local initiatives.

Horst Wolter
Illustrator
