About Rambling Naturalist
Rambling Naturalist began not as a company, but as a way to describe myself.
I was deep in southern Idaho’s Owyhee Desert, conducting bird surveys and ogling desert flora, while the lyrics to Waylon Jennings “I’m a Ramblin’ Man” rolled around in my head. I’d fancied myself something of a ramblin’ man myself, never staying in one place too long. If I did end up somewhere, I was liable to find company and quickly rope them in with my gift of gab. I was like to ramble in more ways than one. Try as I might, though, I was never an outlaw or a cowboy like the musicians I looked up to. While I’ve mended a few fences and bucked some hay, I’m simply a guy fascinated by nature, ecology, and biodiversity who wants to see all the natural treasures the world has to offer. I’m not a cowboy, but a naturalist. And Rambling Naturalist was borne, in my head at least.
Founder and lead guide Nick Ramsey holding a Fawn-breasted Tanager for photos during banding operations near Mindo, Ecuador
My first time using the Rambling Naturalist brand was during a very short stint as a wannabe influencer, taking videos of neat plants and wildlife that caught my eye while doing field work and uploading them to TikTok. My first video got 26 views, my next only 12. As it turns out, hybrid balsamroots and slithering gopher snakes don't draw in the crowds of viewers that catchy songs and dances do. I gave up quickly on being a nature influencer and stuck to being a field tech.
In my short career so far, I’ve rambled throughout the United States and elsewhere. I grew up in Montana then lived in Virginia for a short time before going to college in Louisiana. Within the US, I’ve worked in Montana, Louisiana, Idaho, California, Washington, and Oregon. In between destinations and on breaks from school, I took creative (and slightly convoluted) road trips to see as much wildlife as possible. Abroad, I worked in Equatorial Guinea for two months, where a friend of mine was doing fieldwork for her pHD on the ecology of the Congo Basin’s ant-following birds. I also spent two weeks banding birds in Ecuador’s cloud forest. I’ll continue rambling domestically and abroad, and put that experience into tours!
In the summer of 2023, while working as a point count technician in Redwoods National Park, Rambling Naturalist went from a tongue-in-cheek nickname to my business and my brand. After long days surveying inside the park, I would drive into town to find internet at coffee shops. Fueled by black coffee on ice, I built the website, created business cards, applied for trademarks and permits, and turned this from a dream to a reality. I hope you’re along for the ride!